My Roadtrip: An Aussie in America Day 8

Thursday 31st October 1996

Durango

Today we visited Mesa Verde National Park, which feature ruins of numerous cliff dwelling homes and villages built by the Ancestral Puebloan people, sometimes called the Anasazi. From my friend Wikipedia:-

Ancient Pueblo People or Ancestral Puebloans were an ancient Native Americian culture centered on the present-day Four Corners area of the United States, comprising southern Utah, northern Arizona, northwest New Mexico, and a lesser section of Colorado. They lived in "houses" called pueblos in which they lifted up ladders when enemies attacked when they came near. The cultural group has often been referred to in archaeology as the Anasazi, although the term is not preferred by the modern Puebloan Peoples. The word Anasazi is Navajo for "Ancient Ones" or "Ancient Enemy".

Archaeologists still debate when this distinct culture emerged. The current consensus, based on terminology defined by the Pecos Classification suggests their emergence around 1200 BC.

This was fascinating, to see where these people lived, and how preserved some of the dwellings actually were. It was a freezing day.....I remember that so well!

We spent the day here and the afternoon walking around the gorgeous western style town of Durango. I loved seeing the shop assistants dressed in their fancy clothes all ready for Halloween. It is a big big big thing in America....the ladies wore old style saloon girl clothes with the bustieres and the frilly skirts, they looked amazing.

We were so excited to be going back to Muldoons tavern for Halloween. We spent the early evening getting ready in our hotel, painting our faces and putting on our costumes. We had the most amazing night..everyone was dressed up - I was a witch and I'll always regret losing my witches hat!!


Don't forget to check in tommorrow for some Halloween pics!