Comments on Mesa Verde National Park

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The kivas always fascinated me. Here is a quote you have probably alread read, but I find it intriguing.

"The kivas had an efficient ventilation system. The large pit in the center of the floor was a fireplace. Fresh air was drawn in through the ventilator shaft at your feet, hit the deflector wall between the ventilator outlet and the firepit and circulated evenly through the entryway. Beyond the firepit in the center of the floor is a small hole. This hole, called a sipapu (see-pah-poo), represents the opening through which man emerged onto the face of the earth. . . . Niches held special ceremonial objects such as turquoise, shell beads, and prayer sticks. . . . The bench was used for storage of many ceremonial objects; the pilasters supported the beams of the roof." Spruce Tree House, Mesa Verde Museum (Mesa Verde National Park, n.d.), p.15.

posted by TAPS. on February 17, 2009 at 11:26 PM | link to this | reply

goodwhisky, I think it's because we are all, under the skin,

human beings. We all face the same problems, though our technologies differ for solving them. Every human culture that evolved from throwing rocks and sticks at their food has dealt with the same resources--rocks and sticks--and physics, that guide how things fly and impact other things. What's really surprising is what some cultures evolved without--like the wheel, in the Americas, which shows up only on children's toys somewhere in Meso or South America only--I don't recall where exactly.

posted by Ciel on February 10, 2009 at 12:23 PM | link to this | reply

Wonderful...haunting...

posted by teddypoet_TheGoodByeFade on February 10, 2009 at 10:42 AM | link to this | reply

Fascinating, those dwellings are reminiscent of the monastries in Spiti and Ladakh. I really must figure out how to post photographs. Amazing how around the world human development followed a pattern.

posted by goodwhisky on February 6, 2009 at 10:55 PM | link to this | reply

Re: TAPS,

Good for him. Wouldn't that be a wonderful place to work on a daily basis.

posted by TAPS. on February 6, 2009 at 4:24 PM | link to this | reply

Re: Wow! What an amazing place!

Absolutely! There is great beauty up and down the East Coast, but nothing there can prepare you for what you will find in the Rockies and beyond.

posted by Ciel on February 6, 2009 at 11:15 AM | link to this | reply

TAPS,

Mesa Verde soes seem to fascinate at any age! My first visit, I was 10, and took my son for his first time, when he was 10. On a trip that took in dinosaurs, caverns, canyons and mountains, this was his favorite, alongside Carlsbad Caverns. He has been back once since then, a couple of years ago, and it fuels his intent to become a National Park Ranger for real. He is taking classes now that will add up to the ideal education for a Ranger at Mesa Verde!

posted by Ciel on February 6, 2009 at 11:13 AM | link to this | reply

Wow! What an amazing place!

I've spent my life to date on the East coast, I really have to get out west!

posted by calia14 on February 5, 2009 at 9:44 PM | link to this | reply

The first time we took our boys here they were preschoolers and they were so fascinated with it. Through the years they loved learning about the history of it. They especially loved the story of the Wetherills and began to play that they were the Wetherill brothers out looking for their cattle and discovered the cliff dwellings themselves. Their favorite place to play that game was in the Garden of the Gods.

http://wetherillfamily.com/alwetherill.pdf

posted by TAPS. on February 5, 2009 at 6:40 PM | link to this | reply

Re: Ciel... what state is this park in? New Mexico?

Actually, it is in the southwestern corner of Colorado, near the town of Cortez.

posted by Ciel on February 5, 2009 at 11:29 AM | link to this | reply

Since I was a kid, my first visit here, Ravenmarie,

I have fantasized about moving in.

posted by Ciel on February 5, 2009 at 11:28 AM | link to this | reply

Re: Beautiful!

Yes, it is --I can recommend making visits to both, to see what makes them similar, and different. For one thing, Canyon de Chelly is still lived-in.

posted by Ciel on February 5, 2009 at 11:27 AM | link to this | reply

Wait a little-it will be very cold now, I think... But lovely to get there

in the quiet of late spring before the crowds arrive! There is a campground on top of the mesa, near the visitor center.

posted by Ciel on February 5, 2009 at 11:25 AM | link to this | reply

Ciel... what state is this park in? New Mexico?

Very pretty pics and place! I wasn't expecting to see such historical tribute paid!

posted by gypsypoet1975 on February 4, 2009 at 4:48 AM | link to this | reply

Just imagine what this looked like with people living in it. Wonderful. I love looking at your photos it's like taking a vacation.