Two months ago I tried to visit Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument but flooding from a recent snow storm had damaged the access bridge. It was closed. This time the park was open but the bridge remained out of commission so to visit you had to hike three miles. That is, you had to hike three miles if you didn’t travel with your own folding bike!
The ride to the dwellings was swift and easy. Once I arrived, the rangers were quick with help and suggestions on how to get the most from my visit. What most blew my mind was that these dwellings consisted of only 40 rooms, housed only around 50 people and were occupied for only 25 years. Yet these dwellings inside of six caves are now world famous today. It’s impressive what the National Park Service is willing to preserve and promote!
What set this site apart from all others I’ve visited was its accessibility. No, wheel chairs can’t climb the cliffs. What I mean is that you are allowed to walk through the entire site. It’s not walled-off for you go gawk at from a distance. Rarely any more do I find this kind of access and it was nice.
Some pictures from the site are below:
What a drive!
The roads leading to Gila are a National Scenic Byway called the Trail of the Mountain Spirits. As you drive the winding roads through forests, along lakes, and by ghost towns you are climbing to a peak of 7,200 feet. Much of the way the views are spectacular due primarily to the tree-carpeted rolling nature of the landscape. One stretch is so remote that, while paved, it’s largely a single lane wide which made for exciting times when encountering oncoming traffic!
It’s a very long day of driving because the park is so remote. I basically drove for eight hours just to get to and from the Gila Cliff Dwellings. By staying the night in Las Cruces I could have shaved an hour off my drive but that’s about it. As I said, this place is REMOTE.
Another time zone change! Combine this with the added hour of evening sun from Daylight Savings Time and you’ll understand why I continued to drive. Instead of going directly to my hotel in Willcox, AZ I squeezed in another site visit: Chiricahua National Monument. Cool! Actually, I only in hindsight do I know how fabulous it is. It was a last minute addition which I hadn’t researched but, as is always, the National Park Service didn’t let me down!
Check out this glorious park which featured stunning rock formations:
Forgive me for the image quality; it was late dusk and natural light was dim.
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