During my 3 nights at Mesa Verde National Park, I started getting ill. I have not had any illness at all since the Covid-19 situation began, so panic set in. I was feverish, and very lethargic. So, travelling alone, I started through a mental check list of known covid symptoms. Could I still taste my beer? Yes. What about the potato chip’s? Yes. Was I short of breath? Yes, but the park is at 8,000’ so I decided that was the reason for the shortness of breath.
Since most of the park was closed off due to the virus and fire restrictions, I had a spare day and just slept it off. And, the next day, I was fine. Whew!
But, even with the restrictions, this is an amazing historical park. I have traveled the world searching out antiquities and some of the very best are right here in Colorado. There are over 4,500 archaeological sites within the park, many still not researched to any degree. They are literally everywhere. Below the cliffs of course, bur also on the mesa itself.
I’ll always regret driving past the cut-off to that park. We had been in the Southwest fo so long and I just assumed we’d catch it the next time through, forgetting how each of these locations has it’s own spirit. So glad it was just a little altitude sickness.