After getting parked at the KOA in Cortez and set up we took off in Willie (he was so excited to be unhooked and able to move on his own!) and went to visit Mesa Verde National Park.
From the campground Mesa Verde was about eight miles back the way we came from then another 15 miles up into the back country. The road to the actual site is very pretty and very twisty and turny. Mesa Verde is a National Park so we could use our Golden Age Passport – that sure has saved us money over the years – one of the government’s best deals. About half way up the road was a sign – no towed vehicles beyond this point and there was a parking lot for people to leave their trailer, 5th wheel or tow car. It was full. Understood why as we continued on. Several tight U-turns as we climbed up the mesa. Stopped at the Visitor Center and picked up information. They have several tours for $3 per person that take you right down into/upto the pueblos. We got there pretty late in the day and with my foot being sore we didn’t take any. In fact it was the first time I’ve worn actual shoes since I broke it. The tours all involved walking and climbing ladders etc. Don’t think so. I can walk for a while okay but not too far. Would like to come back sometime and spend more time there and take the tours. So we took the driving tour that takes you to see several of the ruins without too much walking. Pretty incredible. How did they every build those places?
According to the literature we picked up Mesa Verde was a thriving community about 1,400 years ago. The Anasazi lived there for more than 700 years. Cowboys found the pueblos in the 1880s. The dwellings were built beneath the overhanging cliffs. There were also dwellings called Pithouses. These were dug into the earth.
Square Tower House
This pueblo,Square Tower House, is tucked into one of the many alcoves eroded into the cliffs. There is a great view of this with little walking. The whole dwelling photo taken from a walkway above it.
Just a close up of part of it.
You can see where the smoke blakened the stone above it.
They reached their fields and dwellings by hand and toe hold trails dug into the canyon walls. 
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These dwellings are 7,700 feet high. Some of these had 30 to 40 rooms in two stories, and kivas with towers and tunnels. Wish I could remember what each was called.
The Cliff Palace has 150 rooms and is the largest cliff dwelling in No America. This one can be toured (see people.)
The Sun Temple is a thickwalled structure without a roof. It may have been a ceremonial center.
Pictures taken from across a ravine of several different dwellings.
A double decker condo - the basic construction material was sandstone that they shaped into rectangular blocks about the size of a loaf of bread. The mortar was a mix of dirt and water.
They were experienced builders. Walls are tall and straight and have withstood the tests of time. 
Living rooms averaged about 6 feet by 8 feet, space enough for 2 or 3 people. Rooms in the rear were generally used for storing crops.
They tossed their trash down the slopes in front of their homes. So much information about their daily living came from the trash heaps. 
The Anasazi left no written records. But these structures tell of a people adept at building and making a living from a difficult land.
If you are ever in that area don't miss this.
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