Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Off the Beaten Track at Mesa Verde National Park

A tour of Mug House
First of all, the wildfires in Southwestern Colorado have not travelled to Mesa Verde, thank goodness. The Weber Fire is located more than 15 miles away, just south and mostly east of Mancos, and south of Highway 160.  It is dry and hot here.  It seems the archaeological sites are very vulnerable. Yesterday a fire exploded near the Chimney Rock Archaeological Area but was contained within 24 hours.   Before the fires started, we had a fantastic opportunity to veer from the main track at Mesa Verde on a guided tour of Mug House. Limited to 10 people and led by a National Park Service intepreter, the Mug House tour was the best Mesa Verde experience I've had in over 40 years of visiting the Park. The tours are offered three times a week at the cost of $25 a person--well worth it if you ask me. You meet on Wetherill Mesa, take a quick twenty minute walk along the Park road, and scramble down a trail to this lovely place.  Mug House was named for the ancient ceramic mugs that modern explorers found hanging on a cord when they "re-discovered" the site.