Dale & Debbie #63: Part 2 of Colorado Adventures

12th Nov 2025

Our Colorado Adventures Continue

Part 2 — Mesa Verde National Park

Our day at Mesa Verde National Park was nothing short of fascinating! As the largest archaeological preserve in the United States—with more than 5,000 sites and 600 cliff dwellings—it offers a powerful glimpse into the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo people. On this visit, we traded our memories of touring Cliff Palace for a new adventure at Balcony House—a journey that tested both our courage and our knees! From climbing cliffside ladders to crawling through ancient tunnels, every moment was unforgettable. Join us as we relive this remarkable day exploring Mesa Verde’s history, beauty, and breathtaking heights.

We spent a long and interesting day at Mesa Verde NP! It’s the largest archaeological preserve in the US, with more than 5000 sites, including 600 cliff dwellings.

We present to you, Cliff Palace. Our family toured it years ago so this time we toured Balcony House.

Looking across the gorge at Balcony House. It can barely be seen (even with our fantastic zoom camera).

To reach Balcony House, one must hike down a cliff trail, around a ledge to the first ladder. It can only be toured with a group, and a few people in our group turned around at the turnaround point! This ladder is climbed by two at a time. Lisa went with me, and she was very encouraging! Once upon a time, I would have NEVER considered climbing a ladder on the side of a cliff so this was a big deal for me. About 3/4 of the way up, I froze. It hit me that I was very concerned about transitioning from the ladder to the ground surface. But she talked me thru it. I also knew I had to because I couldn’t back down (that is definitely not allowed).

Btw…we are not in the photo below; they were just people who went ahead of us.

This tunnel is 6’ long and dark inside. And very hard on the knees!

Dale was giving me last minute instructions on climbing the second ladder alone. I told him to stay back because I didn’t want to fall and knock us both off the cliff! He said he was there to catch me if I fell!