Switcheroo - 1 Bored Clerk's 2013 Tacoma Build

[1 Bored Clerk]

Partial Flapectomy

This is a REALLY easy one that's been on my list since I got the truck. I finally busted it out yesterday. Having mudflaps that drag on speedbumps is crazy! And let's not even talk about the racket you're treated to when off-road. It was time for surgery!


First step is to mark your cut line. I chose to use tape...you can use whatever you want! I'm all about personal freedom. (as long as it doesn't offend me ) I went 4" up from the bottom in front and just to the top of the '4x4' on the back...which is about 4" anyway.

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I clipped this corner first. It makes it easier to bend the flap after you've scored it to make a finish cut.

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Take your super awesome Olfa knife and make laser precise cuts in the flap. Oh, you don't have an Olfa; the finest craft knife ever made? Well, then your flaps will look like they were chewed off by a sewer rat. Sorry.

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Goodbye! Don't throw it away yet, though. You still need that!

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Use the cut off portion of the flap as a template to transfer the factory corner radius to the remaining flap.

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I used a Sharpie! Weeee! Stop it. You've had enough fun...back to work. One note here, the flap gets wider as you go up so you will need to line the leftover part of the flap up with each side independently in order to have the corner radius end up tangent to each side. Yeah, I just said 'tangent'. Droppin' vocabulary, yo!

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I used the blue handled snips to cut the corners close. You could stop here if you're a hack but I'd recommend continuing on for the big win.

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And what shall deliver you to the 'big win'? 80 grit sandpaper!

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Then 150 Grit sandpaper!

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Boom! Big win.

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More win.

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Done. Yeah, it's that easy.

One note: It's difficult to get a really good looking blend where the corner radius goes tangent with the side of the flap because the flap has a ridge around the entire edge and you've cut that ridge off around the corner. Going from no ridge to ridge makes a little funky spot. I probably could have spent hours fussing with it but I didn't. I spent about 45 minutes doing all four and then spent the rest of the day hanging out with my wife. Seemed like fantastic time management skills to me!

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

Starter Lift Ordered

Well, my 'after the fact bachelor party' dirt bike trip to Moab this October had to be cancelled due to some people having families, jobs, and whatever other BS. So, instead of putting Moab off yet another year, My wife and I decided that we're going anyway. We'll just take the truck and head on down to Moab for some trail runnin, explore Arches NP, and head down to Mesa Verde for a look-see. We're both very excited. However, after picking some trails that I'd like to do, I realized that our lives would be much more comfortable with a bit of a lift. I have great armor but it's no fun to constantly bash off of it...it's just damn harsh! So I just ordered my 'starter lift'. I'll upgrade and add some stuff for the Rubicon next September but this will do wonders for now I think.

What did I get?

Bilstein 5100's
OME 885 springs
Wheeler's 3 Leaf Progressive HD add-a-leaf packs

Next year I'll upgrade to 887 or 886 springs (depending on how much my front bumper and winch end up weighing) and a full spring pack in the rear to deal with the addition of a rear bumper (maybe AP expo? Dakar? Not sure). Toss in some Light Racing UCA's, a ubolt flip, bump stops, extended brake lines in the rear, new rear shocks with more travel and that should do fine for quite some time.

I'm excited about the starter lift! Hopefully I'll be able to bolt it all up weekend after next.

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

Cheap Center Console Storage

I'm tired of having tons of crap floating around in our center console. I know, tough to imagine from someone who sews little snuggies for their tools to keep them organized! Pretty easy project and it took advantage of some stuff I had laying around that I just couldn't bear to throw away.

Started with this little dealy-o that came out of my Sealine backpack. The pack finally fell apart but this internal organizer was in great shape.

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Grabbed a scrap piece of rigid plastic from work.

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The organizer had a pouch on the back...had to do with how it mounted in the backpack. I turned it inside out...

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Then I ran it through the serger (cool sewing machine that sews and cuts at the same time!). This made the pouch on the rear shorter while keeping a nice seam on the exposed side once you turn it right side out.

