Dusty Jeans & Genes - Part 10 - Balcony House

Wednesday, 25 April 2018

Mesa Verde National Park

We had only a day and a half to visit Mesa Verde National Park. We needed another day, for sure. (So that means we have a reason for another road trip!) It's early in the season here, and parts of the park were still closed.

Mesa Verde is known for its cliff-dwellings. For an unknown reason, the mesa-top puebloans who lived in the area, decided to take shelter in caves near the top of the canyon walls. This period only lasted about 100 years, and then the people left the area for reasons unknown. We took a tour of one of these cliff-dwellings, Balcony House.

The tour approach to Balcony House starts with a descent of about 75 feet to a trail that runs along a ledge below the canyon rim.

At the end of this trail, you need to climb a 32-foot ladder to get to the cliff dwelling. (This is not the original entrance to the house.)

Tour participants climbing the ladder.

Lon coming into the large "North Plaza". The North Plaza has an uncommon parapet wall, which leads to speculation that the village children spent their time in this area.

The park ranger talks about Balcony House. It's on several levels, and probably had about 40 residents. The house faces northeast, so it gets very little direct sunlight. It would be pleasantly cool in the summer, but bone-chillingly cold in the winter.

A narrow passage led to the next plaza, the "Kiva Plaza". You can see the sheer drop-offs from the walkways around the kivas.

A peek into one of the two kivas. The kiva would have been covered with a roof, and would be accessed by a ladder coming down through the smoke hole. Air is vented into the kiva from a hole in the surrounding wall that leads to the rectangular opening at the bottom of the kiva. The small wall deflects the incoming air for good circulation.

The tour exits through a small tunnel. You have to crawl through it. This was the original entrance to the dwelling.

Lon emerging from the tunnel.

To get back to the top of the canyon, we first had to climb up a 15-ft ladder.

Then we had to negotiate steps carved into the rock. The original inhabitants didn't have the safety fence! And in parts there were only toe and finger-holds to get up and down the rock.

A final 15-foot ladder gets to a short trail back to the parking lot.

This tour was quite an experience! And not recommended for people who are claustrophobic or afraid of heights. But it opened a fascinating window on an ancient culture.