Mesa Verde National Park.

Ancient Spirits, Death Defying Ladders, & Laughter with Local Legends

by Gary & Lisa Oster

If you’re tracking our route on a map, you might think we didn’t plan our trip very carefully. Instead of a beeline to anywhere, we zigged and zagged our way south-southeast toward the Four Corners region and landed in Cortez, Colorado—home to our friends Kelly and Laura, who are both sunshine and sandstone rolled into two of the kindest people we’ve ever met.

Though I’ve known Kelly online (a fellow LTVer) for four years, this was our first time meeting in person—and it felt like a long-overdue family reunion. Within minutes, he was inside the RV helping me ‘MacGyver’ a temporary fix for our DC-to-DC charger. Kelly is part mountain goat, part electrician, part Jedi Knight.

But before I go any further, Lisa wanted to add a bit more about our visit to Mesa Verde National Park and our wonderful hosts—so I’ll let her round out the rest of today’s post…

LISA: Haha, Gary! As always, you exaggerate just a little. (Gary really said to me “Since you read that book “House of Rain” about Pueblo history, you can write about Mesa Verde.”) Did he think I became an expert? Hardly!

But okay, here goes:

A huge thanks to Kelly and Laura for their hospitality! As I mentioned in my last post, they are two of the most generous, genuine lovely down-to-earth people you’d ever want to meet. We were treated like royalty—only without the crown and the red carpet.

While the boys bonded over RV guts and gear, Laura welcomed me with a glass of wine and a tour of her beautiful home and flower-filled garden. I felt instantly welcome. We connected over gardening, dogs, RV life, and the glorious mountains and valleys surrounding their corner of Colorado. By hour three, it felt like we’d been friends for years.

Before heading to Mesa Verde National Park, Kelly suggested we start at the Canyons of the Ancients Visitor Center and Museum—and it was the perfect call. This region holds the highest known density of archaeological sites in the U.S., and the museum sets the scene beautifully. Outside, there’s a short garden trail with native plants and panoramic views. Inside, we wandered among pottery shards, woven sandals, ancient tools, and centuries of stories. It helped us appreciate what we’d see the next day so much more.

That night, we were spoiled with Kelly’s authentic homemade green chili dinner (Colorado style, of course—thicker, spicier, and served with black beans and tamales), followed by a campfire, stargazing, belly laughs, and a few glasses of a little something to warm us up. Kelly told stories, Gary told lies in an Irish accent (that was from the little something to warm us), and Laura added the wisdom - and her Irish accent wasn’t bad either! Soon we hit the rack and fell asleep feeling lucky and full.

The next morning: Mesa Verde.

Designated a national park in 1906, Mesa Verde protects over 5,000 archaeological sites including 600 cliff dwellings—all left behind by the Ancestral Puebloans who lived here from roughly 600 to 1300 AD. These weren’t just cliff houses. They were vibrant, complex communities that adapted to changing climates and terrain.

I learned Mesa Verde means “green table” in Spanish, and the park is almost exactly that—a forested plateau sliced by deep canyons. But I thought it odd it was named something in Spanish, no one was Spanish! (I learned why later-the explorers who first discovered it were Spanish.) And a mesa is flat on top, and these canyons were are not flat on top. Hmmmm! Interesting tidbits….

Anyway, First AMAZING stop: Cliff Palace.

Built into a massive sandstone alcove, Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling in North America. With over 150 rooms and 23 kivas it once housed more than 100 people. (Kivas are believed to be ritual and community spaces, like a living room, ranging in size and often round.) We climbed up and down stone steps and wooden ladders, guided by a ranger who painted vivid pictures of daily life—food storage, ceremonies, family routines, and possible reasons the site was eventually abandoned. You could almost hear the echoes. It was incredibly moving, and spiritual knowing we were standing in a place that was occupied more than 1000 years ago - in America!

As we rode around the Mesa rim to tour several other dwellings, we stopped at a tiny little roadside stand for a tasty treat. A Native American woman and her brother Michael were making “fry bread.” We scarfed them down in minutes! And we were lucky enough to sit around a picnic table with him as he shared stories about his people and the land. It added incredible color to our visit.

Next Stop Balcony House.

This was the adrenaline version. It involves a 32-foot ladder, a tunnel crawl, a stone staircase, and a scramble across rock ledges. Let’s just say it’s not for the faint of heart—or for people who skipped too many workouts.

But wow, the payoff! The views stretch across the Montezuma Valley, and the architecture is mind-blowingly clever. These weren’t primitive people—they were planners, builders, and engineers.

Mesa Verde isn’t just about the past. It’s a celebration of human resilience, adaptation, and artistry. Many of the dwellings were built from sandstone blocks hand-shaped with stone tools, held together by mortar made of dirt, water, and ash. Some date back more than 800 years, and evidence shows humans were living in this area thousands of years BC.

After a full day of wonder—and a few sore hands from gripping hot wooden ladders—we headed to Mancos, a tiny town with big charm. We found a cozy outdoor pub, shared a yummy pizza, sampled spiked ciders, and toasted our delightful hosts.

Laura and Kelly felt less like new friends and more like the kind of people you accidentally spend five hours talking to on a porch swing. (And yes, Laura’s garden really is as lovely as her heart.)

The next morning, after a hearty breakfast in downtown Cortez and one last group hug, we pointed our course due east towards Durango (and of course like we always do, we missed the first turn and ended up in Kelly’s neighbors driveway lol!)

GARY: Nice job, Lis! Just don’t forget—I’m the one with the PhD in General Knowledge and a natural sense of direction.

LISA: (He gave himself that PhD title, by the way.) As always, we differ on the silly stuff. But on the big things—friends, family, and this once-in-a-lifetime road trip—we’re perfectly in sync. Back to you G!

GARY: Well readers, thanks for following along. There’s much more to come—quirks, climbs, and maybe another ladder or two!

Oh and thank goodness I had my stunt double/doppleganger ready to take my place on some of these harrowing sheer climb up the canyon walls. Of course LisaMarie had no fear as we were teetering on the edge of the abyss; me some of the vertical climbs were a bit ‘knee-knocking’.

What’s next? I hope you stay along for our great visit to an authentic western mountain town and a couple of its neighbor villages as we tour the scenic 25 mile, Million Dollar Highway.