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Trim the plastic with some heavy scissors and slide it up into the pouch on the back of the organizer. I used heavy duty double sided tape to secure the plastic into the pouch. Then I took some industrial grade sticky-back velcro and placed it on each end. The seam got a little funky where I ran it through the serger...because I'm a newb and because coated nylon is slippery! Side note: I'll probably add more velcro above the top edge of this velcro for less movement.

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Clean the plastic areas where the velcro will stick with some Alcohol (IPA...not the beer). Then I carefully pressed the organizer into place. You get one chance at this because the industrial grade sticky-back velcro is not to be trifled with.

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Load it with stuff...pens, parking money, charging cables...maybe a Benchmade?? It's up to you. I may add a bit of velcro or a snap to keep the main pouch closed more. It's mostly a visual thing.

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It was completely random that the organizer fit that wall of the center console perfectly. It's even tapered to match the taper of the wall of the interior of the center console! What are the odds? It makes me look at all my old backpacks in a completely different light. What else can I scavenge? Hmmm...

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

Immryo Mirror Lift

Anyone over about 5' tall probably has cursed the insanely low mount location of the factory rearview mirror. At least, it's annoying. At worst, it's dangerous. It pretty much covers pedestrians waiting on the corner to the right. I've seen the mirror lift bracket from Immryo on TacomaWorld and have been on the fence about it for quite some time. I went ahead and pulled the trigger and mounted it up tonight

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Here's what you start with. A really poorly placed rearview mirror.

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Here's the front of your bracket. It's pretty slick. Nicely made...costs $35 (more on the business at the end)

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Here's the back (windshield side) of the bracket. Basically, this bracket just takes the factory shaped mount and moves it up a bit. Two things to note: 1. The bracket is padded at the top - should kill any rattling/vibrations. 2. The length of the bracket - this goes all the way up and tucks just under the headliner. That should take some stress of the windshield mount and help prevent any windshield cracking

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Carefully pry off the longer cover. Then take a T-20 torx and remove the mirror (some Tacoma's have a snap on mirror). Then remove the small cover and disconnect the wire connector.

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Unclip the connector on the mirror from the mirror mount. Once the mirror is moved up, this plug will be tucked under the front edge of the headliner.

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Slide the top of the new mount up under the headliner then slide down onto the factory mount. You also need to choose a side for the wiring to be on. I chose the drivers side as it seemed to 'want' to go there.

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Tighten down the tiny set screw with the tiny wrench (included). Don't go all Hercules on it...just snug.

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Slide the mirror bracket up under the front of the headliner like you did with the lift bracket then slide it down onto the new mount location and tighten the T20 torx. Again, go easy here. Then, snap the wiring connector back together and tuck it up under the headliner. The wiring is a bit tight and my connector just made it up under the headliner but you can't see any of this from the driver's seat or outside the truck. If you were so inclined, you could probably spend more than the 5 minutes I spent installing it and do some test fit/trim/test fit loops and get the headliner to sit back just like factory. Mine (and pretty much everyone else who uses this bracket) is bowed down slightly. If it annoys me over time, I'll trim it to fit real nice. I'm worried it'll leave a hole you can see...than I'll have to try to trim the black plastic cover (which you don't need) to cover it all up. Seems like a big can of worms!

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There it is all done! It's a few inches higher and visibility to the rear is absolutely unchanged. However, visibility out the front is much better. I haven't driven the truck yet with this mod but I'll update after some time with it.

Now, the business end of this. It's pretty cool. You send Immryo a PM from TacomaWorld with your name and address and he sends you a mirror lift bracket (made in the USA!) with a self addressed and stamped envelope for you to send a check back to him for $35. Very trusting and very cool. Gives pretty decent instructions too.

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

Finally!

I got my suspension 'starter kit' today. Wheeler's was really awesome to deal with even though their vendors kept dropping the ball on the add a leafs. Wheelers went the extra mile to make sure I got my kit in time to install this coming weekend right before we head for moab. Thanks!!

