Mesa Verde

10/9/09

The alcove was filled with a sort of revered silence, the sort you "hear" in a cathedral or museum. The ancient masonry seemed to echo the silence all around, hushing our voices into a whisper. It was hard to imagine a lively bustling world here - children running, laughing around their mothers who ground grain gossiping about the latest romances, men bringing in their latest hunting successes. That was hundreds of years ago. Now it was a small group of tourists speaking in hushed tones in deference to the spirits that seemed to be watching us.

A little paranoid? Maybe. However, whenever I walk through an old ruin such as this, I have a sense that i am sharing this space with those who walked before. I first felt these other "souls" while visiting the castles of Germany. Late in the afternoon, when few people were around, I could almost sense the bustle of castle life around me.

here at Cliff Palace, early in the morning with only a dozen other tourists in our group, the effect was similar. Except there was no bustle just the answering tones of hushed voices in the shadows. It could have been a echo from our conversations, but I like the fantasy of a place so special it holds the essence of those who once lived there.

As the day wore on and we were surrounded by more tourists, the effect was lost. It wouldn't be lost on my memory - to have sensed the life a place once held.