Here is a shot from a hike with a friend last Thursday in Mesa Verde National Park near Cortez, Colorado.  My friend, Dave, and I had been hiking to some ancient petroglyphs on a trail that started near the Spruce Tree House cliff dwelling ruins.  This staircase was one of the last strenuous parts of the hike as  it took us up near the top of the mesa again.

The view reminded me of a passage in the Lord of the Rings* when Frodo and Sam were hiking that long staircase up into Mordor.  The sky was rapidly turning threatening as rain was approaching, and we wanted to be off of the steep exposed rock before the rain hit.

I hope you enjoy this quick little post form Mesa Verde National Park.

Thanks for stopping by.