Also in the Four Corners area is the Mesa Verde National Park. The top of this large mesa is at an elevation of about 7,000 feet, and a Pueblo Indian population lived here from about the year 500 until around 1200 or 1300. This is Cliff Palace, which is the largest of several cliff dwellings, and has about 150 rooms. They were all built around the year 1100, so they were only used for about 100 years.
They figure that the Pueblo population was probably several thousand people, and most actually lived up on top of the mesa, not here. The cliff dwellings were mostly ceremonial spots. About 100 people lived here permanently, and another 200 would be here for a period of a couple of weeks at a time for tribal and clan ceremonies. Then, those 200 or so would go back on top to resume their normal activities, and another 200 would rotate in.
The place was abandoned for unknown reasons, and was unoccupied for about 700 years until it was re-discovered by some cowboys in the late 1800's. These structures are about 75% original and 25% re-constructed.
The road that runs through park at the top of the mesa has beautiful curves and views.
From here, I'm off to Colorado Springs to spend the night with my brother and his family. Should have been an easy ride, but this is the kind of stuff I was riding through, or trying not to ride through. There's a bright piece of a rainbow in the middle-left part of the picture. And believe it or not, there's a mountain behind the rain-storm. When I got to the other side of it, there was a full double rainbow. I didn't stop to take a picture because, well, it was raining.
