Having finished with Spruce Tree House, we headed over to the steps leading out of the dwelling. This path leads back to the path we used in walking down to the ruins. As we started our way back up the slope, Jeff became winded so we stopped and sat on a bench placed along-side the path. After a brief rest, we started on up the hill again. Again, Jeff became winded so we stopped at another bench.

While we sat, resting, we saw some birds flying around overhead. I didn't think I would be able to keep up with one of them with my digital camera and be able to focus on it as well, so Jeff turned on the camcorder and followed a couple of them around. These birds are Turkey Vultures,

and can be seen in this part of the state, including Mesa Verde and the Mancos area. As you can see in this picture, this particular bird is missing some feathers from one of its wings.

We continued on up the path to the top and went back to the vehicle. We left the Spruce Tree House loop, Loop 1, and headed down Ruins Road to our final loop, Loop 3.

This loop has some cliff dwellings, but it also has a lot of mesa top dwellings.