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Good books about Mesa Verde?

We will be visiting Mesa Verde this summer. I know very little about the people who built the dwellings there. Can anyone recommend some good books to read before I go?

Laura - as of this morning Mesa Verde is closed until further notice due to the extreme fire conditions in Colorado. I am sorry I don't know where you can go on line to check the status of this closure, but thought I should inform you.

The park is not closed, only a couple of attractions this from the paper: July 2, 2002 By Jennifer Kostka Herald Staff Writer Citing the drought and fire danger, Mesa Verde National Park officials decided Monday to close two of their biggest attractions, the Balcony House and Cliff Palace, and move park personnel and equipment from headquarters to the Far View Visitor Center. The park is still giving guided bus tours to the Spruce Tree House and Wetherill Mesa. Vehicles are also allowed into Wetherill Mesa, but park officials may decide to limit the area to bus tours only later this week. "Basically, the park is open," said Sue Johnson-Erner, spokeswoman for the park. "The major concern is the health and safety of the visitors in the park." Visitation so far is about the same as last year, but 5 percent of Monday’s visitors to the park turned around after rangers told them about the new closings at the entrance, Johnson-Erner said. Mesa Verde usually receives between 2,000 and 2,500 visitors a day. Park officials are thinning trees around the headquarters to prevent a fire like the Bircher and Pony fires in 2000, which destroyed 29,027 acres. They also might create a safety zone in the park, clearing 12 acres for employees, visitors and firefighters in case a fire does occur. Most of the park’s lodges and restaurants are still open, Johnson-Erner said. Park rangers at the entrance will direct visitors to where they should go, and other rangers will walk the closure lines to alert people if they are in a closed area, she said.

I just know about murder mysteries. The Tony Hillerman books are good to get a feel for the area. There is one in particular (maybe Fallen Man - the one where the guy gets killed on Shiprock) about the area around Mancos, very close to MV. There is a novel by Nevada Barr, I think it's called Ill Wind, about murder and intrigue in the park. It's only fair as a novel, but very good to get an idea of specific places in the park, as well as how the parks tend to be run.

I'm going to Mesa Verde about the 1st of August. I was counting on seeing Balcony house and Cliff palace. I'm staying in the Far View Lodge. If I can't see these two attractions, then I really don't care to go except maybe just to drive through on my way out or something. Do you know if its canceled for the remainder of the year? I have to cancel my reservations two weeks before I go or lose deposit. Thanks

The official wording in the 7/2 press release says "as soon as conditions improve". This area is expecting rain during the next week, and we had some last night as well. I'd wait until the very last day or so before you would have to cancel, then call the park (970-529-4465) and get the newest information. As an aside, the Misisionary Ridge fire is now 70% contained and the firefighters are predicting 100% containment by the end of the day today. The clouds and rain yesterday have certainly helped. I'd say that conditions are already improving.

We were in Mesa Verde less than a week ago and stayed at the Far View Lodge. Although Chapin Mesa was closed, there were wonderful cliff dwellings to see on Wetherill Mesa, especially Long House. There is also Spruce House which is the best preserved of the dwellings. It was a long, but wonderful day. We arrived early in the morning and got the necessary tickets, went to Spruce at 11:00, rested for a couple of hours, and then went to Long House and the pit dwellings at 3:00. Although we had reservations for two nights, Far View was very understanding and let us cancel the second night as we felt we had seen everything that was available. From what I could tell from photos of Cliff and Balcony Houses, the two houses we saw were just as great. As I mentioned on a previous post, you cannot buy tickets for Spruce and Long House at one time for the same day. However, you could split up and each purchase the needed tickets for tours on the same day. Not nice, but we did it anyway. Interesting, the lodge appeared to be only 1/3 occupied so the entire area was rather quiet.

I enjoyed reading "The Anasazi: Why did they leave? Where did they go?" I bought it at the gift shop at Mesa Verde - I don't know if it is available elsewhere.