SUNDAY DINNER TO CELEBRATE THE 4th

LITTLE MISS INDEPENDENCE
HAPPY 4th of JULY
SUNDAY DINNER WITH THE FAMILY
Each family supplied their own dinner, Yea! Thanks everyone!

THE STRONG'S, CURTIS'S AND RUDEL'S CAME TO DINNER

AUNT NATALIE IS KEEPING STRIDER HAPPY WITH HER BOTTLE OF MOUNTAIN DEW......NO SHE IS NOT FEEDING IT TO HIM WE PROMISE.

MESA VERDE-----------JUNE 29th------------SPRUCE TREE HOUSE

SPRUCE TREE HOUSE
SELF GUIDED
We spotted some flowering cactus on our way down to the dwelling

Spruce Tree House is right below this mesa.
The Ancestral Puebloans farmed above on the mesa.

A closer look of the dwellings as we were descending down

Spruce Tree House & kids

At Spruce Tree House we could actually descend down into the Kiva

Inside the Kiva
Cramped quarters, but they were also small people

Going back up

Dresden peeking around one of the corners

Smooth stones used for grinding their corn

The rooms went quite a ways back

LONG HOUSE CLIFF DWELLINGS

THESE DWELLINGS WERE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MESA, AN HOUR AWAY
While waiting for our tour, the wind picked up and it started raining. We hid as best we could during the down pore. It was over within 10 minutes and we were on our way to Long House

Half of our trip was buy tram and the other by foot

By now the kids have heard enough from the Park Rangers, they are ready to just go explore

Almost there

Getting closer

This is an original pile of wood that was left centuries ago

Each of the dwellings that we have seen have been impressive

Jay & Natalie

The kids are still hanging in there, this is another Kiva that is being shown

I loved the ladders, they were so strong

The end of the tour and the kids are still being good, we were so proud of them. We were told by a lot of people how impressed they were with our Mesa Verde Kids.

We were hungry bored and tired at the restaurant. It was good food, but the service that night was not what it had been praised for. Logan helped by entertaining us while we were waiting.

Thanks for being good kids, we love you

IT WAS AN AWESOME TRIP, HOPE OUR OTHER KIDS WILL HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY IN THE NEAR FUTURE!

MESA VERDE------------------------JULY 29th------------THE BALCONY HOUSE

BALCONY HOUSE
waiting to go down the cliff to the next dwelling

Sydney is picked to be the Park Rangers assistant
She will be the leader of our group

The spring (by Dresden) was a part of their water supply

We climbed up and down ladders and also went through tiny tunnels to and from the dwelling

Balcony House
Natalie, John & Donna
Logan, Collin, Dresden & Sydney

Sydney, Logan, Dresden & Collin

This cliff dwelling was named Balcony house because it had a small balcony outside these windows. The wood polls were also original to the era.

A closer look of the balcony

Our guide pointed out the rectangular spot on the ceiling. You can tell there must have been a room inside this space at one time.

Kiva
We learned that these rooms had a fire pit in the center. Air would come in through the tunnel (left) for ventilation purposes, and so to keep the fire burning a wall would be put between the tunnel and fire.

The boys are checking out some of the rooms

Our park ranger thanked Sydney and the other kids for their help, she also gave each of them a Jr. Park Ranger badge. They were thrilled!

More tunnels to conquer while leaving the cliff dwelling

As you can see we had to crawl on our hands and knees at one point

Then more climbing

It was worth it!