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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.
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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.
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Celebrate National Park Week with Waived MVNP Admission
Visit Mesa Verde National Park during National Park Week, April 19 through 27, 2014 and go wild for history! To get the celebration going, Mesa Verde National Park will waive entrance fees on April 19 and 20!
Park Superintendent Cliff Spencer stated, "This is a great time for families to visit their national parks. We hope free entrance will encourage locals and those from out of the area alike to explore Mesa Verde National Park and all it has to offer." Additional information on visiting Mesa Verde may be obtained by visiting the park’s website at www.nps.gov/meve or by calling the park’s main information line at 970-529-4465.
Mesa Verde Museum Association will offer special shopping promotions on April 19 and 20 at its educational bookstores at the Visitor and Research Center, Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum, and at the Colorado Welcome Center at 928 East Main Street in Cortez. Proceeds from all purchases support education and stewardship programs at Mesa Verde National Park.
National Park Week is also a good time to explore local parks, trails, and architectural gems sustained through National Park Service programs such as the Rivers Trails Conservation Assistance program and the National Register of Historic Places. Learn more about public lands near you at www.nps.gov/npweek/
Ralph Oberg
Mesa Verde Foundation’s signature fund raiser, Rims to Ruins, will again take place this year. We are thrilled with the success of the 2013 event and are looking forward to another event which will enable the foundation to support many important projects in Mesa Verde National Park.
This year on May 15 and 16, the park will welcome twenty-five nationally renowned artists who will have the opportunity to hike into exclusive areas of the park where they will paint, draw, and sculpt the earliest works of man and capture the beauty of that extraordinary scenery. In many cases, the artists will be working in places not usually open to the public or park visitors.
On May 17, completed works of art will be collected for viewing and purchase at an auction and luncheon at the park’s Visitor and Research Center. The auction that follows will feature finished works in order to raise funds for park projects.
Mesa Verde Board Chairman Judy Grant explains that, "this is a fitting and appropriate fundraiser for the foundation as it is a direct connection with the park itself. The primary event of creating occurs in the park itself, and the results, the artwork that gets out into the community, are beautiful and dramatic representations of this national treasure. As well as providing a fun social event, Rims to Ruins also helps to remind people of how unique and significant Mesa Verde National Park is, and how it should be recognized as such."
Funds raised through Rims to Ruins this year again will benefit projects in the park. With the proceeds from Rims to Ruins 2013, the foundation helped to support the Four Corners Lecture Series at the park and to rejuvenate the historic horse patrol program.
If you wish to attend the May 17 auction and luncheon, please contact Judy Grant at either judywgrant@gmail.com or 303-842-3569. Tickets are $50 per person.
John Poon
Free 2014 Four Corners Lecture Series Programs
The Four Corners Lecture Series returns this month for its ninth year, and we are pleased to welcome some new as well as returning program partners who help make this series possible. We are pleased to announce that Mesa Verde Foundation is generously funding the 2014 series in the park to cover all of Mesa Verde National Park’s program expenses, and all the lecture series partners are deeply grateful for this crucial funding. We welcome new partner Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum in Blanding, Utah, and the Cortez Cultural Center which has returned to the series after a brief hiatus.
This year’s theme is "Roads Less Travelled," which we think you’ll agree describes perfectly the endless opportunities for exploration and discovery here in the Four Corners. April and May programs will be offered at Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum, First United Methodist Church (Cortez), and the Cortez Cultural Center. In June, the series will expand to additional venues including Mesa Verde National Park. We hope you’ll join us for these free programs! The full lecture series schedule can be found here.
This lecture series is generously sponsored by Mesa Verde Foundation, Mesa Verde Museum Association, and Mesa Verde National Park, as well as the Anasazi Heritage Center, ARAMARK Parks and Destinations, Bureau of Land Management, Cortez Cultural Center, Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum, Fort Lewis College Office of the President, Department of Anthropology, and Center of Southwest Studies, Hisatsinom Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society, and KSJD Dryland Community Radio.
Special Mesa Verde Hikes and Tours Tickets Now Available Online!
Wetherill Mesa Experience
Mesa Verde National Park is again offering a series of unique ranger-guided educational experiences in 2014. Tickets for these special hikes are limited and must be purchased in advance online at www.recreation.gov.
Ranger-guided hikes and programs include a half-day hike into Upper Navajo Canyon, a 2-hour hike to Mug House, a half-day hike on Wetherill Mesa, and four tours of Yucca House National Monument. In addition, tickets will be offered online for Twilight Tours of Cliff Palace, which feature a historical figure from the past, and a new Photography Tour at Cliff Palace. Check www.recreation.gov for more detailed descriptions of each program.
Mug House tours are available from May 27 to August 30, 2014 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Tickets cost $25 per person, and group size is limited to 10 people per hike.
Yucca House National Monument tours are scheduled on Wednesday, May 14 and Friday, May 16, and on Wednesday, September 10, and Friday, September 19, 2014. Tickets cost $5 per person, and group size is limited.
