 | An early morning interloper |
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| The next day, we went to several more sites scattered around the mesa, many would have been accessible only by climbing down from the mesa top. There were other dwellings that traced the history of Mesa Verde from the early "pit houses" to the more sophisticated cliff dwellings. There was also an impressive "Sun Temple", a large ceremonial structure that was never completed. | |
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This is the Oak Tree House, as seen from across the canyon. |
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| In the afternoon, we went into Durango and toured the Durango & Silverton Railroad museum, an old narrow-gauge system that still runs passengers (between Durango and Silverto, obviously). | |
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This is the interior of the original station. |
| Picture of the railyard showing the turntable. |  |
| The interior of a caboose in the museum. |  |
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We got to tour the facilities, including the roundhouse where a locomotive sat steaming. Pretty cool! |
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| After that, we headed back to Mesa Verde and hiked the Knife-Edge trail
(not as dangerous as it sounds!). It follows the old access road to the mesa.
It was around sunset and I caught some beautiful pictures.
Mesa Verde offers an amazing view over this part of Colorado. It's hard to imagine that the Anasazi didn't believe they lived on top of the world. |
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Brian, always the willing subject. |
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Wild Rose backlit by the setting sun. |
After returning to our camp site and eating dinner, we roasted more marshmellows and turned in.
The Adventure Continues - Day 3.