Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument

[pictures will come later]


From Alamogordo, I went to Albuquerque and flew home (details).

Upon return, I drove south from Albuquerque to Silver City. This is one of the jumping off points for activities in the Gila National Forest. It's called Silver City because the area has lots of mines (including a large open-pit mine about 20 miles east of town), but most of the last 50 or so miles are quite pretty.

In the middle of this National Forest, over a 50-mile road that twists and turns (typical driving time 90-120 minutes), is the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument.

This monument was originally proclaimed by Theodore Roosevelt. The cliff dwellings appear to serve some religious and/or political functions, as they are positioned about 2 miles away from the location of a much larger settlement in the Gila River valley. There are a number chambers, some of which were clearly ceremonial/meeting in nature, including a non-round kiva (due to the shape restrictions in the cave, it seems), as well as a small number of chambers that might have been living or storage rooms.

I spent an afternoon there, viewing the ruins, and strategizing for a four-day hike into the Gila Wilderness, which I began the next day.

Before that, I enjoyed a dinner at Shevek & Mi, quite possibly Silver City's nicest restaurant.