#12 Mesa Verde National Park

Balcony House

Location: Colorado
Established: 1906
Size: 52,074 acres
Highest Point: 8,571 feet

Mesa Verde National Park is the most interesting park that I have been to from a cultural point of view.  It was established to protect the cliff dwellings of the Anasazi, the "ancient ones", who inhabited the area from 550 - 1300 AD.    There are over 4,000 individual sites in the area but the most impressive are the elaborate apartment complexes, the most famous of which is Cliff Palace.   These apartment complexes are built into large alcoves that natural forces eroded into the sides of the cliffs.    They include areas for storage of grain, private apartments and communal areas which included their kivas, underground circular areas that were used for ceremonial events.   The descendants of the Anasazi consider the area sacred and come back to the remains of the kivas to perform rituals.   To see most of these major ruins you have to reserve a spot on a tour because they don't want too many people in them at one time.  But the tours make it so much more interesting.   I remember the Balcony House tour guide explaining that the life expectancy of the Anasazi was around 30 something because their dietary staple was corn meal ground in stone crucibles.   Because it was ground with stone implements, sand was mixed with the meal and it ground away the teeth of the Anasazi until by the time they were 30 something they had no teeth and they basically died of malnutrition. 

Why did they leave?  No one knows for sure but a very plausible explanation is drought.  They were farmers and depended heavily on yearly rains for their crops which they grew on top of the mesa.    The sources of water at the top of the mesa were unreliable even during normal times.

Happy Birthday Philip!

Stavesacre Performing at Czech Hall

This is the 10th anniversary of Philip's 16th birthday party.  So I thought I would do a little reminiscing about that event and show lots of pictures.  We rented the Czech Hall one night and booked Stavesacre, one of Philip's favorite Tooth and Nail bands at the time from Orange County, CA.  We actually lucked out that Stavesacre was touring in the area with Puller, a band from Edmond. 

We sent out invitations and about 60 - 70 kids showed up, mostly from Yukon High School.  We had lots of food.  Pizza, cheese and crackers, cokes, etc.  We overestimated the amount of cheese logs that we would need.  Our family snacked on those logs from the freezer for years after that.

The bands were able to figure out how to balance power across the circuits in the building and were able to rock the place out without blowing a fuse.

We had a drawing for t-shirts and a couple Stavesacre CD's.  The band members were really nice.  They spent a lot of time talking to the kids after the concert.  One of the most satisfying things about the event was when Philip told me that there was one guy that had sort of ridiculed him for liking Christian music but that stopped after the concert.  I think everyone had a lot of fun.  Enjoy the pictures.

Philip takes someone down in the mosh pit

head banging

Didn't think he had much between his ears (j/k)

#13 Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Location: Texas
Established: 1972
Size: 86,416 acres
High Point: Guadalupe Peak 8,749 feet (highest point in Texas)
Hiking trails: 80 miles

(Photo courtesy of the NPS)

I visited Guadalupe Mountains National Park in October of 2001 on the way back from Big Bend National Park.  I stopped to take a hike up into McKittrick Canyon to Pratt's cabin.  The maples and oaks where in full color at the time and it made for a beautiful hike.   I took some slides but my slides are in total disarray and it would take a long time to find them.