After descending several trails and sets of steps into the valley, we arrived at the "big ladder" in order to get up and into the dwelling. Here is a view of the ladder from above.
We faced our fears and chanted the mantra "don't look down" as we climbed.
We made it inside the dwelling! We were able to learn a lot about the dwelling and about the people that inhabited it. It has 38 rooms and 2 kivas (which were the community gathering spots that were dug down into the ground). I can't imagine living that close to the edge of a massive cliff. Archaeologists think that several extended families lived in this dwelling. I guess you had to really be able to get along with your family, or it would have been really easy to be "accidentally" pushed off the cliff.
We were able to visit several rooms in the dwelling.
We also attempted a family picture.
In order to get back to the trail/ladders that led up to the top of the cliff, we had to squeeze through the aforementioned dreaded tunnel.
I was the last one in our family to attempt the tunnel. I told the random strangers behind me that they could push me out in the style of Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Pot, if I got stuck. Luckily, we all made it through unscathed and no one had to paint a face on my rear end. (Re-read the Winnie the Pooh stories, if you don't understand this reference.) We thought the hard parts were behind us (no pun intended), until we got to yet another ladder...
This one was shorter and more manageable than the 32-footer. We made it back to civilization!
I was so proud of the kids for facing their fears to experience a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Well, Jack didn't have any fears. He spent the whole tour telling us how awesome he was at all of this.
After lunch, we toured the Cliff Palace dwelling on another ranger-led tour. We knew that this one required a few small ladders, but we weren't nervous, as we had already survived Balcony House.
When we saw the view from the meeting point, we were really excited to be able to see this dwelling up close.
As we hiked down, we got a better look.
We finally arrived at the base of the dwelling.
Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling in North America, with around 150 rooms, including 21 kivas. Here is an example of a kiva.
The kivas were covered with a flat roof with a hole in the center of the roof. They entered and exited the kiva via a ladder leaned against the hole. They also built a unique ventilation system inside the kiva. This was so fascinating! They estimated around 100 to 120 people lived in Cliff Palace together. The ranger described it as the "New York City of Cliff Dwellings". Here are a few more pictures from inside the dwelling.
The trek out of Cliff Palace wasn't quite as harrowing as Balcony House, but it was still a bit of a hike up.
On the ride back out of the park, we encountered some wildlife -- turkeys and deer.
Mesa Verde was an amazing experience. I would definitely go back again, if given the opportunity. Jack was disappointed that he didn't get to go down into a kiva. My parents visited Mesa Verde about 15 years ago and had pictures of going into a kiva. Unfortunately, that site (Spruce Tree House) was closed during our visit due to rock fall danger. Maybe some day we can return to experience that site.
We left Mesa Verde and headed to Moab, Utah, which seems to be a really fun little town. The drive was gorgeous. The pictures don't do it justice, but I am posting some anyway.
Moab was still around 103 degrees at 9:00 PM. I will buy into the dry heat argument after the sun is down. It didn't feel nearly as hot as the 107 degree heat from the day before. Tomorrow morning, we head to Arches National Park!
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