Toward the end of our road trip we visited some ancient ruins (1100-1200AD)
This is Cliff Palace in Mesa verde. You have to pay $5.00 for a ranger led hike to see it. You only get to walk around the front of it with about 20 other visitors.
I forgot the name of this one. Probably is "square tower" This is from the roadside viewpoint with a tele lens
Wider angle of the same ruin. Shows park workers maintaining it. You can see the rope they used to rappel into it.
Minor ruin from the overlook with a tele lens.
Cliff Palace from an over look with a tele lens
Cliff Palace after the group moved on.
Many window house from the opposite rim with a tele lens.
Balcony House is another one where you have to pay a ranger to take you there. It involves climbing a tall ladder and crawling through a rabbit hole.
You get to go right in Balcony House, but no climbing on walls or touching anything.
Detail of stone work
Inside Balcony House.
Climbing the exit ladder.
View of the exit trail.
On to Canyons of the Ancients visitors center in Delores CO where this ruin is.
Statue in front of the visitors center
Going west from Cortez CO on McElmo creek road (good paved county road) is Sand Canyon trail into Canyons of the Ancients NM. Very large area of ruins that are undeveloped and therefore hard to see.
Sand canyon trail
First ruin we found.
Second ruin we found. We turned around after that because we needed to get down the road and didn't have any trail guide to help us find more ruins. These two were within 1.5 miles of the trailhead.
Same ruin.
Now at Hovenweep NM. You have to plan on going there, it is not on the way to anywhere, and is not very big either. It is about 40 miles east- northeast from Bluff UT.
Decomposed Bolder house.
The ruins are scattered around the rim of the canyon. About a 3 mile loop trail will get you there. But from the start of it you can see many ruins across the canyon without having to walk around the end.
The highlight of Hovenweep, a collered lizard posing on a rock.
Driving on toward Monument valley you pass the famous Mexican Hat rock.
Mexican Hat rock
Monument Valley looking south.
Looking north.
Lake Powell near Paige AZ.
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