Jan 18, 2013 - condo's in cliffs

This is just a warning that today's blog is going to be a lengthy one as it was such a wonderful day and we want to share everything about it with you (lucky you!). We woke early (pre 8AM) and headed off on a 3 1/2 hour drive to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. Our drive took us through the usual dry, brown desert (if you squint you can see Clint Eastwood riding the range like he did in all those dusters). Then the road turned up into the hills and started narrowing & getting twisty. We went through Hillsboro, which is a town on...

Mar 1, 2012 - Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument

Mar 1 Today we visited Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. The monument lies just 44 miles north of Silver City and there are two different roads to get you there. We decided to make a loop and headed out of town just a little ways from our RV park. The road is narrow and 2 lanes for the first 5 miles, then it reduces to just one lane for the next 20 miles. We gradually climbed to nearly 8,000’ and at that elevation there was still snow. Eventually we topped out and rode the ridgeline before descending into the canyon below. Our first...

Jan 13, 2011 - WSMR RV - Gila Cliff Dwelling NM and many others

Today we decided to head off to the northwest to explore Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. Checked out the map and felt it would be a full day with many things to see along the route to add to the interest of the National Monument (NM). First mistake: not adhering to our usual way of doing things; always go to the furthest point and work our way back from there! Second mistake: not realizing the distance to the places we wanted to see would involve windy, hairpin, 20 mph mountain roads to traverse! And, third mistake: NOT leaving...

Nov 2, 2009 - Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument

Well, after yesterday's fiasco, we finally managed the 100 miles to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. The landscape changes alone were worth the hours we spent on the motorcycle. We went from the mind-numbing boredom of I-10 and US 80 to the ambiance of NM 61 and then the breathtaking, mountainous, treeful beauty of NM route 15 as the leaves begin to change color. When we got to the monument, we hiked uphill through mixed young forest, alongside a running creek that feeds the Gila River below. The Indians who lived here 800 years...

Mar 20, 2009 - Gila Cliff Dwellings

We started the day by heading 50 mile north to the Gila National Forest. The National Forest is 3,300,000 acres and includes the Gila Wilderness area at 558,000 Acres and the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument covering 533 Acres. The Cliff Dwellings were discovered in 1878 by a prospector and were first protected in 1907 by Teddy Roosevelt, in order to protect them from damage and vandalism. The site has had human occupation for thousands of years and was occupied by the Mogollon’s from 1250 AD to 1300 AD. They were responsible for the...

Jan 26, 2008 - Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument

Today we took the Trail of the Mountain Spirits Scenic Byway. Our first stop on the way was the old gold mining village of Pinos Altos (Tall Pines). This village was founded about 1859 when a group of forty-niners drifting home from California discovered gold in the area. There was a number of old buildings from the time and newer buildings like the opera house built in 1969 which had been made to look old! We then travelled the winding, twisting road through the Gila (pronounced HEE-la) National Forest. Almost one-forth of the 3.3 million...

Dec 15, 2007 - Gila Cliff Dwellings

Today we drove through a snowy Christmas wonderland on winding steep mountain roads to reach the Gila Cliff Dwellings located in the Gila National Forest. According to the visitor's information pamphlet, the people who built the cliff dwellings were part of the Mogollon culture who were gatherer hunters as well as farmers. These Tularosa Mogollon people built inside natural caves found in Cliff Dweller Canyon. They used rock, mortar, and timbers from trees cut between 1276 and 1287 to construct approximately 40 rooms inside several of the...

Nov 2, 2007 - Silver City, NM visiting Gila Cliff Dwelling National. Monument

Silver City, NM Weather Information about Silver City, NM Information about Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, NM Friday, Nov. 2 We visited Gila (HE-la) National Memorial Park today to view and walk through the 7 cliff dwelling cavities created by water eroding the softer cliff layers. The Gila National Memorial Park and the Cliff Dwellings are described in these two sites: More Information about Spirits Scenic Byway - Click on the Map Detail link to see our route to and from the Cliff Dwellings. Information about Gila Cliff...