Mesa Verde is famous for its numerous cliff dwellings of the Anazasi people.
Our initial plan is to stay for the night in the Mesa Verde Campground and visit the park April 30 and April 31(!). I wonder about the bear-proof trash cans at the parking and ask a ranger at the visitor center about bears. "Oh - our bears are nice and quiet. Just put everything in the trunk and you will be fine." We buy a ticket for a guided tour through the famous Cliff Palace dwelling.
After the Cliff Palace Tour, we drive along the loop in the park and have a look at the other cliff dwellings. Cliff Palace is definitely the largest one. It's funny that you only notice the real size of a cliff dwelling when you are standing right inside.
On the way to the campground, we notice that there is no April 31 and decide to drive as far as possible on the way back. Unfortunately, we take a road (HW550) that leads high through the mountains of Colorado (several passes at more than 10,000ft). The winding road might be very scenic at daylight, but it is not really nice to drive there in the dark. So, we do not get that far and stop in the town of Montrose.
