appaloosa's photos with the keyword: Mesa Verde National Park

DAY 7 WED 3 OCT 2012 Cliff Palace (silly name for an ancient and native ancestral site, if you ask me) Mesa Verde's largest cliff dwelling. This historical and archaeological site is accessible via a ranger-guided tour that makes a 1/4 mile loop and lasts about an hour. I did not go down into the site (but my husband and guide did - since they both seemed to be less afraid of heights than I was), and involves climbing five, 8-10ft ladders, on a 100ft (30m) vertical climb. The tour begins at Cliff Palace overlook, which is a 23-mile (37km), one-hour drive from the Visitor and Research Center.

DAY 6 TUES 2 OCT 2012 Coyote stole the stars laid out by First Man and scattered them, willy nilly, across the heavens. Yet, from Coyote's mischievous behavior, changes came about that made life better. From Coyote's foolishness, mortals gained wisdom, learned what, and what not, to do. Coyote is a prominent figure in Native American lore and mythology. The Navajo regard coyote as a trickster - mischievous, cunning, alert. Both sacred and profane, Coyote gives birth to mischief and promise, he is a deceiver, but also a deliverer of good. Through his actions, change becomes possible; and change, through good and bad, brings newness and breaks conformity. - Gerald Hausman, The Gift of the Gila Monster, Navajo Ceremonial Tales ; 1993