Last Chance for Cliff Palace Twilight Tours

Through a special arrangement with the National Park Service and the Mesa Verde Institute (an education program of the nonprofit Mesa Verde Museum Association), extended Cliff Palace twilight tours are offered daily, and will continue through September 30th, 2009. These ranger-led 90-minute tours begin at 7 p.m. through September 7th. Starting on the 8th, tours will begin at 6 p.m. These programs are limited to 20 participants to provide an intimate, leisurely encounter with Mesa Verde's largest cliff dwelling. The tour's dramatic sunset lighting will appeal to amateur and professional photographers as well as those seeking a deeper connection with this extraordinary archeological treasure. Knowledgeable rangers portray historical figures to bring to light the park's storied past.
 
Tickets are $10 per person and may be purchased in person at the Far View Visitor Center Bookstore. (The MVMA member discount does not apply to this special offering.) As with all Mesa Verde Museum Association programs, proceeds from the Cliff Palace Twilight Tours benefit Mesa Verde National Park. For more information, please call the MVMA office at 970-529-4445 or toll-free at 800-305-6053.

Recovery Act Funds at Work in the Park

- Replacing waterline from the north boundary to Chapin Mesa
- Installing eight photovoltaic systems on historic headquarters buildings
- Modification of the Spruce Tree House trail to meet ADA requirements
- Purchase of three alternative fuel transit buses for Wetherill Mesa
- Replacing failing waterline at Morefield Village and Campground

Work is progressing this summer and fall on all these projects. Park administrators will meet with technical analysis vehicle consultants next week to begin planning for the customization and purchase of alternative fuel transit vehicles which will reduce fuel emissions, transport more people, experience fewer breakdowns, and enhance the visitor experience at Wetherill Mesa.

Mesa Verde also received Federal Land Highways Program projects for a total of $14 to $18 million. This will resurface the park road from the entrance station to Park Point, which is about 10 miles of road. The projects also fund preliminary road work near the entrance in preparation for access to the park's Visitor and Research Center.

All the ARRA projects are long-standing priorities of the National Park Service and meet the criteria put forth in the Recovery Act: namely, that a project addresses the Department's highest-priority mission needs; generates the largest number of jobs in the shortest period of time; and creates lasting value for the American public.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has pledged unprecedented levels of transparency and accountability in the implementation of the Department's economic recovery projects. The public can follow the progress of each  project on the recovery website and on http://www.interior.gov/recovery/nps.

Eight Free Programs in September

The free Four Corners Lecture Series kicks into high gear in September with eight different programs offered throughout the region. Scott Ortman will discuss "Oral Tradition and Archaeology: Do They Tell the Same Story?" on September 3rd at Crow Canyon. Jane Baca and Starr Tafoya will conduct a Santa Clara Pottery Demonstration, Firing and Sale on September 19th at the Chapin Mesa Amphitheater in Mesa Verde National Park. On the 22nd, Randall McGuire will be "Setting Things Right: the Massacre in the Sierra Mazatan and Indigenous Archaeology in Sonora, México" at Fort Lewis College. On the 24th we'll be back at Fort Lewis College for Greg Johnson's "Sacred Claims: Unexpected Relationships between Religion and Law in the Repatriation Context." Mark Winter will address Navajo weaving on the 25th at the Cortez Cultural Center as part of the Southwest Traders Rendezvous. "Layered Collaborations: Bringing the Basketmakers Back to the Four Corners" will be the topic addressed by Mona Charles and Dawn Mulhern on the 28th; Fred Blackburn, Stacey Waltzman, and Meredith Provera will speak on "In the Shadow of the Bear: Jefferson County Open School Students' Collaborations with Native Americans in the Prayer Rock District of Arizona" on the 29th; and Chuck Riggs will give a talk on "The Sacred and the Profane: Dispelling Western Biases at the Pigg Site" on the 30th, all at Fort Lewis College.
 
The Four Corners Lecture Series offers free programs for the public from May through October at a variety of locations in Cortez, Dolores, Durango, and Mesa Verde National Park. It is sponsored by the Mesa Verde Institute (an educational program of the Mesa Verde Museum Association), the Anasazi Heritage Center, ARAMARK, Cortez Cultural Center, Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, Fort Lewis College Center of Southwest Studies, KSJD Dry Land Community Radio, and the National Park Service.
 
We hope to see you at a program this year! Click here to view the entire schedule and times for these offerings.

 

The Mesa Verde Association is a joint membership program of the Mesa Verde Museum Association and the Mesa Verde Foundation. Your MVA membership supports both of these 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations.
 
The Mesa Verde Museum Association (tax ID 84-1404606) provides educational and interpretive material to visitors of Mesa Verde National Park through an active publishing program and the operation of retail bookstores online, in the park, and in Cortez, CO. Our services enhance the visitor experience and promote stewardship of Mesa Verde's world-renowned archeological resources and natural landscapes. Proceeds from all Association operations are donated to the park's interpretive, research, and education programs.

The Mesa Verde Foundation (tax ID 84-046967) funds capital improvements, projects, and educational endeavors for Mesa Verde National Park. Our projects include construction of a new Visitor and Research Center near the park's entrance and remodeling the existing Far View Visitor Center into a Tribal Cultures Center to enhance understanding of the connection between the Ancestral Puebloans and contemporary Native American tribes.
 
You are receiving this email because you are a member of the Mesa Verde Association or because you purchased a product from the Mesa Verde Museum Association. To ensure that you continue to receive emails from us, add info@mesaverde.org to your address book today.