12 May – Colorado Springs – Denver

The snow had stopped bucketing down and was now a light snow shower. Wanting to find something to do that was preferably inside, or at least undercover we went to nearby Manitou Cliff Dwellings. The cliff dwellings were built by the Anasazi people (aka Ancestral Pueblans) between 1000AD and 1300AD. 

 Originally, the Anasazi farmed on the plains, but around 1100AD, they started building elaborate stone dwellings under cliff overhangs. It is possible that there was unrest and conflict with other tribes that forced them into fortified cities.

The dwellings are up to 4stories high and multiple families lived in apartments in each building. The dwellings are very well preserved, having been relatively inaccessible.

They were opened to the public in 1907. The self guided tour was very comprehensive and allowed us to enter the buildings and walk around them.

The site also included a replica dwelling from the plains (before they moved under the cliffs)

 and a pueblo style building dating from 1898 that was inhabited by the local Native Americans until 1984 and is now a museum.

After the cliff dwellings we decide to visit nearby historic Manitou Springs. There was a historic house we wanted to see, but it was closed on Mondays.

We parked up (2 lots of parking meters because we took two spots) and had a potter around the town instead, and lunch at a local pub. On the way back to the RV we met a lady with an African Grey parrot called Missy. If you haven’t seen an African Grey before, they are about galah sized and grey. Missy took a bit of a shine to Steve and stepped up onto his arm and didn’t want to get off. The lady had to get out a wooden perch to get her to step off. Sweet little bird. Getting back to the RV we found a parking ticket for “parking an oversized vehicle in the street”. Luckily it was only a warning and not charged!

We then hit the road to Denver again, and the snow started to bucket down again! More unpleasant highway driving. Settled in and getting organised to get some repairs on the RV tomorrow, wash it and get it ready for storage.