Bilstein 5100's set at zero
OME 885 springs
Wheeler's 3 leaf progressive HD add a leaf

I call this the 'starter kit' because I plan to change out some of it as more changes come to the truck such as the warn m8000s sitting in the garage waiting for me to build a front bumper.

I'm excited to get it bolted on this weekend. Fingers crossed that it all goes well and that I have made appropriate choices. And that I don't have vibration and vsc issues! Only time will tell...

Oh, interesting note: these 5100's have RCD's logo on them along with the bilstein logo. I was curious about that so I talked to wheeler's. Apparently, there was so much demand for tacoma specific 5100's that bilstein partnered with RCD to help meet demand. The internals are all bilstein but the bodies are built by RCD to bilstein specs. I guess some other model specific 5100's have RCD bodies now too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

I'll have truck bed organization fairly well wrapped up by the end of this next weekend too. It'll be nice to have all the crap that should be in my truck actually in my truck and not taking up space in the garage.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Frosty_1]

1BC,

Great thread! Curious about the Pendleton wool scraps...did those come from the outlet store on McLoughlin in SE? I'd like to pick up some fabric for a project I've got going...

f.

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

My wife worked at Pendleton for a while. That's why we have it around. The store in SE does have smaller amounts of fabric and odds and ends. You just have to check it out from time to time to see what they have.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

I was talking about getting my bed storage stuff wrapped up before our Moab trip in mid October. I got it mostly done. Done enough to do what it needed to do for our trip, anyway! There are already many things I would change, but this is perfect for what tools, materials, time and facilities were available to me. And, it's temporary...gotta keep that in mind. I could have easily spent way too much time and way too much money making it super sweet...then just toss/give it away or sell it. Priorities.

On to the much truncated build!

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Here is the main thing I wanted in the bed. It's a nice aluminum box (looks like a Pro-Tech but it doesn't have any markings). 2' x 3' x 18" I got this off of craigslist and had it in the back of my old Ford Ranger for a while. I don't care for how much room it takes up but it can swallow a ton of crap!

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The first step was to make a base to bolt the box to. I don't like drilling into my truck. Besides, it would be a nightmare to try to get the nut on the back of any through-bed fastener in that area of the bed. It's all gas tank and exhaust under there. I used 5/8" thick 5' x 5' birch plywood. I needed something wider than 48" in both directions so the 5' x 5' was perfect!

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I put steel sleeves in the four holes where the bed bolts will pass through so that they wouldn't just keep crushing the plywood. Seems to work really well. I also make some aluminum spacers that go between the plywood and the floor of the bed since the plywood sits on the high spots (bed ribs) and the bolts sit in the low spots.

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To make mounting the truck box much easier, I used furniture nuts on the backside of the wood. The box bolts in from inside the box. Takes about 2 minutes to remove it.

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Here's a test fit of the main components. I have the water can and a matching gas can for the other side of the box. I have a mount system ready to go in but I'm not done with it. I have time so I'm not worried about it.

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Here it is all mounted up! I used truck bed liner on the wood and silicon sealant around all of the furniture nuts on the bottom. It'll hold up just fine for the year or two that it'll be in there before the big camper build.

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Drilled some holes in angle aluminum for tie-down locations. They work really well. I wanted them bigger for easier use with 1" cam straps but it got sketchy trying to drill them out bigger than this. They still work for 1" cam straps...kinda. And by 'kinda' I mean it's 'kinda a pain in the *****'. Works really well for the hooks on the end of ratchet straps though. And that's the planned use for these; ratchet straps to hold down my spare.

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Oh, and a point of interest. I had never seen how the bed was actually mounted. Here's a pic of it. It's a welded tube that comes up through holes in the bed. The bed bolt bottoms out on this steel tube and traps the bed. So, if your truck is like mine and has a misaligned bed/cab, you're not going to fix it by loosening the bed bolts and shoving it around. Besides, I think the cab mounts are the problem, not the bed.

