In the 1959’s, my parents took us cross country from NY to California. We stopped at Mesa Verde, which fascines me, a child from N Y. That evening, there was a camp fit and a ranger told us stories about the people who lived there many years before. He or she told us about “ chewed bread, how native women chewed the grain to sweeten it before baking. My sister and I, probably around 9-11 years old, were grossed out, but in the ending years, I have admired the ingenuity of those early ancestors and have pretty clear memories of an open fire in a fire pit, a star studded sky, a feeling of immensity an timelessness in that evening, thanks to a wonderful park ranger
Sincerely,
Mesa Verde National Park
This World Heritage Site preserves more than 600 cliff dwellings typical of the Ancestral Puebloan culture, which lasted from about 450 to 1300. The allure of this park is not only the remarkable ruins, but also the mystery of the people who inhabited them.
State(s): Colorado
Established: 1906
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