The Mesa Verde Foundation strives to provide exciting and educational experience through our tours and events. Tours provide those seeking deeper experiences at Mesa Verde National Park and the greater Ancestral Puebloan region with in-depth experiences. Our events provide ways for people to engage further with the Foundation in communities throughout the Four Corners region.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!
After two years of pandemic-related interruptions, the Fall Tour is back! Join tour leaders Dr. Andrew Gulliford, Professor of History and Environmental Studies at Fort Lewis College, and Christopher Lewis , expert basket weaver and fiber artisan of the Zuni Pueblo, for a four-day tour of Mesa Verde National Park. Mesa Verde, one of 12 original UNESCO World Heritage sites, is home to thousands of ancient artifacts of Ancestral Puebloan tribes. During these four days, you will visit cliff dwellings and get an in-depth look at the history of the Ancestral Puebloans who lived at Mesa Verde. Tour cost includes guided tours of some of Mesa Verde’s most iconic sites, 3 nights’ lodging (based on double-occupancy), six meals, an exclusive reception with the Park Superintendent at the superintendent’s residence (built by Jesse Nusbaum in 1921 on the rim of Spruce Tree Canyon) and a private viewing of artifacts from the museum’s collection with Dr. Tara Travis.
Tour Leaders
Dr. Andrew Gulliford
Andy is Professor of History and Environmental Studies at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, where he teaches courses on wilderness, national parks and environmental history. Andy is the author of America’s Country Schools, Sacred Objects, and Sacred Places: Preserving Tribal Traditions and Boomtown Blues: Colorado Oil Shale, which won the Colorado Book Award. For the centennial of Mesa Verde National Park in 2006, he edited seven new books on Mesa Verde published by the Durango Herald Small Press. His most recent book, Outdoors in the Southwest: An Adventure Anthology (University of Oklahoma Press, 2014) won two New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards as well as the Colorado Book Award.
Christopher J. Lewis
Christopher Lewis lives in the village of Zuni Pueblo in western New Mexico. He is a member of the Badger Clan and a child of the Corn Clan. He is a fiber artist and basket and textile scholar. Christopher has worked the last 11 years to revive basketry in Zuni. He has also collaborated with other Pueblos to revive their textile arts. Christopher is a Native Scholar on the Cedar Mesa Perishables Project. He has studied Ancient Perishables such as baskets, textiles, wood and feather work from the Greater Southwest housed in major museums.
Tour Cost
$1,300: Non-member, per participant
$1,200: MVF Fellow, per participant
Early Birds who register by July 1st, will receive $100 off the registration fee.
$65 per night single supplement for guests not sharing a room.
50% deposit required to register and hold your place.
The tour has limited capacity and will fill up. Register now!
To register, or for more information, contact the Mesa Verde Foundation’s Executive Director, Shannon Clifford, at 303-321-3120 or by email at shannon@mesaverdefoundation.org
**The Mesa Verde Foundation Webinar Series “Conversations from the Mesa” will be taking a break for the summer months. We will return with new and interesting topics on September 13th, at 4:00 p.m. (Mountain Time). We look forward having you join us in September.**
“Conversations from the Mesa” Past Webinars
**Note last 3 webinars are featured below. For additional webinars, please visit our YouTube page by clicking HERE.**
Tribal Consultation: What is it and how does it affect Mesa Verde and other National Parks?: May 2022’s webinar with Troy Eid, Co-Chair of American Indian Law Practice, Greenberg Traurig LLP, President, Navajo Nation Bar Association, Mesa Verde Foundation Board Member
Results of Archeological Surveys and Testing for the Mesa Top and Cliff Palace Loops Roadwork: April 2022’s webinar with Christine McAllister, Archeologist, Mesa Verde National Park
Virtual Behind-the-Scenes Tour of the Mesa Verde National Park Archive: March 2022’s webinar with Tara Travis, Supervisory Museum Curator Mesa Verde National Park and Yucca House National Monument