Hail, Lightning and Hiking

May 21, 2023

After a good night’s rest we woke up, ate breakfast and got ready for church. We went to a church called Grace Community Church. The congregation was very welcoming and friendly. The pastor began a five part series on their core beliefs. Part one was the about the church being Christ centered. It was very interesting how he brought out that Christ was in the Old Testament and pointed to throughout all the series.

After church the four of us headed back to the house where we ate lunch, changed clothes and headed a few miles East to Mesa Verde National Park.

Right before the park entrance there is visitor’s center, which I went into and purchased a sticker and a magnet. After I made my purchase we headed into the Mesa Verde national park. The drive was absolutely gorgeous! Some parts were more desert like while some had green valleys with a more mountainous geographic layout. The drive in total, including the stops we made along the way took about 45 minutes.

Once we had reached the top, we headed towards the starting point where our park ranger met us to go over the rules and give a brief overview of the trial we were about depart on.

Just as the four of us had made us through the entrance to the trial it began to hail. I instantly took back what I had previously said about being prepared to face all of the elements that the West threw at us. The hail started to come down harder and harder as we made our way through the hike. About two or three minutes into the hike, we saw lightning and what followed was an alarming clap of thunder. We stoped in our tracks, however our park ranger told us to keep going. So, we continued our hike through the rain, thunder, lightning, hail and puddles of water. The hike down was full of steps, narrow passages, ladders and rocks. This type of landscape combined with the rare weather forecast for Mesa Verde required us to take extra precaution as we hiked on the trial.

Once the group reached the Cliff Palace, we were able to take several pictures where it was dry before the park ranger proceeded to present us with some information on the Cliff Palace. Some of what he about was how the Pueblos grew crops, developed their homes, and how they received water among many other things. One of the things I found most interesting was the material that the homes were made out of, (sandstone) was able to hold heat very well, so even the middle of the cold Colorado winters they were able to able to stay warm. Our ranger also said that the sandstone was very receptive towards lightning… that was not very interesting considering our conditions.

About seven minutes into the park ranger’s talk, something very unexpected and unfortunate happened. A man standing behind my Mom began to fall over onto the sandstone. At first, everyone thought he had just tripped and stumbled over a rock. However we were wrong, he was passing out right in front of us. No one was exactly sure what to do, but thankfully no one panicked. My Dad and another man who was with the individual aided him by helping to sit up. Luckily there was a physician’s assistant in the group ahead of us who was able provide medical advice, and found a pulse in his ankle. After drinking some electrolytes and a few minutes of recovery, he was able to stand up. He was soon escorted out and made it safely to his car.

After this incident, we waited an additional twenty minutes before hiking out of the Cliff Palace due to lightning. As the group started the hike back to the top the rain thankfully subsided and the conditions were somewhat more favorable, even though we were completely drenched with water from head to toe. We climbed the last of the ladders and narrow corridors and that concluded our once in a lifetime, wild, adventurous and unforgettable hike to the Mesa Verde Cliff Palace.

My mom had planned for us to do another hike that was a three mile loop, but after taking into consideration the unfavorable weather conditions we opted not to do a second hike. So, it was time to head towards the exit of Mesa Verde. Along the road, there were several stops that had amazing views for photos. At one point, we ran into our park ranger and he said that he would have cancelled the hike if we had waited just a few more minutes to begin. He also admitted to our hike being the most interesting and eventful hike in all of his thirty years a park ranger.

Once out of the park the four of us were very quickly able to reach a group verdict to go back to the house and get ready for dinner. Once we were warm and changed into dry clothes we headed to a place called Main Street Brewery. The food was outstanding, Anna and I had burgers while my Mom had prime rib and my Dad had a ribeye.

After dinner we headed to the local Walmart to restock our groceries and prepare for the upcoming week.

The beautiful Colorado sunset was a perfect ending to a day full of adventure! Sunday was definitely one of the most memorable days we have had out West and will not be forgotten!!