Southwest Colorado

 People were quite excited to hear we were going from Montrose to Mancos Colorado.  A couple said great you would be going down million dollar highway. In reality, we only went down $500,000 highway, Co 145. Apparently, Co 550 is a white knuckled road that sensible people don't tow large RVs. We opted for the easier route; the scenery on it was magnificent. The leaves were changing and the sun was shining.  We ended up at our RV resort about 1mile from Mesa Verde National park.

our ride on the $500,000 rode

We followed the San Miguel River for a while

the leaves were at their peak color change

we even saw a herd of sheep in one area

the mountains were so colorful

this was before we turned off the million dollar highway

we really enjoyed the drive

there were a few pull outs where we could stop for photos

once again, the drive had so much beauty

we made a special trip to take Ripley's picture with the sign

Mesa Verde National Park protects the Pueblo dwellings

the area where they are located

we toured Cliff Palace, which featured the ladders

the newest theory is Cliff Palace was more like a market place than family homes

apparently there is not enough smoke on the ceilings to be homes

this is a Kiev, thought to be a ceremonial meeting place

this is an individual cliff dwelling

you could get up close and personal with Spruce Tree House

this leads down to a Kiev, at Spruce Tree House

the view on the way down the Mesa

as far as the eye can see

Mesa Verde means green table

right down there is our campsite