You were luck you got to enjoy the camping aspect of things. I'm a bit too "soft" to do that, so always stayed at motels or lodges. Given, too, that that was the first year of the Clintoon escapades, and I was following his moves like a hawk every day, I was horrified to arrive at the lodge in Mesa Verde to discover there was no tv ! :-P
The real difficulty I had at MV was climbing up and down the ladders, not for any other reason than because of my unusually large feet. The Anasazi sure had dainty little feet !
By any chance, did you tour Balcony House? My shoulders are too broad to exit through the tunnel in any normal fashion. I had to go out on my side...almost didn't make it.