{"id":106179,"date":"2016-03-15T16:38:40","date_gmt":"2016-03-15T22:38:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/spruce-tree-house-closure-doesnt-deter-visitors\/"},"modified":"2016-03-15T16:38:40","modified_gmt":"2016-03-15T22:38:40","slug":"spruce-tree-house-closure-doesnt-deter-visitors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/spruce-tree-house-closure-doesnt-deter-visitors\/","title":{"rendered":"Spruce Tree House closure doesn\u2019t deter visitors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><!-- gallery:04418c1c-83b9-4725-8f73-4c730922081d --><br>\n          <!-- gallery:01be64be-5d65-494b-8a50-a77ad37624e9 --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video wp-block-embed-youtube naviga-video-embed\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-fKzP0o0lu8\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Despite the closure of one of the park\u2019s most popular attractions, Mesa Verde National Park rangers don\u2019t anticipate a drop in visitors to the 13th century ruins, which are a critical element to the local economy.<\/p>\n<p>In February, Park Service officials announced Mesa Verde\u2019s most visited cliff dwelling \u2013 Spruce Tree House \u2013 would close indefinitely because of falling rock.<\/p>\n<p>A portion of Spruce Tree House was cordoned off in September from self-guided tours after loose rock broke away the month before. Park Service engineers in October decided to close the entire site.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRight now, they are looking to really see what it is we\u2019re dealing with,\u201d said spokeswoman Cristy Brown. \u201cWe\u2019re definitely trying to get it open as soon as we can, but we\u2019re not going to open it until it\u2019s safe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That process could take up to two years, Brown said, as park engineers look for ways to mitigate the eroding natural sandstone arch above the site that has caused large rock break-aways, which pose a danger to visitors.<\/p>\n<p>As summer approaches, the closure of Mesa Verde\u2019s third largest cliff dwelling has raised questions whether tourist season will be harmed by a loss of visitors who had planned on self-guided tours of Spruce Tree House.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s probably the most-visited because anyone can go down there,\u201d Brown said. \u201cThere\u2019s still an overlook, but people are disappointed. I expect whenever the season starts to pick up we\u2019ll have more comments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, the word \u201cdisappointment\u201d was on the tip of most tourists\u2019 tongues during an unseasonable spring-like day last week, though most were understanding of the safety precaution.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a disappointment,\u201d said Jason Fransen, a first-time visitor to Mesa Verde from St. George, Utah. \u201cWe\u2019re deciding what to do next. We might go to the ruins in Aztec.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stan Knudsen, a South Dakota native on his way back from a trip to the Grand Canyon, said he and his family went hours out of their way to get to Mesa Verde, hoping to have the full experience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m glad to see it anyway, but it sure would have been nicer to go down there,\u201d Knudsen said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mesa Verde has about 500,000 visitors annually, and Brown said that number is steadily increasing. Despite Spruce Tree House\u2019s closure, she estimated that with the National Park Service\u2019s centennial this year, the number of visitors could reach up to 600,000 in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>The 52,485-acre site, which was designated a National Park in 1906 and also is a World Heritage Site, is home to some of the best-preserved ancestral Puebloan archeological sites in the United States. Officials estimate there are more than 4,300 sites, including 600 cliff dwellings.<\/p>\n<p>It also serves as a major economic anchor for the city of Cortez and Montezuma County.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would say heavily \u2013 very heavily,\u201d Kellie Law, owner of The White Eagle Inn &amp; Family Lodge, said of her hotel\u2019s reliance on Mesa Verde tourism. \u201cIt\u2019s just the main draw, the main gem for this area.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kinsey Ertel, president of the board of directors for the Chamber of Commerce in Cortez, said Mesa Verde put the town on the tourism map, and any adverse impact to the park could have a ripple effect on local businesses.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf they see a cutback in tourism dollars, then it makes them have to look at where they\u2019re spending money,\u201d Ertel said. \u201cThat definitely affects our community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Many local officials predict Spruce Tree House\u2019s shut down will have no effect on the park\u2019s draw.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no panic at the tourism office,\u201d said Bob Kunkel, executive director for the Durango Area Tourism Office. \u201cWe haven\u2019t had any calls or concerns or any effect on tourism for the current closure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Colorado State Tourism Office spokeswoman Ann Klein added that Mesa Verde\u2019s appeal is not only felt locally, but at the state level as well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt ranks pretty high,\u201d Klein said. \u201cBut since there are other cliff dwellings, I don\u2019t think that\u2019s a deal breaker. They\u2019re not coming to Spruce Tree. They\u2019re coming to Mesa Verde.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To be sure, Brown said the park will open normally closed-off areas for visitors, hold a range of events and offer ranger-guided tours in and around the park that will make up for Spruce Tree House\u2019s closure.<\/p>\n<p>And in the meantime, park staff is reviewing whether a previous laser scan of the rock formation will reveal how best to approach remediation. If not, bids for a new scan will go out in the coming months.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:jromeo@durangoherald.com\">jromeo@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rockfall leads to indefinite closing of popular Mesa Verde attraction<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":106180,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[21,13,173,421,316],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-106179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-cortez","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-mesa-verde-national-park","tag-tourism-and-leisure","tag-video"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106179\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106179"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=106179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}