Hello Everyone San Here,

For the past month my darling wife and I have been traveling home to the US. We started on August 11 and finally found a place to settle down on September 11. I wanted to share one of the wonderful places we visited along the way.

Mesa Verde National Park is a wonderful place to go. It is a huge National Park nestled in the SW Colorado Mesa's and is quite an adventure for all. There is no way to see the whole park in one day as it is over 52 K acres in size, so if you can stay for a few days and really go around and see all of the dwellings it is worth it.

The first place we visited was The Cliff Palace. This area is over 800 years old and has survived times unknown to history. It's discovery was by two ranchers looking for their lost cattle back in the 1890's. What thing to come across when looking for your herd.

You can see you actually get to go down to the dwelling to see and feel what it was like to live there. It is a guided tour costing $4 and your guide gives you full explanations of everything you see. I cannot describe the way I was feeling of how these people lived, I could only look in amazed reverence for those who once lived there.

The Spruce Tree House is not part of the guided tour and you are free to go there on your own. There are park rangers stationed around the dwelling to answer questions and to advise you of what you can and cannot do.

The Square Tower is the tallest of all of the structures reaching up four stories along one of the cliff edges. There is only a view point to this dwelling as it is difficult to get to and many have been injured in the attempt to reach it. Makes you wonder how they lived there without perishing.

These are but a few of the pictures my wife and I took while there. We spent one whole day here and only saw but a small fraction of the park and enjoyed its wonder. We now live only 45 minutes from the park and will be returning often to explore it more. One more check mark for my bucket list.

This woman was kind enough to allow me to take her picture on the ladders in the narrow passage way coming up out of Cliff Palace. She was a nervous wreck, unsure of herself and I encouraged her along the way. Her husband is right behind her and he too was nervous. This place is not for the light hearted.

I will be posting many more entries about Mesa Verde on my Fat Guy Hikes site if any of you are interested in learning more. I know I will be visiting here many more times.

Cliff Palace From Viewpoint Across the Canyon

I am always at your service,

San