Suzy and I were visiting family on the western side of Colorado, in July of 2008, when we detoured down to the southwestern corner of the state to see the ancient cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park, built by the ancestral Puebloan people, known also as the Anasazi. About 30 miles from Durango, taking a break from driving, I took my first shots of the trip around a nearby hummingbird feeder.

Note: It's no small task getting good clear shots from the middle of a tour group. I found it best to stay towards the front of the group and grab shots quickly along the way before the group spread out. Hanging back towards the rear seemed to be the most common strategy, which meant the from worked out well for me. A little additional cropping at home removed the few heads that did get in the way.

Entering Balcony House on our first tour, I was a little surprised to hear that this ladder was actually put here by the park service for tourist convenience only: design of course, so it at least look authentic. Originally, the only access to Balcony House was through a small crawl space on the far side - which is the tour's exit.

the Kivas (this one seen at Balcony house) were covered structures designed to draw in air and deflect it around a fire, and were believed to be used for religious purposes.

After lunch, we took the afternoon tour of Cliff Palace. As Mesa Verde's largest cliff dwelling, Cliff Palace has 150 rooms, 23 Kivas, and was thought to be home for as many as 100 people. The next two shots were taken on this tour.

We came across this view of the north end of Cliff Palace after our tour, from the opposite / west side of the canyon, as we drove around the Mesa Top Loop road later in the afternoon.

The House of Many Windows is just one of many smaller dwellings we were able to see from the viewing areas located around the park. I can only imagine what it must have been like hundreds of years ago to be a part of this fascinating and unique culture.

After leaving the Durango area, we spent the next few days based out of Ridgway State Park, a couple hours to the north. While this isn't really my style of camping - with Suzy being asked by another guest "Whatcha pullin?" - I loved this view of what I think is Coxcomb Peak, in the San Juan Mountains.

The air had been extremely hazy during our stay at Ridgeway, possible a fire burning somewhere, but a little haze usually makes for a good colorful sunset, marking the end of a good day and a good trip.