good-times-rollin: Mesa Verde National Park

Dolores River RV Park

Dolores, CO

September 14, 2026

The view from the parking lot at Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center

There was no way to miss seeing this statue as we approached the VC which was our first stop for the day.

It's a beautiful bronze statue that stands 20 feet tall gifted to the park by the Mesa Verde Foundation. The figure is a young ancestral Puebloan man climbing a vertical rock wall. Details include small finger and toe holds carved into the stone and a basket of wood on his back.

The artist gives honor to the daily struggles, strength, and life of the early people who lived in the region.

Title: The Ancient Ones
Artist: Edward J. Fraughton
2012

As with most VCs, Rangers are on hand to answer questions and suggest POIs on the map. It's the first time Lucy has been to a National Park. Interactive displays provide info about the daily life, architecture, and culture of the Ancestral Pueblo people. Although visitors are not allowed in the Research Center, there is a designated viewing window to see where researchers examine artifacts found here. The facility houses the park's archives and an impressive repository of over three million research objects.

Just past the VC is the entrance to the park. This is the beginning of one of the most beautiful drives in our country. It's a steep 21 mile winding road to the top of the Mesa with pull-outs all along the way. Mesa Verde means "green table" in Spanish. Ancestral Puebloans lived here for more than 700 years.

President Theodore Roosevelt designated the site a National Park in 1906. It was the first U.S. national park set aside to protect human cultural history. Mesa Verde is also a designated UNESCO site

In the clouds...elevation is 7,000 to 8,400 feet above sea level with the highest point reaching 8,572 at park Point.

Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling in North America. It was built by the Ancestral Pueblo people between 1190 and 1280. The site features 150 rooms and 23 circular kivas (ceremonial and community rooms).

Historians estimate it housed around 150 residents and served as a vibrant social, administrative, and ceremonial center for smaller surrounding settlements in the canyon.

Structures were crafted from hand-shaped sandstone blocks, wooden beams, and mortar made of soil, water, and ash. Local ranchers discovered the hidden canyon site in 1888.

The multi-story palace is tightly tucked beneath the towering cliff overhang.

I did remember to take the big camera for close-ups...

The canyons at Mesa Verde are deep, sheer-sided gorges carved by water that sliced the tableland into a series of dramatic finger mesas. The floor of the canyon is cool and humid with dense vegetation like Douglas firs, Gamble oak, and pinyon-juniper forests. Farming and hunting was done on the green tabletops. What a life these people lived. The landscape was everything they needed to have a rich full life and served as their pharmacy, grocery, clothing, and hardware stores. The statue at the VC comes to life when you think of the determination and energy needed to survive.

Cliff Canyon

Natural alcoves and overhangs were carved by wind and water seepage. At every stop we saw several ruins like the one below on the left side of the photo. Some of the ruins had names...some did not.

House of Many Windows
Perched on a ten foot wide ledge
The windows are actually doorways into rooms. There is evidence of 15 rooms and a kiva.

Site 364
16 rooms and 2 kivas

It was a great visit to a new to us National Park...one that has been on the "let's go there" list for a long time. We did drive the extra 12 miles out to Wetherill Mesa to see Long House...but we were standing on top of it. Even though we didn't hike to any of the ruins, I am so happy we went. Just the drive alone is a "WOW!" around every turn.

Back at Belle, we enjoyed our stay at Dolores River. The weather was wonderful! The park was clean and quiet! The staff was friendly, helpful and always shared a smile! And we loved the river walk. I'll close with a few photos I took there.