Mesa Verde

Today was another sunshiny day in the Southwest.  At Mesa Verde, you drive twenty miles on switchbacks to get to the top of the mesa which is at 7,000' versus the valley at 6200'.  The ruins are on the mesa and the canyon walls, about 150' down from the top edge. It looks like fire has killed the majority of the mesa top cedars over the last 20 years.  The cliff houses are as unique as ever plus the September visit reduces the crowds and is mainly old codgers with a few foreigners mixed in.  We hit the main attractions and were pretty well worn out after 8+ hours. An interesting park but definitely not our favorite. The big change in the last twenty years is that this world heritage site is now about the great Ancestral Pueblo Culture instead of the Anasazi.  Anasazi meant evil or warlike ancient peoples where these were good Indians that ran out of water and food during the late 1280AD droughts caused by climate change. Politics, government never changes, history will continue to be rewritten depending on who is in control and what money can be made.  I wonder who got the contract to change all the signs and literature and how much the Congresspersons stuck in their pockets to correct this politically incorrect, diversity challenged "error".