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Issue 93
April 2016
In This Issue
Celebrate National Park Week with Free Admission and Special Tours from April 16th to 24th
Free 2016 Four Corners Lecture Series Programs Begin in May
Mesa Verde National Park 2016 Artists in Residence Selected
Seasonal Openings
Celebrate 100 Years of the National Park Service with our Centennial Apparel
Quick Links
Find Your Park
NPS Centennial
Mesa Verde Museum Association
Join Our Mailing List
Follow Us On Facebook
About Us
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.

Mesa Verde Foundation (tax ID 84-046967)
funds capital improvements, projects, and programs for Mesa Verde National Park. Our projects include partial funding for the new Visitor and Research Center at the park's entrance, rehabilitation of the horse facilities at Morefield to support the park's historic horse patrol, funding for important stabilization work at Cliff Palace, and funding of a Lecture Series at Mesa Verde.
 
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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.
Celebrate National Park Week with Free Admission and Special Tours April 16th to 24th!
Visit Mesa Verde National Park during National Park Week, April 16 through 24, 2016. To get the celebration going, Mesa Verde National Park will waive entrance fees for the entire week!

Park Superintendent, Cliff Spencer says "National Park week is a great time to visit Mesa Verde.  Many plants begin their spring bloom, the days are pleasant, and trails are dry enough for a leisurely hike."    The park will also offer "behind the scenes" curation tours of the Visitor and Research Center on April 16 (9 a.m.) and April 20 (10:00 a.m.). These free tours are one hour in length and are limited to 10 people. Call 970-529-4612 to register.

Mesa Verde Museum Association will offer special shopping promotions during that week 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 a great opportunity to explore the countless ways there are to #FindYourPark. Launched in March 2015, Find Your Park/Encuentra Tu Parque is a public awareness and education movement to inspire people from all backgrounds to connect with, celebrate, and support America's national parks and community-based programs. Celebrating the National Park Service Centennial and setting the stage for the Service's next 100 years, #FindYourPark invites people to discover and share their own unique connections to our nation's natural landscapes, vibrant culture, and rich history. Visit FindYourPark.com to learn more about National Park Week and other events taking place throughout the year.
Free 2016 Four Corners Lecture Series Programs Begin in May
The Four Corners Lecture Series returns in May for its 11th year, and we are pleased to welcome some new as well as returning program partners who help make this series possible.

There are endless opportunities for exploration and discovery here in the Four Corners. May and June programs will be offered at Crow Canyon Archaeology Center, Mesa Verde National Park, First United Methodist Church (hosted by the Hisatsinom Chapter/CAS), and Edge of the Cedars State Park.

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.  New sponsors include Friends of Cedar Mesa and Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance.

We hope you'll join us for these free programs! The full lecture series schedule, as well as the locations for each presentation, can be found here.
Mesa Verde National Park 2016 Artists in Residence Selected 
Susan Madden - Evening Light Arches NP - 24x30 - Fiber, Quilt
The 2016 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.

Susan Madden is a landscape quilter from Salt Lake City, UT.  Susn says "From this residency, I hope to portray the beauty of Mesa Verde's land and ancient dwellings through the relatively new media of the art quilt. By "painting" with fabric, I will create realistic quilts portraying the landscape and cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde. I hope to draw more attention to the park and attract visitors through the use of this medium. I have noticed in my work that people who may pass paintings by will stop and really look at a landscape quilt because of the novelty of the medium, especially when it is realistic. Hopefully, my work would help visitors and potential visitors see the park and its
archeological treasures in a new way."  Susan will be in residence from May 2 through May 15, with a free public presentation on May 13, details to be announced

Gregory Spaid is a photographer from Ohio.  Gregory says "Witness is a working title I am using for my current project on the role trees play in our lives.  It refers to the fact that trees have something to tell us about our relationship with nature and with culture. They give to our lives metaphors for wildness, resilience, balance, endurance, vulnerability, fragility, shelter, grace, grandeur and majesty.  They measure time in units that help us think far into the future and deep into the past.  While I am at Mesa Verde my goal is to make unique photographs of trees throughout the Park, but I am particularly interested in photographing trees in relation to the ancient Puebloan sites."  Gregory will be in residence May 16 through May 29, with a free public presentation on May 27, details to be announced.

Bronwyn Mauldin is an environmental writer from California. Bronwyn says "America's public lands were an important part of my childhood, and they have informed who I am as a writer today.  A residency at Mesa Verde National Park would be an opportunity for me to deepen my writing, connecting it to lands and peoples that hold a special place in the American imagination.  Through the workshops I will conduct, I hope to expand the visitor experience by helping others reflect on and write about this place and its cultures."  Bronwyn will be in residence from September 5 - 18, his public presentation will be September 16, further details to be announced.

Kit Frost is a landscape photographer from Durango, CO.  Kit says "Through the task of visually translating Mesa Verde, I hope to gain and share a deeper understanding of the park and it's former residents. I plan to capture the texture and light, inspired by ancient architecture and natural landscape of the park, and to meet the challenge of recording the same expansive views experienced by the Ancestral Puebloan Culture 800 plus years ago. Finding a new voice, new color and capturing our unique southwest light speaks to me." Kit will be in residence from September 19 through October 2, his public presentation will be September 30, further details to be announced.

The final residency, October 3 through October 16, is Joyce Heuman, a painter from Grand Junction, CO, formerly from Cortez, CO. Her free public presentation will be held on October 14.  More information on Joyce will follow in future newsletters.

All the free presentations are currently scheduled to be held in the Chapin Mesa Museum Auditorium.

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. 
Seasonal Openings

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. 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. 

Balcony House tours began April 10.  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 on May 1, weather permitting, and Long House tours will begin on May 14.  Cliff Palace tours will be available starting May 27.

Off-season camping with limited Morefield Campground services began April 14, with full services and Morefield Village opening on April 28. Far View Lodge opens for the season on Thursday, April 14, and Spruce Tree Terrace hours extend to 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. that same date.
Celebrate 100 Years of the National Park Service with our Centennial Apparel    
Show your love and support of the National Park Service with an NPS Centennial t-shirt and  hoody!  These garments are made of performance material that wicks perspiration away from skin, transporting moisture to the outside of the fabric where it evaporates, keeping you dry and comfortable.  

Click here to view our entire selection of NPS Centennial products! As always, members will receive a discount with the use of your discount code, and 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 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!