Mesa Verde

 Really the title should be a warning to you that there are going to be an overload of pictures. For those who don't know me, this was a bucket list of mine. This place has always intrigued me. The pictures and stories I had read online made it even more tempting. So when my sister-in-law decided that as a family, we needed to go stay at her friend's bed and breakfast in Monticello, Utah, I became even more excited. I knew that Mesa Verde was in Colorado, but only an hour and fifteen minutes drive away from where we would be staying. 

   I had to first convince Jared that even though we had just driven 4 hours down to Monticello the day before, that we should drive the extra 1.25 hours to the visitor center then drive another 30 minutes to the actual ruins, and that it would be worth it! 

   He actually was NOT wanting to go. He wanted to explore places closer to Monticello, but when I won over most of his family with the idea, we all decided to go! YAY!!!!

  

 I had read somewhere to stop in Cortez (city closest to Mesa Verde) and buy tickets for the tours at their visitor center. This was the GREATEST advice of the whole trip. We were able to get tickets for all 16 of us at a reasonable time for Cliff Palace, and then 6 more tickets for Balcony House tour.  When we made it to the Visitor Center of Mesa Verde, the ticket line was SUPER long, and the good times were long gone!!!

 At the visitor's center

 After the visitors center, we headed into the park. We had a little time to kill before our tour time started, so we found a picnic area and ate lunch.

 I found these little gems (no not my kids), on a yard sale site. They are little Camelbak backpacks. They were especially helpful on these hikes because there were a lot of ladders and steep stairs to climb. They were able to carry their own water, but still used their hands. It was pure AWESOMENESS!!! P is demonstrating how to get the water out! :)

 Then we walked out to the view point of Cliff Palace. 

There it was, one of the most photographed dwellings in the park.

 and I was there!!!!

 Our gang (minus Jared who is taking the picture). 

I think R is so funny in this picture! She is in the purple jacket in the back!

 When I saw pictures of Cliff Palace, I assumed you parked your car then hiked up to it. I was VERY wrong. You actually park on the top, then hike down the cliff. This was part of the trail.

 Wow, there were a lot of us and this doesn't even include my family!

Starting at the bottom: Josh, Eliza, Hallie, Mia, Diane, Jessie, Laura, Mike, Emma(which you can't see), then Ethan.

 The first of many ladders of the day. 

P was a little cautious at first. R had NO problems! 

Check out those awesome backpacks!

 Then we sat under a ledge across from Cliff Palace while the park ranger explained things and told stories of life back then.

 I think this is one of my best.

 Another view of where we were seated.

 My family!

 I like this picture, not because it's a great shot of my kids, but it shows them being introduced to a place that has enthralled me for so long!

 Cute picture of Auntie Jessie and R

 Not the best pic, but there were NO people!

 We were able to look inside one house and see some old writings on the walls. This is another group picture. Emma (she is in the red) was such a champion being 6 months pregnant and still doing all the ladders and stairs!

 Grandma Diane and her grand kids(minus the Pratts).

 One of the longer ladders to get out.

 He got better with each ladder.

 I think this picture turned out SUPER cute!

 Then Eliza, Josh, and my family bought tickets for the Balcony House tour. I thought FOR SURE we were going to get rained on. The rest of the family who didn't come on this tour got rained on, but we didn't even get one drop on us. It was PERFECT! 

Balcony House is a little different. There are stairs down, then a trail you follow to  a ladder, which is where you can access this ruin. I was actually a little nervous bringing our kids on this tour. This is what the website says about this tour: "This one hour ranger-guided tour involves climbing a 32 ft ladder, crawling through a 12ft long tunnel, and climbing up a 60ft open rock face with two 10ft ladders to exit the site". Really? Who in their right mind would think about bringing their 3 and 6 year old children on that tour?  Oh, that's right, we do!  I wouldn't have changed a thing either. They both did AMAZING.  We had people asking how old they were, and were so impressed with how brave they were. They were also VERY courteous and quiet when the ranger was speaking! I couldn't have been a more proud mom!

This is the view on the trail to the 32ft ladder.

 By this point my kids were expert climbers! 

Jared still stayed right behind, but he didn't have to help him!

 They made it! Next, walking through a crack in between the cliff and the ruins. Then climb another ladder into Balcony House. The ranger mentioned that P was the youngest she had ever had on this tour, and thought he did great!

 This tour is VERY different than Cliff Palace. You are actually up inside the ruins.

My kids peeking into one of the houses.

 This is a view looking back to the white 32ft ladder and trail.

 My cute little family!

 There are two sides of this ruin. This was on the other side looking into a "kiva"(click the word to see what they are).

 Crawling out of the 12ft long tunnel which is only 18" wide.

 This was the last ladder of the day, and I realized I had NO pictures of me climbing. So here it is! :)

 Then we met up with the rest of the family and headed back into Cortez for dinner at a BBQ place. 

Seriously, if you couldn't tell by now, I LOVED Mesa Verde!!! It did not disappoint! I couldn't be happier to be able to cross it off my bucket list!