That's it...works really well so far. Worked really well in Moab too. Not much bed space left but that's what happens when you make sacrifices like buying awesome cheap stuff off of craigslist then go about 'making it work' because it's such a great deal. :victory:

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

October Loop of Joyousness! Part 1

I've been trying to get to Moab for about a decade. After the 4th trip fell through this summer, I turned to my wife and said 'We're going'. Without pause she said 'Okay!'. There was a lot of 'through the window glory' on this trip so I'll just get those photos out of the way right friggin' now:

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Wind generators peeking through low clouds. Looked really cool! Can't you tell from the iPhone 4s picture through a dirty windshield at 70mph from about a mile away?

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Cool sunbreak over a field

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More of these things with some fall colors!

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Some more awesomeness...getting old by now.

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Additional picture from a window...someplace south to southeast of my present location.

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Rainbow!! :wavey:

The 'getting there' driving parts of the trip were pretty nice. We got a little of everything but snow; rain, wind, sun, clouds and combinations of all of those at once. We did a few thousand miles over 9 days. :smiley_drive:

I'll break the trip up over a few posts based on location/trail to make it easier for me. All photos were taken with one of the following: iPhone 4s, iPhone 4s with Ollo-Clip (fisheye, baby!), and some regular old Sony point and shoot. So, yeah, enjoy the quality.

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

October Loop of Joyousness Part 2!

We did some random stuff around moab. Took some photos, ate some food, walked through some shops...stuff like that. But we came to get outside and see some cool stuff. Not some crowded little town with touristy shops and touristy food. Nice place but I don't enjoy hanging around in that atmosphere. So, we headed for the hills!

First trail we did was Klondike Bluffs. I get the impression that this isn't the most travelled trail in the area. There were several mt bikes that we saw occasionally but no other motor vehicles. The trail itself is really fun! Great scenery that changes from desert sand to wash to slickrock and back to desert...with a short walk to an awesome and somewhat intimate view.

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This trail has some of this...

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A little of that...

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And just a touch of this other thing. Check out my sliders! Just doin' what they s'posed to do. Any Ice Cube fans out there???

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Then you break out into this! And, right around here, you start seeing something mind-blowingly amazing. :Wow1:

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Dinosaur tracks!! Right along the trail. It's really quite stunning to see. These are about 12 - 14" long. To think about actual dinosaurs cruising along right there...where you are is really special. I'll never forget it.

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Cool little cactus that I would NOT like to fall into off of a mountain bike or dirtbike.

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Then you carry on over some interesting and fun terrain for a little while before you break into the desert again. Make a right turn and head along a cliff wall. Off to the side you'll see a white cliff wall with tailings. There are remnants of a copper mine there. We walked and scrambled around and up on to of the cliff and had a look around.

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Saw these really cool blast marks on the wall above a pile of boulders. It's interesting to see what dynamite does to rock at the point of explosion.

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This drilled rock had blast cracks in it too...found in the pile of boulders below the picture of the cliff wall above.

Then we left the mine area and headed up the walking trail. The trail we've been on is called Klondike Bluffs because it takes you to the back of Klondike Bluffs in Arches NP. The walking trail takes you through a barbed wire fence and into Arches NP! You hike along following rock cairns until you come to a very cool set of fingers that overlook a very private canyon on the backside of Klondike Bluffs. We don't have great photos of the place but we do have great memories...it's very cool!

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There were several small dust devils (about the size of a human) that greeted us on our hike back. It was like we had some mysterious partners following us along. The really cool part is that, as the wind whipped up the dust devils, it created various whistles and growls between the bushes and through the cracks in the rocks.

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We found this cool little 'room' just off the trail on the way back out.

This was an amazing introduction to the Moab area.

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

October Loop of Joyousness Part 3!

Next trail we did was Top of The World. I'm just going to start off by saying that it was a COMPLETELY different kind of 'moderate' trail than Klondike Bluffs. The guide book completely undersold the obstacles on this trail. That being said, we did the trail by ourselves and had a great time.

