April 22nd, 2009 Four Corners and Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado

Four Corners.

Today we went on a very long trip from Farmington to Four corners to Mesa Verde then back to Farmington.

Four corners is the only place in the USA that 4 states meet at a corner, the states are Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico.

From 20090422 Four Corners and Mesa Verde National Park Colorado

From 20090422 Four Corners and Mesa Verde National Park Colorado

Mesa Verde, Colorado

We arrived at Mesa Verde early on the afternoon and were able to take a guided tour of the ‘Cliff Palace’ then we took a driving tour of ‘Far View Sites Complex’.

Mesa Verde is the only national park set aside “to preserve the works of man.” The park is 53,073 acres, 8,100 of which is designated wilderness. The Ancestral Puebloans moved into the Mesa Verde area by AD 550, occupying the Colorado Plateau region until AD 1300.

Then guided tour was wonderful. The ranger made an excellent presentation of the ‘Cliff Palace’. Teri even managed the ladders to get done and get up back on the Mesa without too much trouble. :)

Cliff Palace is the largest cliff swelling. The tour is one hour in length with a walking distance of 1/4 mile. It involves climbing five, 8 to 10 foot ladders for a 100 foot overall vertical ascent.

The Mesa is high high above the valley and is flat on top. Mesa Verde ranges from 7,000 feet elevation to 8,572 feet at Park Point. For more information check out www.nps.gov/meve .