Mesa Verde

We stayed several days at Mesa Verde. It’s location is convenient to a lot of places with photographic potential. We visited Durango, Silverton, Ouray, Ridgway, Delores, and the Needles portion of Canyonlands National Park. We also took a ride on the train from Durango to Silverton.

Train in Durango

The Mesa Verde NP campground is run by a contractor. The campground was quiet with clean flush toilets. The campsites do not have water or electricity, which is fine with us. There’s a little store and a laundry. It makes a great home base.

Mining Ruins Near Silverton

Mesa Verde is a National Park because of the ancient cliff dwellings. The problem is that you can’t visit them unless you go on a ranger walk, which requires reservations. Even if you go on a ranger walk, the group makes it difficult to take the time for photography.

Ancient Pueble

So, we were limited to the pictures we could get from the road along the canyon rim. That challenge was compounded by a harsh sky. I got a few pictures but they were not that great. I decided that black and white with some toning came closest to conveying the feel of the place. I think that worked OK.

Large Ancient Pueble

The ruins really are impressive.

We did laundry the morning we went to Canyonlands National Park. The result was that we were there for the harshest light of cloudless day. Black and white again seemed like the best option.

Canyonlands National Park

I have lots of pictures that are not yet processed. Hopefully, there’s some good ones in there. In a sense, it doesn’t matter. Joyce and I had a great time.