You drive out of Moab to the norteast...then stop at the Dewey Bridge to air the tires down...then drive out a big graded dirt road for a while before you come to the trail. The trail is pretty mellow for a while. Plenty wide, easily navigated, no real challenges then it kind of changes dramatically at the first real obstacle.

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This is the first obstacle of note. As usual, the picture makes it look really small but it's a pretty decent ledge up a steep, ledgy, off-camber hill. Engage locker, put it in 4-Lo and 'L' on the 'ol auto tranny and drive right up. It's not hard to go up at all but it looks fairly intimidating if you're not used to this stuff. :Wow1: It was kind of funny, we had just finished the loop (the trail forms a loop that starts and ends just past this first big obstacle) and we were getting ready to drive down this obstacle when some Jeeps came over the rise. One had just finished the climb, another was just pulling up behind the first and we waited for the 3rd one. All the jeeps were outfitted with 35" tires (at least) and some lift and tons of other armor. We stop to chat while the last Jeep is being spotted up the hill. One of the guys looks at me kind of funny and says 'did you just do this whole trail in your 'yota?'. I said, 'Yeah! It was a ton of fun. And if you think this obstacle is a challenge, wait until you do the backside of the loop coming down the hill. That's where it gets interesting!'. He then asked how we got up this first obstacle and I simply replied with 'we just drove up it'. They were all very nice and none of them had done this trail before...there were wives and kids...it looked like a very cool outing! Plus, I could see the same anticipation on their faces that I must have had on mine when we came to that first obstacle. :Wow1: It might have been a bit of a let-down for them to see a stock looking tacoma coming back out without smashed in doors. Anyway, they offered to spot me down the obstacle and I politely accepted. They seemed to enjoy it and one of them took some pics as I went down. They're probably on a forum somewhere now! Maybe here...maybe on some uber jeep forum where they are laughing at my lowly 'yota. Who knows.

We didn't take a ton of photos...we were busy driving and taking in the awesome scenery! Getting to the 'Top of The World' is kind of odd. You drive up the trail and then it just kind of disappears into the sky. I pulled out onto the slab to take THE photo that you have to take when you get there but, after being there, those of you who pull waaaayyy out onto the end of the slab have some serious cajones!

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Some fisheye action. We do this a lot because it always gives you some fun perspective.

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We learned, on this trip, that our iPhone 4s has panorama capability! We wore out that function on this trip!

It was very sunny but a cold wind was blowing so we didn't spend too much time soaking up the view. We started our way back down after about 15 minutes. The backside of the loop is where the action is. I don't know if the obstacles are any harder but it sure feels like it because you're going down.

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Lots of this. My truck with 2.5" lift and 32" tires was minimum in my book. I would have liked a little more clearance...it would have opened up more lines...less sketchy lines than I actually took. I could have stacked rocks but I try not to...just for the hell of it. I had to once to get up a weird ledge near the end of the downhill part of the loop.

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Ledges are the special of the day on this trail.

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Then this happened! I was dropping down a ledge and all of the sudden there was a loud POP and a bunch of stuff hit me in the back of the head! After a thorough CSI, i pieced together what happened: I dropped down a ledge and came down hard on the driver rear corner of the trailer hitch mount. Essentially, the strongest part of the truck with the most leverage. The impact twisted the frame enough that my bed rack mount smacked into the very corner of the back glass. That exploded the glass and threw it all forward into the back of my head. It was the craziest thing. I thought that I had left plenty of room for flex when I built my rack mounts. From impact point to the rack mount that impacted was over an inch in a 45 degree angle up and to the right. Needless to say we unbolted those rack mounts right there and strapped them to the floor of the bed.

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We used military duct tape to tape the inside and outside together. This held up great for the remainder of the trip and almost a week afterward before we had it 'replaced'. You can see the offending rack mount in this photo. It was gone a few minutes after this picture.

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More of this stuff!

There were two obstacles coming down that had me teetering quite uncomfortably. I missed a line at one spot and dropped far enough over that my drivers side slider is the only thing that kept things from getting really drastic.

