The Quest for a Movable Location Led Me to Ruins

Stumbling upon ruins in a national park

We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect. — Aldo Leopold

In my opinion, California has the best weather out of any US state but it comes at a price. It’s expensive and inundated with people. Having lived here my whole life, I often feel ready for a change.

It’s almost impossible to go anywhere without being stuck in traffic because everyone drives. Public transportation is not as common as it is in other large cities.

Southern California really has some catching up to do in that area.

I didn’t mind it as much until recently and especially after becoming sober, I’ve been seeking out other areas that are surrounded by nature but am never satisfied with the weather. Something will have to give or I stay living here infinitely.

Colorado was first on our list in the quest for a movable location. I’ve been to Denver but never any of the surrounding areas. I’ve drooled over photos of the beautiful mountain towns but knew I couldn’t live in that much snow so we set out to look at some lower-elevation areas.

We flew into Denver but stayed in Boulder, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, and Durango. We went in January for my birthday one year because we wanted to go during the winter to see if we could envision ourselves living there.

Each town was beautiful and unique but driving in the snow was not something I enjoyed. Anxiety caught up with me on the freeway as the snow stuck to the windshield, only to be erased by wiper fluid. In between, I was blind.

The air was so dry that our noses would bleed. It’s a beautiful state and I am sure I would acclimate but Colorado was put on hold by the 2nd stop.

Our last stop was Durango, a picture-perfect little old town with a cute Main Street. While driving around the outskirts of Durango the following day to see a nearby town, we passed a sign for Mesa Verde National Park.

My husband and I love visiting National Parks and decided we should check it out after we got breakfast in the town of Dolores. Hours on Zillow while at home led me to this location.

We had no idea what to expect going into Mesa Verde National Park. The park ranger informed us that it was about a twenty-minute drive from the entrance to the cliff dwellings, something that we should see.

Eager to learn about the cliff dwellings, I opened my phone but had no service so we relied on the map we were given by the ranger. It contained a condensed history brief that explained how the Puebloans occupied the top of the mesa for 600 years but around the 1190s decided to build dwellings under the mesa.

It was safer under the mesa plus you could shield from the wind and get a break from the heat.

The Ancestral Pueblos were a nomadic group that were very skilled in masonry which made it easy for them to construct pueblos and cave dwellings.

Eager to get to the end of the 20-minute drive, we took in the views as we climbed the mountain in our rental car.

When we arrived, it was like an outdoor museum. Even the bathroom looked like it was an old ruin and maybe it was.

It was a short walk to the vista where you could view the cave dwellings past the canyon. You could get up close and personal but due to the weather, that was closed. I am sure it is impressive up close because it was astounding from across the canyon.

It’s amazing how skilled the Puebloans were back in the 1100s and 1200s. Some of the residences in the dwellings included 800 rooms. This particular cave dwelling site that we first arrived at was one of five.

I couldn’t even understand how they got down from the mesa to the actual dwelling. It’s also hard to imagine living on the side of a cliff.

The well-constructed dwellings made of stone, mortar, and plaster are the most preserved buildings from this time in history. There aren’t concrete answers as to why the cliff dwellers left the area in the 1300s although historians speculate it was from a drought.

It is a very dry area. Actually, Colorado was dry in each city that we spent time in and we drove all over the state.

The nearby gift shop contained handmade items like pottery, jewelry, and textiles. We bought some vases for our daughters and marveled at the craftsmanship of all the items in the store.

After the gift shop, we headed up to another lookout point that was also the site of Sun Temple. It was built in the 1200s and was part of the cliff dwellings. Sun Temple was a ceremonial site and looks like a D if viewed from above.

Mesa Verde National Park was an unexpected destination on our trip that I am glad we stumbled upon. I love traveling and especially when I can learn a little about the history of a place.

We are still searching for our movable location and I hope we stumble upon something as cool as the cliff dwellings in our next adventure.

This story is in response to the Globetrotters monthly challenge. Thank you Anne Bonfert for the prompt.

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