I Want to Live in a Cliff.

From when I was little, I've always been obsessed with the idea of living in fantastical places -- in trees, underwater, on top of a cloud, you name it. So being at Mesa Verde was kind of a dream come true. The whole park has more than 100 vertical communities like Spruce Tree House built into the cliffs of the canyons:

Spruce Tree House

The main attractions at Mesa Verde are the cliff dwellings left behind by Pueblo Indians back in 1200-1300. It being the off-season, we were only able to tour one -- Spruce Tree House, so named because there used to be a gigantic tree in front.

Inside was an entire self-contained community, including private dwellings, a marketplace, food storage, kivas (underground ceremonial rooms) and even a dance plaza.







Me going down a ladder into a kiva!

Day 16: Mesa Verde National Park

This week we'll be doing a whirlwind National Parks tour here in the Southwest. For starters, we hit up Mesa Verde National Park. It's totally a must-see -- I highly recommend! The drive up the mountain was spectacular.





Wild horses!