Cliff Palace - Mesa Verde National Park

DAY 7
WED 3 OCT 2012
Cliff Palace (silly name for an ancient and native ancestral site, if you ask me)

Mesa Verde's largest cliff dwelling.

This historical and archaeological site is accessible via a ranger-guided tour that makes a 1/4 mile loop and lasts about an hour. I did not go down into the site (but my husband and guide did - since they both seemed to be less afraid of heights than I was), and involves climbing five, 8-10ft ladders, on a 100ft (30m) vertical climb. The tour begins at Cliff Palace overlook, which is a 23-mile (37km), one-hour drive from the Visitor and Research Center.