Day 82, Friday, October 5, 2018
Mesa Verde National Park, Wetherill Mesa
It was my last day in Mesa Verde National Park. That morning I got up about 6:30, because I had a big day waiting for me! I got changed and on the road about 7:30 am. My ranger-led tour of Long House was at 9:30, but it was about an hour and 10 minute drive to the meeting point on Wetherill Mesa. I arrived in plenty of time.
My tour of Long House was awesome! It is a 2.25 mile hike, mostly flat and on a paved trail. Long House is one of the later cliff dwellings, and it is as large as Cliff House. The ranger explained what historians know about the Puebloan people who lived in this dwelling. To get into Long House you have to climb up two ladders and climb down one small one to get back out at the end. The ranger also showed us some black and white pottery shards that were found at the site.
On the tour I met Carol, a young woman from Wisconsin who was living in Chicago and finishing her Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy. She was on a solo road trip like me!
Carol and I hiked to Step House afterwards, which is a one mile round trip hike near Long House. It is self-guided, but a ranger is there to answer questions. Step House has a rare reverse pictograph where someone long ago put their hand up and blew pigment around it. It was cool! There used to be a Bighorn Sheep petroglyph there, but the National Park Service removed it for safekeeping in the 1960s.
After our Step House hike I said my goodbyes to Carol and got back on the road. I really enjoyed my time in Mesa Verde, but it was time to see new places. I was headed to Hovenweep National Monument next!
Wine and History Visited 