Mesa Verde National Park!

These last 2 days I was able to spend with my Daughter Makyla and her 3rd grade class on a field trip to Mesa Verde! I was a little nervous at first (mostly because we would be sleeping on the gym floor of a near by elementary school with about 100 students and adults!), but it turned out to be such a good experience! It really was the neates thing for these 3rd graders to do as a class. They were all so excited and for some this was the only trip they had ever taken! It was really neat to be able to share that with them! The park itself was so awesome as well. Really eye opening and amazing what these puebloans were able to do so many years ago! I've got a ton of pictures but will just post a few of the better one! What an experience. I totally recommend it to anyone who will be in the 4 corners area! Here's the pictures!
Some of the walls that have been unearthed from a home.
These are 2 example of shoes that they used to wear 900 years ago that are made from Yucca plants...doesn't look very comfortable!
The BEAUTIFUL view from our hike up to the escalante pueblo!
The kiva up at the escalante pueblo.
Some of the rooms to the home by the kiva...and an awesome view behind! That is Mc Phee resevoir.
Makyla sitting in one of the "rooms" answering questions in her journal about escalante pueblo.
These are some of the items that they found while uncovering the pueblo.
Makyla and Kate in the museum finding more answers to the questions in their journals.
Kyla using the mana and matata to grind the blue corn into flour. To make enough flour to feed one adult a day the women would have to grind the corn for 1 hour a day!! If you've got a large familiy (which most of them did) that would take up most of your day...plus they had to have some in storage for the winter!
Part of my group in the museum being silly. From left to right we have: Kate, Alberto, Antonia, & Makyla.
My group with pictures of ancient puebloans and their actual sizes back then. From left to right: Carly, Danny, Kate, Makyla, Alberto, & Antonia.
Makyla playing 4 square back at the elementary school we stayed at. We later played kickball...it was a lot of fun!
Danny, Makyla, & Kate getting ready to see the "Balcony House"!
Makyla's whole class and parent helpers. What a great group!
Makyla holding an ancient axe they used to use. (the handle is a re-creation, but the stone is an acutal piece they used 900 years ago!)
This is our tour guide giving the kids pointers on how best to climb the ladder, and this is the ladder that all of the kids were so excited (and scared) to climb! Their teachers had been prepping them because they always have a few who have a really hard time making it. It's about all Kyla's been talking about for the last 2 weeks! She didn't have any problems...my legs were shaky but I think that's from all the hiking we had been doing!:)
This is a better picture of how tall it actually was...32 feet to be exact! The Puebloans carved niches into the rock for foot and hand hold...I'm SOOOOOOOO glad we had a ladder!
Each kid had a buddy to climb with and to encourage one another. For the most part they did pretty well, but one kid had me so scared! He didn't say a word about being scared and just started going, but you could literally see him shaking the whole way up...and the higher he got the worse it became, but he made it!!!
Our guide talking to the kids about the "homes" they built in these natural alcoves in the mountains. It really was fascinating!
Kyla and I standing next to the door (yes that is a door and not a window) to one of the rooms at balcony house.
Kyla climbing some of the ancient foot crevaces made by the Puebloans.
At first I thought we were going to have to climb up that narrow passage way to get to the other side...if only! At the bottom there was a hole about 18 inches wide and not much bigger height wise that we had to crawl through. The kids could easily crawl, but some of us adults had to "slither"! FUN!!!
This one was called Spruce Tree House. I loved that we were able to get a better view from far away of this one. It truly is amazing how much work they put into these homes! I can only say WOW!
This is an acutal kiva how they were used back in the day.:) The others we had seen didn't have roofs on them so people could see inside, but this one we could actually enter. You can see the ladder sticking up out of the hole...that's the entrance!
This is some of my group (and a few others) down inside of the kiva. There had been so many kids down there that had kicked up dust that it smelled like old dirt, but it was very neat!
Makyla climbing out of the kiva!
Part of my group with their AMAZING teacher Mrs. Farmer! From left to right: Kate, Alberto, Antonia, Lucy, & Makyla.
My group leaving the Spruce Tree House getting ready to head home!
WHAT A GREAT TRIP!!! I loved being able to spend that time with Makyla also! She is a good girl who is growing up too fast for my taste but I love her guts!