Pagosa Springs: Conquering Fear

Today, we went to Mesa Verde National Park. Our driver and guide for (most of) the day was Tom -- a long-time resident and retired Forest Service Hot Shot who was very knowledgeable about the area. We left the resort at 7:30 AM, just the three of us and our guide.

Along the way, Tom told us a little about the history of the area and pointed out some of the local landmarks. A little more than two hours after leaving Pagosa Springs, we arrived at the visitor center at the entrance to MVNP. This bronze sculpture is one of the first things you see when you enter the area.

The tour originally planned to have us do the Cliff Palace tour, but it was sold out until 5: 00 PM. That was a little late for us, so instead we booked the 1:30 PM Balcony House tour. We had time to drive around the mesa top and stop at the Spruce Tree House visitor area for a bite to eat before we took the tour. From this area, you can look across the canyon and see the Cliff Palace dwelling.

After lunch, Tom drove us around to the Balcony House and left us in the capable hands of our cliff dwelling guide, Ranger Pete. Now, even though these are all cliff dwellings, each one is different. They were built around matrilineal clans. The cliff dwellers didn't stay in the cliffs long -- less than one hundred years -- but what they left behind is amazing. 

As Ranger Pete began to describe the physical difficulty level of the tour, both Donna and Lin started to get cold feet. I talked them into at least walking with the rest of the group to the point of no turning back and let them decide from there. They agreed, and by the time the strenuous part came, they decided to go for it. (It didn't hurt that there was a 72-year-old woman on the tour also -- Donna figured if that woman could do this, so could she.) Before they had a chance to change their minds, Ranger Pete and I had them up the ladder.  

From here, we could only go forward. We climbed a short ladder and some steps that had been carved into the stone, and squeezed through a narrow passage into the kiva area. At this point, Ranger Pete gathered everyone around the kiva and described the clan structure to us.

The next -- and biggest -- challenge was the 18-foot long tunnel we had to crawl through to get to the dwelling exit and back up the parking lot. The entrance and exit of the tunnel (three or four feet long each) were only about 18-inches or so wide and two-and-a-half feet tall. The center area wasn't any wider, but was much taller. 

After crawling through the tunnel, we had to take a few to calm our nerves. Donna also had to make an adjustment to her leg. While we rested, we took the time to pose with Ranger Pete.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the ladder up, but it was quite a climb. By the time we made it back to the top, we were shaking. 

The drive back to Pagosa Springs was much more subdued than the trip out this morning. We made it back to the resort around 6:00-ish. Once again, the temperatures had cooled by about 15 or more degrees and the shorts and tank tops we wore for the tour were woefully inadequate. We put on as many clothes as we could and had a cold ride back to the condo. 

By this time, we were all starving, so we changed into warmer clothes, hopped back on the bikes, and rode a couple of miles to a place called The Buck Stops Here. It is a deli/restaurant that came highly recommended by the resort staff. We decided it was time to try the place. 

The food was amazing. The steak was cooked just the way we like it (Donna and I shared the thing, it was huge), and was seasoned perfectly. In fact, Donna mentioned that it tasted like we could have cooked it. 

All in all, it was a good day.

Addendum 6/30/16: Although we didn't get a picture of the final climb out of the cliff dwelling (my phone had died hours ago, and Donna's and Lin's phones were screaming battery warnings at us), our friend, Lourie Strasburg, has kindly granted permission to use her photo that was taken when she and her friends came here in the past. This is the last part of the Balcony House cliff dwelling tour.

(Photo used with permission of Lourie Strasburg)