I left Durango about 8:45am to make the 45 minute drive to Mesa Verde National Park. Stopped at the visitor center to get a ticket for one of the tours they offer. Had to stand in line for 20 minutes and then the first available tour was for 1:00pm. Apparently the tours are very popular and sell out most of the time. It was about an hours drive to the actual Cliff Palace site.
I chose the Cliff Palace tour as it is the largest cliff dwelling in the park and the least strenuous tour. It was a one hour tour over uneven stone steps and climbing three ladders.
The weather was very nice. It was about 70 degrees when I took the tour.
Climb Up…..
So I survived the tour….the real issue is the 7000 ft elevation when you live at an elevation of 850 ft.