We had planned to run Fins and Things the next day but I had my fill of adrenaline after TOTW so we stuck to more mellow stuff...and don't regret it one bit!

Oh, fun fact about getting the rear window fixed. The company came out to replace the window and ended up putting in an off-brand window that didn't fit right and did $2800 worth of damage to the interior of the truck! I still haven't had a chance to get to the dealership to get it fixed properly but it's just amazing what some people think is 'acceptable'. My insurance went after them for all of it and cut me a check. Now I just need to get it all fixed up again.

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

October Loop of Joyousness Part 4!

Instead of Fins and Things, we did Tower Arch. It's techically called '4wd road' on the Arches NP map. It's a pretty cool trip...and it's the only non-paved road in Arches NP that goes anywhere. The road that leaves from the Delicate Arch viewpoint parking lot dead ends not too far out. Anyway, back to Tower Arch. To get there you have to drive way out to the north end of Arches and turn off on a terribly wash-board road. We aired down and cruised along at about 20mph. We were passed by a lexus RX SUV not too long after. He must have been doing about 40. He was really booking for the road conditions. We turn off on the '4wd Road' and almost immediately the Lexus is behind us. We pull up and stop at the first obstacle which is a pretty steep and rocky climb. We walk up it to take a look and the Lexus guy pulls up close behind us and seems somewhat agitated that we are taking up the road. We walk back down, put the truck in 4-lo, engage the locker and drive on up. The Lexus sits down there as if he is contemplating trying to make the climb! :Wow1: Luckily he decides to turn around and go back out the way he came. Part of me wishes he tried...it would have been memorable...and expensive.

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The trail is a really nice blend of challenge, scenery, and isolation. There are some very interesting obstacles on this road that we didn't photograph. Sometimes you just need to experience the moment without the distraction of getting just the right shot. You don't have to actually do to Tower Arch to do most of the trail...it's an offshoot of the main trail. But, I can't imagine driving out here and then not going to see the arch!

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here's the arch! It's a short but fun hike up to it. Totally worth it. The terrain is amazing!

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Just beautiful.

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Then we bust out the fish eye Ollo-Clip lens and get all up in that Arch!

Then we wandered around the area and, eventually back to the truck for the drive out. Some really nice soft red sand, some slickrock...

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Really short but fairly steep drop into a sandy wash.

There was a section of sandy road that has washed out really bad down one of the tracks. This left you driving for several hundred yards at about a 40 degree side angle with your side mirror inches from the wall. Slow and steady...slow and steady. All in all, a totally enjoyable drive with some great scenery and views of the park that you're not going to get anywhere else. Sure, the paved road lets you see all the glamourous stuff but there are some hidden gems on this dirt road.

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

October Loop of Joyousness Part 5!

We went back into Arches NP 3 times when we were in the Moab area. Once to run Tower Arch and two more times to do other hikes. Delicate Arch was a must do so we did it. It's a relatively easy hike if you're in any kind of reasonable shape. I'm fat and out of shape and still easily made it. We did see a few folks on the way up that we did not see on the way down, though.

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Cutting straight to it...the arch. It's pretty dang spectacular! Getting a solo moment in the arch to take your picture can take some patience but, generally, people recognize that everyone is there for the same reason so they get in, get the pic and get out.

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Interesting bowl right between the giant photo taking area and the arch.

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Fish Eye Arch! We love it...deal with it.

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As far as I'm concerned, the place to see the arch from is the backside. If you are surefooted and very comfortable in precarious situations, this is THE place to hang out. There are, in fact, holes in the rock where there was some sort of fence or railing that has since been cut out right around where I'm at in this photo. The rock just continues to drop away in front of me to quite a cliff. I'm, essentially, facing the lower viewpoint for arches in this photo. It's worth the hike. I had only seen Delicate Arch from the viewpoint below...not nearly as cool.

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There are some cool petroglyphs at the bottom of the hike too. Bonus!

