Day 25--Cortez and Mesa Verde

Sculpture by Ed Fraughton
at the Mesa Verde NP Visitor Center

What a pit house might have looked like at
Step House location, Wetherill Mesa

Cliff dwelling at Step House, Wetherill Mesa

View of Cliff Dwelling from path walking into Step House

View of canyon from Cliff Dwelling. Note the abundant
plant life, indicative of a good water supply.

Our morning started a little slower--we got up at 8 instead of 6:30 or 7! After breakfast, we drove back to the west end of town to Notah-Dineh Trading Company and Museum, a place we found last night after dinner. Because today was the only day they were open while we were in town, and because we had peeked through the window at some of the Indian-made items, we thought it would be worth a trip.

The Notah-Dideh Trading Company is the real deal. According to their website (http://notahdineh.com/), they specialize in unique Native American art, including:

• Handcarved wooden kachinas
• Sandpaintings
• Cradle boards
• Moccasins, beadwork
• Sculpture
• Beaded baskets
• Original artwork
• 14K and sterling silver jewelry

I love looking at the pottery and jewelry, and what I found in this place made me drool! We learned that the "trading" part of a trading post includes serving as a pawn shop. The sales clerk who helped us explained that many times people will bring in jewelry or other items that they just have no need for anymore, and they really don't intend to reclaim them. 


After a delightful hour or two at Notah-Dineh, we headed for the Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center (see their website for more information). This Center is a work of art in itself and well worth a stop.


With expert help from the center staff, we decided to drive to the Wetherill Mesa this afternoon, saving Chapin Mesa for tomorrow. Wetherill Mesa is the less-visited side of Mesa Verde, and in our book this is always a good selling point. The drive out to the end of the road takes about 45 minutes, with some interesting overlooks. When we arrived at the end of the road, we found several rangers in a sheltered information area along with the tram, which shuttles people around the mesa and to the starting point for the Long House tour. 

We elected to do the self-guided tour to the Step House area, where several pit houses and a cliff dwelling are located. When we got to the bottom of the canyon where Step House is located, we found two rangers who shared with us the stories of how the pit houses were discovered and a little of the history of the cliff dwelling. Some reconstruction has been done in the pit house area to give visitors an idea what these dwellings might have looked like back around AD 550 when the first Ancestral Pueblo people lived in this area.

According to the ranger, the Pueblo people who lived in this area after AD 1000 probably didn't realize they were building right next to some of their ancestors, whose dwellings had most likely been covered with falling rock and sand from the cliff above. The cliff dwelling was quite interesting, with many rooms, some of which had art on the walls. Smoky even found a wall where it looked as though someone had been making counting marks (similar to the way we might count by fives by using four straight lines with one line intersecting the four).

Long House from overlook

We climbed out of the canyon at a good clip (for us), hoping to get to the top in time for the last tram at 4:00 pm. The tram was loading up as we crested the top, so we climbed in the back row. At the first tram stop, Long House, everyone got off except us, and we had the rest of the tram ride and the driver to ourselves! She stopped at two overlooks, one of which was Long House. It was interesting to see the mesa top where the Indians had farmed and collected water.

Top level at Long House

Mountain trout at Main Street Brewery,
Cortez, Colorado

Our selection for dinner tonight was the Main Street Brewery, one of the top-listed restaurants in Cortez when we did a web search. Another great choice, this restaurant had an interesting, varied menu. We chose the mountain trout, which was delicious. It was served with fresh grilled vegetables (mushrooms, peppers, onions, zucchini), wild rice, and the most delicious beer bread we had ever eaten! Smoky and I were about to arm wrestle for the last piece when our server brought us another basket!

We crawled up our steps, tired but satisfied after a really nice day and a great meal. 

--Shann