Uploads from Ken Lund, tagged unitedstates

Rock Art, Balcony House Tour at Mesa Verde National Park

nobody@flickr.com (Ken Lund) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 22:50:57 -0700

Ken Lund posted a photo:

Balcony House is labeled as the "adventurous cliff dwelling tour." The one-hour tour involves climbing a 32-foot ladder, crawling through a 12-foot long tunnel, and climbing up a 60-foot open cliff face with stone steps and two 10-foot ladders to exit the site.

Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park

nobody@flickr.com (Ken Lund) — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 19:18:16 -0700

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View of Cliff Palace walking between the first and second stops on the tour. Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling in North America. The Ancient Pueblo structure is located in Mesa Verde National Park, in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of Colorado, home to the Ancestral Puebloans people.

Cliff Palace contains 23 kivas (round sunken rooms of ceremonial importance), and 150 rooms. One kiva, in the center of the ruin, is at a point where the entire structure is partitioned by a series of walls with no doorways or other access portals. The walls of this kiva were plastered with one color on one side and a different color on the opposing side. Archaeologists believe that the Cliff Palace contained two communities and that this kiva was used to integrate the two communities.

The large, square tower on the right that almost reaches the cave "roof" was in ruins by the 1800s. The National Park Service carefully restored it to its approximate height and stature, making it one of the most memorable buildings in the Cliff Palace. Slightly different-colored materials were used to show it was a restoration.

Tree ring dating indicates that construction and refurbishing of Cliff Palace was continuous from c. AD 1190 through c. 1260, although the major portion of the building was done within a twenty-year time span. Cliff Palace was abandoned by 1300, and while debate remains as to the causes of this, some believe a series of mega-droughts interrupting food production systems is the main cause.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliff_Palace

Leaving Mesa Verde National Park

nobody@flickr.com (Ken Lund) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 22:06:36 -0700

Ken Lund posted a photo:

Trying to beat a rainstorm out of Mesa Verde National Park near the campground.

Leaving Mesa Verde National Park

nobody@flickr.com (Ken Lund) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 22:01:31 -0700

Ken Lund posted a photo:

Trying to beat a rainstorm out of Mesa Verde National Park near the campground.

Leaving Mesa Verde National Park

nobody@flickr.com (Ken Lund) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 22:03:00 -0700

Ken Lund posted a photo:

Trying to beat a rainstorm out of Mesa Verde National Park near the campground.

Leaving Mesa Verde National Park

nobody@flickr.com (Ken Lund) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 22:04:43 -0700

Ken Lund posted a photo:

Trying to beat a rainstorm out of Mesa Verde National Park near the campground.

Hike from Step House, Wetherill Mesa, Mesa Verde National Park

nobody@flickr.com (Ken Lund) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:53:48 -0700

Ken Lund posted a photo:

Paved trail to Step House, Mesa Verde National Park. Allow 45 minutes to one hour for the 100-ft (30 m) descent and ascent on a winding path to Step House (although we did it in a little less). Total walking distance is .8 mile (1.3 km). The round-trip trail begins near the Wetherill Mesa kiosk. A Ranger is available to answer questions.

Step House is unusual in that two separate occupations can be comapred in the same alcove; Modified Basketmaker, dating about A.D. 626, and a masonry pueblo dating to Classic Pueblo times A.D. 1226.

Leaving Mesa Verde National Park

nobody@flickr.com (Ken Lund) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:59:25 -0700

Ken Lund posted a photo:

Trying to beat a rainstorm out of Mesa Verde National Park near the campground.

Hike from Step House, Wetherill Mesa, Mesa Verde National Park

nobody@flickr.com (Ken Lund) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:56:01 -0700

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Hike from Step House, Wetherill Mesa, Mesa Verde National Park

nobody@flickr.com (Ken Lund) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:51:43 -0700

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Hike from Step House, Wetherill Mesa, Mesa Verde National Park

nobody@flickr.com (Ken Lund) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:57:45 -0700

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A fire consumed the landscape on the mesa top above Step House.

Hike Out of Step House, Wetherill Mesa, Mesa Verde National Park

nobody@flickr.com (Ken Lund) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:48:01 -0700

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Step House, Wetherill Mesa, Mesa Verde National Park

nobody@flickr.com (Ken Lund) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:41:21 -0700

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Step House, Wetherill Mesa, Mesa Verde National Park

nobody@flickr.com (Ken Lund) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:43:04 -0700

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Hike from Step House, Wetherill Mesa, Mesa Verde National Park

nobody@flickr.com (Ken Lund) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:49:49 -0700

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Step House, Wetherill Mesa, Mesa Verde National Park

nobody@flickr.com (Ken Lund) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:46:04 -0700

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Alicia, Step House, Wetherill Mesa, Mesa Verde National Park

nobody@flickr.com (Ken Lund) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:44:38 -0700

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Step House, Wetherill Mesa, Mesa Verde National Park

nobody@flickr.com (Ken Lund) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:33:31 -0700

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Step House, Wetherill Mesa, Mesa Verde National Park

nobody@flickr.com (Ken Lund) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:36:39 -0700

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Step House, Wetherill Mesa, Mesa Verde National Park

nobody@flickr.com (Ken Lund) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:30:38 -0700

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