Mesa Verde National Park,
located in Colorado near the Four
Corners region, was created in 1906 to preserve the archeological
heritage of the Ancestral Pueblo people, both atop the mesas and in the cliff
dwellings below. Comprised of 52,485 acres with more than 4000 sites and 600
cliff dwellings, it is the largest archeological preserve in the United States. Some
of the cliff dwellings are open to self-guided tours, such as the Spruce Tree
House near the Visitor
Center, and others are
only available via ranger led tours. The first day we were there (in June 2015)
we drove through the park taking in views at the many overlooks, ending the day
with a walk down to the Spruce Tree House. There isn't much definitive
information on the lives of the ancients who occupied this region from 550 CE through
the early 1200's, spanning over 700 years, but there are many clues as to how
they may have lived, and archeologists have given us their best interpretations
based on what they left behind. Wandering through what remains of these ancient
people was fascinating and I spent much time imagining what their lives must
have been like. Here are some pictures from our first exploration of the park.
Our trip to Denver
in June 2015 wasn't our first stay in Colorado,
but it did include our first visit to the Rocky Mountain
National Park. We picked
a beautiful blue sky day for our outing, perfect for a hike and picnic. The
late spring and early summer wildflowers were in bloom, the higher peaks still
had a dusting of snow, and the weather was pristine. Located northwest of Boulder, the park encompasses the Continental Divide and the
headwaters of the Colorado River. The stunning
wilderness of this park features majestic mountain views, lakes, and varied
climates and environments from wooded forests to mountains tundra. Of course
one day wasn't nearly enough to get more than just a glimpse of this natural
wonderland. Once again we agreed this was somewhere to come back and spend more
time, next time.
On June 2, 2015, we made our twentieth
visit to a Major League baseball stadium, catching a game at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
That day the KC Royals were playing the Cleveland Indians, and since we aren't tied to either team, it made it easy to just relax and enjoy the game. There were plenty
of Kansas City
fans, to be sure, the stadium was awash in Royal Blue, but in the end the home
team lost - Cleveland 2, Royals 1. The weather was perfect for an evening spent
outdoors, the peanuts and beer good as usual, and we were even lucky enough to
find veggie hotdogs at one of the concession stands. We have now been to 2/3 of
the 30 Major League ballparks!
