Tours of the Long House are quite popular and not having booked online ahead of time, we had to wait a day and the first available slots are today at 12:30. The morning gusts luckily are dying down as we set out for a hike at Weatherhill Mesa. The sites in this area are not open to vehicles and can only be accessed on foot. As we walk, we notice that the terrain is dry desert and due to past fires, a multitude of grey tree trunks dot the landscape for miles and miles. I can imagine how hot it must get in the summer.
Our tour starts with a discussion of the ancestral Pueblo people who were formerly referred to as Anasazi. We learn they appeared to be an egalitarian society and that upwards of 50,000 people lived in the area, on the cliffs and in the Montezuma Valley at the peak of their civilization.
We walk a mile to the trailhead and ascend 2 ladders into the dwelling. Yes, I did climb the ladders as you can see in the photo.
This house is the second largest at Mesa Verde with over 100 rooms in its time. We are struck by the long storage room built high up under the alcove ceiling. Carrying stones up to this height, making mortar, and building walls that reached up to the top of the alcove was such an incredible feat.
Long House from a distance
Seep spring at the back of the alcove where water seeps down from the Mesa above. The round holes in the ground were to collect water.
Walls extend to top of alcove
Rooms
Ladders provide access to rooms
Storage room
From here we head westward through Durango, cutting down to New Mexico and back up to Antonito, a very small town in the Conejos Valley for Ray to fish tomorrow morning. The roads are deserted at night and we can’t see much in the dark but drive through 2 passes at 10,000 ft in the Rio Grande National Forest.