Geology and the uniqe shapes it can take in the southwest always amazes me. #MesaVerdeNP

This was the view from my campsite at #MesaVerdeNP a couple of days ago before the temperature dropped into the 30's at night at 8000ft altitude. Saw snow on the 14ers and noped out of there.

Last week we visited #BlackCanyonNP (got in two days before the wildfire), #MesaVerdeNP, and #GreatSandDunesNP. Our state is simply breathtaking.

Tan and red rock cliff dwellings are in front of the photographer on a sunny day in southern Colorado.

Hiking around #mesaverdenationalpark was a dream come true. Loved seeing the cliff dwellings with my family. Amazing and beautiful.

#hiking #landscape #outside #nationalparks #mesaverdenp #colorado #familytravel

Anasazi cliff dwellings are nestled under a large cliff wall overhang protecting it from the heat of the sun and probably bad weather. There are several buildings you can walk through on a guided tour. There are cottonwood trees and gambel oak at the front o the walkway.

A small sampling of the intriguing pictographs that adorn the cliff walls. Thy are engraved in the sandstone and have several human hands carved in, as well as mountain sheep and what look like lizards.

Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, is a great place to visit. These are the Anasazi cliff dwellings that one can walk through. Then there is a sample of their pictography. Walking around on the mesa itself you can see other village sites.
#50StateJourney #Week6Colorado 📷 #MesaVerdeNP

Next up Mesa Verde National Park. We were not able to go over to ruins during our visit, as it was closed due to a recent rock fall damaging the path.

#NationalParks #MesaVerdeNP

#MesaVerdeNP
September, 2021.

My wife hiking under a huge rock overhang in Mesa Verde National Park, September 2021.

My wife hiking up steps that have been carved out of the stone in Mesa Verde National Park, September 2021.

A picture of petroglyphs made by the Ancestral Puebloan inhabitants of Mesa Verde National Park. Photo taken September, 2021.

Wild turkeys crossing the parking lot in Mesa Verde National Park, September, 2021.

My wife and I explored #MesaVerdeNP in September, 2021. #MEVE, the only World Heritage Site in Colorado, was createdto "preserve the works of man" and was the first park created to protect a location of cultural significance.
#wildlife #pueblos #wildturkey #MEVE #hike

The original post states that “I found this ancient artifact at #MEVE back in September 2021. Still haven’t been able to determine what the ancestors used it for.” The picture is a pull tab from an old beverage can. Pull tabs on cans largely fell out of use in 1975 when the “stay tab” design was introduced.

I found this ancient artifact at #MEVE back in September 2021. Still haven’t been able to determine what the ancestors used it for.
#MesaVerdeNP