Mesa Verde, CO

My first day in the Southwest Joanne took me up to Mesa Verde. Over 8,000 feet up. It is considered an ancestral homeland for the Pueblo people, which exclude the Navajo tribe. Anasazi is the name used for all the ancestral tribes of the Southwest. The Pueblo have largely diverse cultures, languages, histories, ceremonies. Pueblo people lived together in towns and were farming people. Mesa Verde was abandoned in the 1300’s. There continues to be speculation about why they relocated to other communities. A common understanding is due to drought. They lived up on the mesa because the land was fertile for growing corn. Many kivas remain, some having been excavated. They are deep circular pits with stonewalls of layered rock. They are used for ceremony. Joanne felt that Pueblo people likely still go up there and do ceremony. Not a day for cameras. Initial welcome. Full attention, full respect. We cleansed with Florida water, and I offered qoqa leaves with prayer, dropped into the kiva. We sat by the reservoir in silence for a long time. A large circular space, the bottom once packed down clay and filled with water. I walked bare foot around the perimeter three times and sat on the ground inside the waterless reservoir. A day of purification. My head cold drying up in the burning sun. Preparation for the journey. The peace up there was tangible. Many petroglyphs have been found in the area. Joanne took off for the research center, while I walked the Petroglyph Trail only a 2.2 mile hike. Not another visitor passed me by. Beautiful. Snaking around the perimeter of the ridge over looking a valley. Rich colors of rock. Juniper and pine trees. Sage bushes. More Qoqa offerings. Peace. Back to the house.