Planning your summer getaway to Mesa Verde country? It’s a good time to mark your calendars to get in line for a ranger-led tour at the Park. Although many cliff dwellings such as Cliff Palace can be seen from overlooks, most can only be visited on a ticketed tour with a ranger. These coveted tickets are available 14 days in advance of the tour date on www.recreation.gov. When the tour season opened last year after a hiatus caused by the pandemic, folks rushed to reserve their tickets in droves and many were unable to sec
It’s that time of year when we all begin to dream of summer vacation. Depending on where you live, most of us are looking forward to sunshine, warm temperatures, and new destinations. Here in southwestern Colorado the snow piles are still huge which will provide some welcome green come summer. But right now they are daunting! We’ve had a bumper crop of snowfall this winter – and it’s still coming.
The Mancos Cattlemen’s Ranch Rodeo will be held on Sunday, July 31st, at the Robbins Family Arena on Hwy 160. Call 970-749-4244 or 970-759-4766 for more information.
Mancos is having fireworks on the 4th! Please join us at Boyle Park at dusk for a great show!
Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde NP, known as a world-famous masterpiece of architecture and design, and the largest cliff dwelling in North America, is expected to reopen July 1st of this year after the road loop accessing it closed last summer for road repairs – and then remained closed when new archeological sites were discovered. Built between 1190 and 1280 CE, Cliff Palace was once home to over 100 people.
We just learned that Mesa Verde National Park will resume its annual free Open House and Luminaria event on Thursday, December 9, 2021, from 4pm until 9pm. It will be a special evening with complimentary chili, cookies, hot chocolate, and music at the Far View Terrace.
In celebration of Mesa Verde’s dark sky certification the park will be holding programs at the Morefield Campground Amphitheater this Friday and Saturday evenings, September 10 & 11th.
Road work is expected to be active throughout the rest of the summer with the Cliff Palace Loop Road closed. The Mesa Top Loop Road will remain open, however, until road work is completed on the Cliff Palace Loop. There is still much to see and do with Long House Tours ongoing to October 23rd, as are ranger-led evening programs at Morefield Campground Amphitheatre. These programs are held at 8:30 pm through August 15th and at 8:15 pm from August 20-September 5.
