Mesa Verde National Park
Mesa Verde is best known for cliff dwellings, which are structures built within caves and under outcroppings in cliffs. They were occupied by the Anasazi indians from about 700 to 1300. There was a 24 year drought (beginning in 1274) and the native population moved away, leaving villages and cliff dwellings.
The Anasazi were well known for their pottery and basket weaving. They left a rich history of an age now almost forgotten. We were privileged to visit this site, which was set aside as a National Park by President Roosevelt in 1904.
A corn grinding room
Looking inside one of the kivas
Some decorations at the entry to a Kiva
They built all the way up to the “roof”
Must take a lot of work
Looking inside a cliff dwelling kiva
There are rooms below the floor, climb the ladder to get down
A lot of work went into these, everything had to be carried in
Laninga's Travel Blog 
You are traveling where I grew up. Mesa Verde was in my back yard when I was in high school. I worked there in the summer between my college semesters. The park was expanded and developed shortly after my college years. It is an interesting place to visit, and is a must-see for traveling families. It can be explored and enjoyed in many ways by those who can do no more than visit the museum, by those who spend the day hiking into areas of the ruins, or by those who want to do more intensive camping and exploring. The scenery and wildlife alone are worth the trip, but imagining what it was like for the Anasazi who lived there centuries ago is fascinating. Thanks for sharing the great photos.
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