Mesa Verde Springs Alive!

As much as winter wants to keep a grasp on the Four Corners area, spring's persistence wins out eventually; winter at Mesa Verde is no exception.  With this write up, I'll still give a few glimpses at the amazing ruin sites, but they don't truly change with the seasons. 

This time I'm going to focus more on Mesa Verde's landscape, wildlife and plants; the awakening from a deep slumber to a bright new season. With every visit to the park, there are certain viewing areas that we just cannot pass by; the views are spectacular and we want to see the changes.  From the entrance to Far View is a 15 mile trek; the valleys of Mancos and Montezuma stretch as far as the eye can see.

Mancos Valley; while there is snow up on the mountains in the distance, the valley below is beginning to get signs of greenery.



























Montezuma Valley; Sleeping Ute Mountain in the distance has shed his wintery coat of snow; will the warmth of spring give him cause to rise this year?

 

Snow covered mountains, stark landscape and suddenly greenery announcing that spring is here; also keep an eye out for alcoves in the rock face and perhaps a ruin site might be hidden there...or not.

Finally at Far View, you look south and there is Shiprock down New Mexico way; the ever present haze is there, but not so bad the day I took this photo.  I recently read an article in the local paper that the haze is actually caused by all the petroleum rigs in that area.  There are plans to try and do something about the pollution before Shiprock becomes totally shrouded.

Stopping at the museum, we decided to do a few shots of Spruce Tree House from the overlook; the spirits there don't seem to mind as one showed up in another of my photos.




A spirit orb in the upper middle window.

Another one of our favorite sites to visit is Square Tower House; mainly because its location on the cliff face always makes us wonder...how did they get up and down from there!?!  There is an alcove nearby with broken up ruins inside; the canyon views are always breath taking.

One of the enjoyments I had was two horses posing for me.  The April 2nd edition of our local paper reprinted an article about the horses; feral, "trespassing" horses that have been deemed a nuisance.  They are aggressive toward the elk herds in Mesa Verde, especially when competing for spots at the watering holes.  These horses are not protected under the "Wild Horse and Burro Act"; personally I'm not exactly sure why "feral" and "wild" are not the same thing.  Measures have been made to keep the horses from coming into the National Park, and to stay on Ute Tribal land.  I do hope they allow a small number to remain though as they add so much personality to the landscape; what is the southwest without the horse?













Along the route of Oak Tree House, Sunset House and The Fire Temple; Roy and I enjoy wandering through the wooden areas. Not only do we get those canyon views that aren't seen from the ruin overlooks, but there are interesting finds of the natural kind such as Yucca growing out from between rocks, or Desert Phlox growing out of the dry and dusty ground.    Those tiny flowers of the Phlox are a sure sign that spring has taken hold and told winter to hit the road.



Oak Tree House
 

Sunset House
 

Fire Temple
 

 

The Cliff Palace is pretty amazing; but we make sure to search for other amazing formations that Mother Nature created herself.   Have to give credit where credit is due; that woman is awesomely talented!  By the way, if you happen to be standing at one of the many overlooks and this truly foul odor assails your nostrils...no, it's not the person standing next to you.  See that bush with the wide oval leaves and star like flowers; say hello to the Utah Serviceberry. This bush was very useful to the Native American as the berries could be eaten and the strong twigs made into bows.  The smell is a defense mechanism; but birds, deer, elk and the human figured that out right away.






Cliff Palace

 

Another of our favorite spots is the House of Many Windows; there is a ledge area off to the right of the overlook where you can crawl out to the edge and get the best photos of, not just the ruins, but the canyons. 



House of Many Windows

While we enjoy stopping at the overlooks, we always make sure to simply drive the park one last time before heading to either a restaurant for a good meal; or home to fall asleep in our bed in contented exhaustion.  That one final drive gives us the option to see something that we might have missed out on, and Mesa Verde has not disappointed yet.  Near the museum were some rather large cactus bushes (Colorado Buckhorn Cholla) I hadn't truly looked at before.  Funny, they reminded me of those monstrous plants from the 1951 science fiction movie, "Day of the Triffids".  Suddenly though, there was a little song in the air; a lone warbler sitting on a leafless branch heralding the coming of spring.  Nice ending to a nice day.

Mary Cokenour

 

 

 

The Mystery of Mesa Verde's Winter.

 

Point Lookout

The day we visited Mesa Verde in February of 2012, it was a spur of the moment event.  We were actually on our way to visit Roy's family in Farmington, New Mexico, but Mesa Verde decided to call and offer an invite we couldn't resist.  The clouds in the sky warned of a storm to come as they moved along the top of the mesas, white snow intensified the red of the sandstone; it looked mysterious and wondrous at the same time.  Next thing we knew, we exited Route 160, showed our National Park pass at the guard booth, and up the steep incline we began.  Yes, we do this type of spontaneous adventuring; that's why we always have bottled water, bags of snacks, cameras, charged cellphones and a full tank of gas at all times.  Many of the areas you will recognize from when I did a post of Mesa Verde in the fall season; cloudy skies and snow give them a whole new look.  This gave us the eventual idea to go back each season and take photos to record the changes.

 

 

                                                                                  We stopped at the first viewing area which is of the Mancos Valley; the Rocky Mountains in the distance were snowed covered and majestic; then again, when aren't the Rockies majestic?

 

 

The Mancos Valley

 

 

 

 

Past the Park Place Lookout, there will be a smaller viewing area of Montezuma Valley; usually you can see "forever" from here, but not on this stormy day.

 

 

At that time, the Visitor Center was still at Far View which is 15 miles within the Park; now it has been rebuilt and sits at the entrance to the Park which is much more convenient.  Even though it was closed, there was a very good reason to stop in the area; the view of Shiprock in the distance.  Even though we were in Colorado, just off Route 160, there was Shiprock which is located in New Mexico; to the ancient Puebloans that had lived in Mesa Verde, this must have been a beacon for them.

 

 

Canyon at Square Tower House Ruins

Canyon at the Sun Temple Ruins

Even though you're probably there to see the ruins, make sure to take a good look at the surrounding canyons.  Gorgeous in good weather, and just as breath taking blanketed in snowfall; the landscaping near the display areas of Pueblo homes and Kivas is amazing; yucca plants normally in the desert pushing their green points up through the snow. 

 

Ruins, Ruins, Ruins is what you must be chanting by now; patience grasshopper as you must appreciate on the outside what surrounds the inside.  Within the landscapes of Mesa Verde are the ancient ruins of a long gone people; as beautiful as the area is, the cold and snow of winter are harsh to live within.  Now, some of the ruins of Mesa Verde...

 

The Sun Temple

 

 

 

The Fire Temple

 



 

Oak Tree House

 

 

 

Sunset House

 

 

 

...and the set of ruins that is most publicized, The Cliff Palace.  During the winter months, the Cliff Palace is closed for the guided tours, but you are still able to view it from the upper roadway.

 

 

 

We did make it to Farmington to spend time with his family; leaving after dinner, the snow began falling there.  It got heavier as we traveled along the La Plata Highway and landed right in the middle of "white out" conditions by the time we reached Route 160 again.  Luckily, we ended up behind a snowplow and followed it down the mountains and into the Mancos Valley which was much clearer.

 

I was able to get this one night time shot as we passed by Mesa Verde; not the best of the best, but I love the eerie nature of it.  I posted it on Facebook, and our friend, Jeffrey, wrote this about it, "Twilight falls on the dusty windswept plains. The fear in this place is a palpable thing as a mournful howl fills the night air. The mists roll in and a frosty chill settles."

 

 

Mary Cokenour