mesa Verde and beyond

A very early start saw us in the park by 8.30am, we weren't the first! We had picked the most difficult one to get to - as usual! Balcony house trail started with a 30 foot ladder climb in. The houses were built into the sandstone wall of a natural shelf in the canyon wall - how the Pueblo Indians got to it I can't guess! There were a lot of tight squeezes to get through and then the climax was a wriggle through a 18" hole and up another ladder - but it was great fun.
The afternoon saw us at Cliff Palace - a much bigger village, same set up tucked into a large crevice but not so difficult to get to. What was difficult was the lecture given by the guide who said she was an adopted Hopi Indian who went on and on about the Earth's breath - we could have done without it and only spent a short while in the actaul ruin.
The ruins are twelth centuary.
From the Mesa Verdi we high tailed it South West to get to Monument Valley for tomorrow!