I... am in LOVE

I'm thinking it should say "GIGANTIC SAND DUNES". 

Yes, that little speck to the left of the picture is a person. 

Depending on the sun, the color of the sand changes! SO beautiful. 

Little did I know this park was my true love. 

PEOPLE LIVED IN THERE. 

It's on a cliff.......

The big round hole? Kiva!! 

Teeny tiny windows. The Ancestral Pueblo people were said to be very small, 5-ft being among the tallest. 

A village carved out of the cliff face. WHOA. TOO INCREDIBLE!

You have to ask yourself, what would such a small space be used for?

*jaw drops, knees give out, smile grows from ear to ear*

The largest cliff dwelling known as Cliff Palace. There's 150 rooms!!! You get an idea of its size when you see the group of people to the left. 

Cliff Palace from a different angle. 

More of this luxurious palace. 

WARNING: Do NOT visit Mesa Verde National Park if you have a fear of heights. 

The epic 32-ft. ladder we were FORCED to climb in order to reach the next cliff dwelling. 

View from the treacherous cliff dwelling known as Balcony House.  

These ancient remains have stories to tell. Visit this park with open ears & an open heart. 

Another dwelling. Everything was built with such precision & thought. 

The Ancestral Pueblo people MUST have known math to create such perfect structures. 

Very narrow passageway we went through on our way to the petroglyphs! 

....PETROGLYPHS!!!!!!!!! If I ever get a tattoo, it'll be one of these symbolic carvings. 

A very deep pitroom enclosed in its own building to keep it safe from people & the harsh environment. 

More dwellings on land rather than on the face of a cliff. STILL FASCINATING. 

Those squared areas were rooms!! Some of them were quite small. You must've slept curled up in a ball. 

A neat view through the small windows of the dwelling. 

Mesa Verde Reservoir! (that large area with stones around the perimeter)

A rather large dwelling. It's hard to grasp just how OLD these structures are, isn't it? 

A gorgeous view as we hiked at Chimney Rock National Monument. 

MORE ancestral dwellings at Chimney Rock National Monument.  Look at that stone work! 

We were given the opportunity to enter this dwelling. We stood around on top & peeked down into the kivas. 

A huge kiva! It's still hard to say exactly what they were used for. Ceremonial events? Trading? Religious practices?

Two affectionate colorful lizards we saw as we hiked back down the mountain. The ranger said she'd been working there for 7 years & she had NEVER seen them!  

The geographical marker at Four Corners! 

I was in four places at the same time. HA! 

SO, the problem I face with becoming a park ranger is my fear of being around thousands upon thousand of TICKS. Now that my exposure to Lyme has been confirmed, I'd rather not give the bug a chance to latch onto me again. What do I do?! I went on this roadtrip knowing nothing about archeology & ancestral cliff dwellings. I came home from this trip with a bite but it wasn't from a tick. I was bitten by the ARCHEOLOGY BUG!!!!!!!!! I think it's safe to say I LOVE it. I got back to Denver with Susie (my aunt/travel partner for those of you who don't know already!) & spent all day in the local bookstore searching high & low for books on archeology. I started googling colleges with programs in archeology. I became fixated on ruins, archeological dig sites, national parks with ancestral dwellings... Anything associated with archeology, I explored. So my question to you is, what should I do?! Wear long pants & long-sleeved t-shirts as a park ranger OR crave the dirt & cliff dwellings as an archeologist? 

OR keep those as hobbies and pursue a career in marine biology? As a marine scientist, I would be able to work with the animals (my ultimate dream), get hands-on experience (my biggest wish!), AND never have to worry about ticks (hallelujah!)!!!!!!! That is my THIRD option. 

Until this puzzle is solved, check out my photos & see if you TOO are infatuated with archeology! Having “issues” does not mean you can’t go on adventures.

❤Love, Allie