Mesa Verde

So late Monday night we got into Mesa Verde. We really didn't do much more than find camp spot, set up camp and eat dinner. I come to a new appreciation for my parents on Monday night. One thing I remember about camping when we were little was finally arriving at the campground only to be stuck in the car driving around the camp ground til we found a "good" camp spot. I think it wasn't until I had to pick my own camp spot that I realize how hard it is to find a "good" camp spot. First you don't want a spot too close to the bathroom or too far away. You also have to find a spot that has enough room to lay down the tent on a relatively flat area. Trees are always a plus but harder to find depending on the campground. Needless to say we finally found one and I was glad to get out of the car.
Tuesday morning we meet up with my cousins from Indiana. They were bringing their oldest daughter out to school at BYU and decided to make a trip of it. It's been a couple years since I've seen the them and it amazes me how everyone is growing up. We spent Tuesday doing some of the hikes around Mesa Verde. It's been years since I've been to Mesa Verde. There are a few things that I remember but most of the details were fuzzy so it was fun to see it all again. While there we decided to do both the Balcony House and Cliff Palace Tours. Both are guided tours down through some of the bigger dwellings located at Mesa Verde. Both tours include up close views of the dwellings as well as an opportunity to climb the ladders (replicated) that would have originally been used to reach the dwellings. I'll I have to say is that the people living here couldn't possibly have had a problem with heights or it just wouldn't have worked out. It was fun to be back and piece together old memories.