Trip Logue: Four Corners Day 2 – Mesa Verde National Park

To drive through the gates at many of our National Parks, you might assume you’re crossing over into a retirement community. The road and walkways are dominated largely by retired RVers, particularly on an autumn weekday, when family summer vacations are over with and kids are back in school. Typically, at a place like the Grand Canyon or Yosemite, just hike for a few hours into the backcountry, and you can be all on our own, leaving the vast majority of park visitors tied to the asphalt that they rolled their mobile homes in on, and wont venture more than a mile away from.

But in a park like Mesa Verde, where the main attraction is Anasazi ruins rather than wilderness (although the wilderness aint nothing to sneeze at either), it can be tough to escape the droves of humanity. Rangers offer ‘extreme tours’ that involve climbing ladders and a bit of rope-assisted climbing, but nothing truly worthy of the ‘extreme’ moniker. So, for those looking for a true adventure experience, Mesa Verde might not be you thing. Still, I highly recommend kicking back and learning a little bit if you do go from your elders, both the Anasazi that came before us, and the retired vet standing next to you on your tour.

Here’s the photo tour of our guided tour: