Blogs from Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, New Mexico, United States, North America

25th Aug ’12 Silver City to Deming, New Mexico Today we drove to see the Gila Cliff Dwellings which were about 44 miles north of Silver City. The journey was on small winding roads which went through forests and gradually climbed up onto cliff tops before winding down into the valley again. It was a beautiful but hot day and the countryside was really pretty. To get to the cliff dwellings you had to walk up a narrow valley alongside a stream and then climb 100s of steps up in the cliff side. Luckily there were bits of shade but by the time we got up to the caves it was such a relief to get out of the sun. It was very similar to Mesa Verde but on a smaller scale, with 5 main caves ... read more

(Gila Cliff Dwellings) Our last sight-seeing adventure before we left Glenwood was a Saturday trip to the Gila (pronounced He la) Cliff Dwellings. We went with Jeff & Alyce, the camp managers. The dwellings are only 38 miles from camp if you can fly there, but if you have to drive it’s a distance of 150 miles~~remember that we’re in the mountains, and the roads can’t go the shortest distance! And the miles are windy (and windy) and slow going. But soooo worth it! There are seven caves involved, and the Mogollon Indians had forty individual structures built within these caves. The first documentation of the caves was in 1884, but the anthropologist that discovered them revealed that vandals had already damaged walls and roofs, and removed the pots and tools. I thought cliff dwellings were ... read more

Roughly a 4 hour drive east of our house is the Gila National Forest, Gila Wilderness and within, the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. Once we were off the main highway and onto the Scenic Byway that leads to & through the park, we were engulfed by trees galore! The byway itself was pretty exciting. There were portions of it that seemed barely wide enough for two passing cars. Luckily for us, we seemed to be the only ones driving the road that day. There was still snow on the ground in places, but the sun was shining & the sky was clear & the brightest of blues. We were unable to park at the regular parking area closest to the dwellings due to the bridge being closed. The west fork of the Gila River had ... read more