Upper Navajo Canyon hikes are offered Wednesdays and Sundays, from September 3 to October 5, 2014. Tickets are $18 per person, all ages. Group size is limited to 14 people.
Wetherill Mesa Experience is offered Tuesdays and Fridays, September 2 to October 3, 2014. Tickets are $18 per person, all ages and group size is limited to 14 people.
Twilight Tours of Cliff Palace are scheduled on Sunday through Thursday evenings from May 25 through September 4, 2014. Tickets cost $12 per person.
NEW Photography Tours in Cliff Palace are offered on Friday and Saturday evenings from May 23 to September 6, 2014. Tours are limited to 10 people. Tickets are $20 per person.
For reservations or more information, visit www.recreation.gov or call 1-877-444-6777.
Mesa Verde National Park 2014 Artists in Residence Selected
Kisani Willow by Venaya Yazzie
The 2014 Mesa Verde National Park Artists in Residence (AIR) have been selected. Each artist will offer a free public program in the park during their residency.
Venaya Yazzie, a young Navajo-Hopi painter from Farmington, NM, who recently graduated from Fort Lewis College, will be in residence May 5 through May 17. Her colorful paintings reflect Native feminine figures as well as Native symbolism. Her free public presentation will be on Thursday, May 15 at Far View Lodge Library at 7:30 pm. More of Venaya's work can be seen at her website at www.yazzgrlart.com.
Rob Gallin, who teaches in Gallup, NM, is an accomplished journalist who hopes to benefit the park by helping people understand how the past influences the present and examining historic literature related to Mesa Verde. Rob will be in residence May 19 through June 1, with a free public presentation on May 29, details to be announced.
Michael Savage, who replicates Ancestral Puebloan pottery, will be in residence from September 1 through14. By immersing himself in the origin of Mesa Verde pottery, he hopes to gain a deeper understanding the technical and artistic nature of its makers. Presenting handmade tools, showing how the pottery is made, and creating painted designs will be his free public program on September 11, time and place to be announced.
Hal Stewart is a world class sculptor who holds the September 15 through 28 residency. Sculpting with clay, later to be turned into bronze statues, Hal will interact with visitors to the park throughout his stay, allowing them to feel the clay and understand the process, with his free public presentation on September 25. Learn more about his work at www.halstewartbronze.com.
The final residency, September 29 through October 12, is a collaboration of Cortez writer Sonja Horoshko and painter Ed Singer. Their unique proposal includes "Letters to My Grandson," and "A Visual Studies Journal for my Grandson," where actual pieces will be mailed to their grandsons to likely be turned into a book. Their free public presentation on October 9 will show their process and encourage other parents and grandparents to share their stories and artwork with their grandchildren. Their work can be accessed through Facebook and Four Corners Free Press, where they both regularly publish.
Mesa Verde National Park’s Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program provides professional artists the opportunity to become part of a long established tradition of artists creating art in our national parks. The AIR program is managed for the park by the nonprofit Mesa Verde Museum Association. This year’s artists were selected from over 60 applicants by a jury of four consisting of an interpretive ranger and three professional artists. Learn more at www.nps.gov/meve/supportyourpark/artists_in_residence.htm
April may bring (occasional) showers, but it also brings extended visitor service hours! Visitor orientation and trip-planning assistance are available at both the park entrance Visitor and Research Center and at the Colorado Welcome Center at 928 East Main Street in Cortez from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. The Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum and MVMA Store are open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily. Spruce Tree House cliff dwelling is open for self-guided explorations from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily. The scenic Mesa Top Loop is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to sunset. Spruce Tree Terrace is open 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily.
Beginning Friday, April 11, Cliff Palace tours resumed for the season. Balcony House tours will begin Sunday, April 20. Cliff Palace and Balcony House tour tickets may be purchased up to two days in advance of the tours at the Visitor and Research Center at the park entrance and at the Colorado Welcome Center in Cortez. Next up, Wetherill Mesa Road will open and Long House tours will begin on May 23.
Off-season camping with limited Morefield Campground services began April 14, with full services and Morefield Village opening on May 2. Far View Lodge opens for the season on Thursday, April 17, and Spruce Tree Terrace hours extend to 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. that same date. Far View Terrace opens for the season on May 5.
Petroglyph Point Trail Patches and Hiking Staff Medals
Mesa Verde is known for its cliff dwellings but it is also home to many petroglyphs. Only one set of petroglyphs can be viewed by the public and they can be found on Petroglyph Point Trail. Brand new available now are Petroglyph Trail patches and hiking staff medals! Commemorate your visit to Mesa Verde's magnificent Petroglyph Panel with your own patch or medal and be the first of your friends to show your Petro Pride!
Priced at $4.99, or just $3.99 for Mesa Verde Association members; click here to purchase your patch or here for your hiking staff medal. As always, proceeds from your purchases support Mesa Verde National Park.
Not a member yet? It's easy to join! Just click here or call us at 1-800-305-6053 or 970-529-4445 for assistance.
Misplaced your member discount code? Just call or email us at info@mesaverde.org and we'll be happy to provide it to you!
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