Day 25 - Mesa Verde, Colorado

Have you ever asked a question and received a totally unexpected answer? I had that experience today at Mesa Verde, which is the site of ancient cliff dwellings dating around 1200 or 1300 AD. The site is a world heritage site because of the archaeological value related to the preserved dwellings and the thousands of artifacts discovered. If you are ever near south western Colorado, it's worth the visit. You can read all about the history of Mesa Verde, it's fascinating. There are over 400 cliff dwellings that have been discovered, and historians believe the area supported up to 5000 folks at one time They know from dating the trees used to construct the dwellings that the community left around 1300 AD. Why? They believe their water sources dried up from a 25 year drought. I couldn't figure out why the natives would have left so many tools, bowls, and other precious items at the site. The answer: The wheel hadn't been invented in Native North American cultures at that time, so they could only take what they could carry on their backs. They also didn't have pack animals. I guess I would have had the same problem.......and I thought figuring out what to pack in the RV was difficult!