Kerrville, TX to Gila Cliff Dwellings in New Mexico

---

We are the new owners of a 5th wheel camper and truck to pull it with!! Our plan was to go to the botanical garden in San Antonio, and on the way stop to check out a 5th wheel we had seen at an RV show. We never got to the garden and by the end of the day we had traded in our Jeep and camper for a big white truck and 30' 5th wheel. Parting with the old was kinda sad, but living in the new is awesome!!



We stopped for a few days in Kerrville, TX ,and stayed at the state park there. Kerrville is the city my family lived in when we first immigrated to the US from Austria in 1952. Our point of entry was New Orleans. We were sponsored by Zion Lutheran Church in Kerrville. I have no memories of any of this, but it was interesting to see the area we first came to in the States.



After Kerrville, we headed for New Mexico - the Land of Enchantment and sunshine. We are in City of Rocks State Park in Faywood. A very unusual area of rock formations that were part of a volcanic eruption 35 million years ago. The rocks have been shaped by wind and sand erosion and campsites for tenters are situated right among the rocks.



About 70 miles from the City of Rock park are the Gila Cliff Dwellings. These are some of the best preserved and most accessible ruins we have visited. To get there we had to drive route 15 - a white knuckle ride for some of us, but worth it to see the ruins built by the Mogollon(mo-go-yon) culture in 1276. The ruins are 180 feet above the canyon floor formed by the Gila River. About 40 rooms were built inside several natural caves and 80% of the original structures are still intact. We were able to go into 3 of the 6 dwellings. It was a great place to visit and the park people were excellent.

Click on pictures to enlarge.

---

Photos

cool picture
City of Rocks State Park

The New Rig
30' Rockwood - 2 slides

F-250
2008 Ford XLT -all set up for towing by the original owner.

Zion Lutheran Church, Kerrville
Only the outside is the same as 1952.

Kerrville
The old theatre - I'm pretty sure we never went to this since our English was pretty limited.

Guadalupe River
The river runs right through the center of town. My brother remembers walking to the river with his fishing pole.

New Mexico
Pretty typical scenery for the Chihuahuan Desert region.A very stark landscape against the blue sky.

City of Rocks State Park
The state park uses wind power to fill the water tower.

Rocks
This is Ron being photogenic.

Throne room
The rocks have been carved out by the wind and sand.

Uncle Dave
Exploring a Live Oak Tree

Route 15
18 miles of hairpin turns on a road that was only 1 1/2 lanes wide. Beautiful scenery though.

Mule Deer
This guy popped out on the road after one of those turns.

Gila Ruins
A view of the ruins from across the canyon.

Park Ranger and Tam
The beams at the top are original and 700 years old.

2 story structure
This was possibly used as a smoke house or for tanning hides.

Down the ladder
This gives you a sense of how far down the Gila River is from the dwellings and how steep the sides are.

up the ladder
Another perspective.