Mesa Verde NP: & the original Native Americans

Mesa Verde: Cliffside History Before the Million Dollar Highway

We had Durango and the San Juan Scenic Byway on the brain—the legendary Million Dollar Highway awaited. But first, we made a pit stop in Mesa Verde National Park, because if you’re rolling through southwest Colorado, you can’t just blow past one of the most unique parks in the entire system.

First Impressions: Camp Vibes & Cliff Mysteries

We pulled into the visitor center at 4:30 p.m., clueless but curious. Mesa Verde, it turns out, isn’t your typical “mountains and meadows” park—it’s the first national park created to protect the heritage of a people. Over 5,000 archaeological sites, some more than 1,000 years old, and the largest collection of cliff dwellings in North America. World Heritage Site status? Check. Still a living, breathing place, too—Hopi, Pueblo, and Ute people continue to return to the kivas to connect with ancestors.

We lucked into a spot at Morefield Campground (score!) where tiny deer wandered past as if we were intruding on their neighborhood. Alan, ever the improviser, looked at the van and said, “Hon, forget the beach shots—let’s get that Instagram-worthy ‘open back door of the van’ pic right here.” So we swung Bessie’s back doors wide, framed the juniper woodland, and suddenly we had our signature van-life moment. Temp dropped to 40 overnight, but I had my faux-fur blanket, the heater on low, and the diesel-leak paranoia held at bay.

The Cliff Palace Adventure

The next morning was the main event: Cliff Palace. Ranger Tess, all pep and knowledge, rounded up 50 of us for the climb. You feel it up there at 8,000 feet—your lungs start whispering, “are you sure about this?” But the adrenaline takes over when you’re staring at 3 vertical ladders bolted into the stone. Up we went—hand over hand, step by step, squeezed through narrow sandstone passages until we stood inside an ancient world.

The rooms and kivas told stories of ingenuity: architecture built into alcoves for protection from weather, water collection systems, ceremonial chambers. Tess’s voice echoed against sandstone walls as she spoke of ancestral Puebloan families who once farmed corn, beans, and squash on the mesa tops, climbing up and down these cliffs like it was nothing. Forty-five minutes later we were scrambling down a different route, grinning and sweaty, humbled by the sheer audacity of people who called this place home centuries before us.

Plant Life, Mountain Air & That Knife Edge Breakfast

Mesa Verde’s landscapes aren’t just backdrop—they shift with elevation like a mixtape on shuffle. Pinyon and juniper dominate the lower canyons, then you climb into ponderosa pine and Douglas fir. In between? Chaparral, yucca, sagebrush, and wildflowers that splash yellow and purple across the dry earth. It’s desert and mountain fused together.

We wrapped it up with coffee and a breakfast sandwich at Knife Edge Café, the little perch with canyon views that makes you want to linger. But we had highway miles waiting. We packed up, pointed Bessie toward Durango, and said goodbye to the cliff dwellers.

Next stop: the San Juan Scenic Byway. Million Dollar Highway, here we come!