COME TO LIFE Leave It As You Find It From petroglyphs to cliff dwellings and pithouses to masonry towers, there’s so much to discover and explore, but it’s important to remember to tread thoughtfully. By leaving pottery, rocks, plants, petroglyphs and artifacts as you found them, you’ll be helping to preserve these ancestral sites in their true forms. You’ll also be allowing visitors the joy of discovery, as well as future anthropologists and archaeologists the opportunity to learn and teach others through experience. Mesa Verde National Park near Cortez Being mindful of protecting these carefully preserved cultural lands is paramount in ensuring their longevity, while appreciating those that allow us to be here. “As human beings, it’s like you’re a guest wherever you go and you’re trying to be mindful of those who came before us,” Ghahate said. “When we think about going to visit national parks, national forests and public lands, we’re saving them for the future. There are others that are going to be coming down the line and hopefully they can experience the sunset, smell the flowers and see the animals running around. Maybe they’ll get the chance to do that in 50, 100 or maybe even 500 years, but again, if we don’t take care of it now, that may not come about.” Canyons of the Ancients National Monument west of Cortez 82 1-800-COLORADO JAMES BRANAMAN; ERIC WUNROW
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