Issue #63
Late August 2013
Quick Links
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.
 
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Welcome to "Verde Views," the e-newsletter for Mesa Verde Association members and friends. This periodic publication will keep you informed about Association news and events, park happenings, new products and special sales.
Tickets Now Available Online for Fall Backcountry Hikes!

Spring House
Mesa Verde National Park is again offering backcountry experiences in 2013. These ranger-guided hikes include a new 4-hour hike into Upper Navajo Canyon, a 4-hour hike on Wetherill Mesa, and an 8-hour hike to Spring House. Basics of each hike are listed below, with detailed information online. Tickets are limited and must be purchased online at www.recreation.gov or at 1-877-444-6777.

Upper Navajo Canyon is a new 4-mile, 4-hour round-trip moderate hike along an unpaved, uneven trail that descends 760 feet. Hikers will enjoy the autumn weather and fall color on this historic trail built in the 1930s by one of the government's Depression era organizations, the Public Works Administration. Bring binoculars for cross-canyon views of multiple alcove sites, including Pinkley House and an un-named alcove site. You will experience two different natural communities as you descend from the drier mesa top pinyon-juniper woodlands to the mountain chaparral in the canyon bottom. This hike is available from September 5 to October 5 on Thursday and Saturday mornings. Each hike is limited to 14 participants, and costs $18.00 per person. Get details online when you purchase your tickets.

Wetherill Mesa Experience is a 4-mile, 4-hour easy-to-moderate hike which rewards hikers with expansive canyon views, spectacular views of cliff dwellings, and the natural beauty of Wetherill Mesa in the autumn. This is a good introduction to the story of the Ancestral Pueblo people, the environment in which they lived, and the ecology of the pinyon-juniper woodlands. Bring binoculars for cross-canyon views of multiple cliff dwellings. This hike is available from September 6 to October 4 on Tuesday and Friday mornings. Each hike is limited to 14 participants and costs $18.00 per person. Get details online when you purchase your tickets.

Spring House is an 8-hour, 8-mile, very strenuous hike along an unpaved, uneven trail with an elevation change of 3,000 feet. As you hike to Spring House, you will be rewarded with views of alcove sites in Navajo and Wickiup Canyons. Spring House is the largest unexcavated cliff dwelling in the park and is extremely fragile. You will not enter the site, but will get excellent views of the cliff dwelling from a platform built at the south end of the village. This hike is available from September 1 to October 6 on Sunday and Wednesday mornings. Each hike is limited to 10 participants and costs $40.00 per person. Get details online when you purchase your tickets.
 
 
 
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