7/14 - Saturday - Mesa Verde National Park

On Saturday, we visited the other portion of the park on Chapin Mesa. We toured Spruce Tree House and Cliff Palace. This side of the park has more sites and definitely more people. If you only had one day in the park, you’d want to go to this side. The museum is also on this side. We had no problem filling the day visiting these sites. Driving time between the two mesas and entrance to the park is very long. Plan accordingly. Both of the sites we toured had lots of good climbing opportunities for the kids. Some of the sites have these long ladders that are used to climb in and out of the dwellings. The girls loved it. I think one is close to 30 feet high, so if you are afraid of heights, it might not be the best choice.