We also did the Park Avenue hike. It was very cool. Would be wicked awesome in morning light I think. It was overcast when we did it so the colors were muted. A ton of neat stuff to see, though. It's tough to remember to look down when you're in Arches because of all of the amazing and giant rock formations but there are equally amazing tiny rock formations down by your feet. This is the hike where we really figured that out and explored a lot of areas crawling around on our hands and knees. We have a ton of photos but none of it is as good as being there.

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

October Loop of Joyousness Part 6!

I really wanted to do some Moab trails and see some dinosaur footprints...and my wife really wanted to see some arches, petroglyphs, and cliff dwellings. We had crossed all but the cliff dwellings off of the list so we broke camp and headed southeast to Mesa Verde, CO. I had been there when I was a kid but we didn't do the hike into Long House, Cliff Palace or Balcony House. Well, we were too late in the year for Long House but we were able to get tickets for the guided (no self-guided tours) tours of Cliff Palace and Balcony House. I'm just going to summarize this entire park as this: Brilliant!

Cliff Palace:

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An interesting note about Cliff Palace is that the section to the right of the round tower is sitting on what amounts to jelly. This is a recent development. There was a big fire on the mesa above which burned off most of the trees. Apparently trees are really good at sucking up water and evaporating it into the air. Without those trees, all the rain water just soaks through the sandstone and has been draining into the fill that the natives used when building the right side of Cliff Palace. It has been estimated that Cliff Palace has less than 5 years before that entire side collapses. Here's their current action plan: Drill two holes into the base of Cliff Palace. One will drain the existing jelly out while the other pumps in what they called 'liquid glass' which will harden and create a solid base. Then, they are going to digitally map the entire right side of the ruins then take it all apart brick by brick and rebuild it using native techniques! Holy huge job, Batman! They are testing different mixtures of water, clay, sand, ash, etc to try to find the mixture that the natives used hundreds of years ago because it works so well. The problem is they have to experiment because nobody knows how to make it anymore. The parks service is working with the Pueblos during this reconstruction as it is a sacred sight for those people. In fact, they have recently reburied remains in Cliff Palace that had been used for years for scientific research.

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Cliff Palace has a steep staircase to get down to it and a narrow pair of wooden ladders to climb back out. There were some older, out of shape folks on this tour that had to stop a few times on the way up the ladders to catch their breath. Mesa Verde altitude is 6000ft +.

Balcony House:

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This is the 32 foot entrance ladder. It feels really exposed and is not for the faint of heart! The line you stand in to get your tour tickets has a sample tunnel and ladder for you to climb through/on to make sure you're at least somewhat comfortable with it. I'm not a huge ladder fan so this was slightly white-knuckle for me. It's funny, I have no real issue with heights but I don't like ladders and really steep stairs (like fire lookouts). There was a couple at the start of the tour that showed up with a tiny baby and a stroller. The ranger (and dry humored but very funny young lady) told them that the stroller would not make the 32' climb to Balcony House. We were in the very front of the tour walking with her and she said that was the most bonehead thing that she had seen so far! Haha...and it was about to get better. That same couple (with the tiny baby) also didn't stop to ask how they were going to climb a huge ladder on the edge of a cliff. They just stuck the baby in their backpack and zipped it up. :Wow1: Sketchy.

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Here's the tunnel to get out. Yes, this is the only way out. This is followed by stairs bolted to or carved into the cliff wall...very steep and narrow! There is a chain rail to hang onto though.


There is a lot of interesting history in this park and there are a lot of cliff dwellings. You can scan the canyon walls opposite of the main houses/palaces and find other tiny houses that might have belonged to what the rangers refer to as 'outcasts'. The park is nicely run and worth every second and every dime that you spend there. The guides bring their own flavor to the tours as well. Our Cliff Palace guide was very much into the suffering of the Pueblo people at the hands of white men and how they have a very justified mistrust of white men. The other guide was very much into the daily life and death of the Pueblo people. Hugely different experiences and vastly different information provided. I thought that was interesting. It made me want to switch guides for each tour and do it again to see what new information may be presented.