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Colorado

Mesa Verde National Park and Pagosa Hot Springs

Today’s adventure started in Mesa Verde National Park, home of the famed cliff dwellings of the Pueblo Ancestors. The park is surrounded on three sides by a Ute Indian reservation, so it takes nearly an hour of driving to reach the cliff dwellings that are near the southern edge of the property. We took an interpreted tour of Cliff Palace and saw several other cliff cities. At the peak of the Pueblo Ancestral people’s use of Mesa Verde in the 1300s, 4000 to 5000 people lived in the area. To put that in perspective, Cliff Palace is the largest dwelling and probably was home to about 120 people.

Cliff House at Mesa Verde National Park Cliff House at Mesa Verde National Park Foundation to a pre-cliff dwelling on Mesa Verde

In the afternoon, we drove to Pagosa Hot Springs, CO. We’re staying in The Springs Resort, which has 18 pools fed by the hot spring, plus two heated fresh water pools. We’ve enjoyed soaking in the various pools and dipping our feet in the cold river that the pools drain into. Today, the pools have ranged in temperature from 96 degrees to 114 degrees. We’ve enjoyed sampling the different pools. Our favorite so far is called Marco Polo, which was 100 degrees most of the day today, small enough to be cozy with four people, secluded, and right on the river, so we could hear the soothing river sounds.

The Springs Resort from across the San Juan River A hot sulphur spring In The Marco Polo hot spring fed pool

Tomorrow, we’re going to enjoy more of the hot spring pools, then head to Colorado Springs. We’ll stay two days there and see Pike’s Peak, Garden of the Gods, and hopefully see some of the famous buildings at the Air Force Academy.