Click on any picture for a larger view
Kids – pay attention.
Enjoy camping time with your family.
Go with them whenever you can.
When you get older and want to camp YOU get to do the work. My sister and I were fortunate; as we were
growing up our family went camping almost every other weekend during the
summer. All we did was come along for
the fun. Mom and dad were planning, cooking,
packing, and driving; then putting it all away so we could do it again a couple
weeks later. Living in WI means going
pretty much from mid May through September; maybe October. After that it gets too cold.
Nicida and I spent several nights preparing for this trip;
planning, cooking and packing.
Continuing with southern NM itinerary we decided on camping at
the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument.
It is a gorgeous area of mountains, passes and valleys with roads
hugging the mountain sides. It’s about
250 miles from Albuquerque with a good portion on the interstate. Once off the interstate it quickly becomes a
two lane road into the mountains at 25 – 35 miles/hour. You want to do the speed limit with all the
twists, jogs and blind curves along the way.
It is safe; just pay attention and do the speed limit.
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| Blackened tree in pinstripes |
On our way we passed multiple campgrounds; some making our
list for future trips, others not, with several still closed for the
winter. The Scorpion campgrounds within
the National Monument consist of two parking areas with vault toilets; each
campsite has a table and fire ring dispersed around the parking areas. There are a total of 13 sites; each isolated
from each other so we didn’t feel crowded.
The gates to the Monument close in the late afternoon/early
evening. Once closed, the only people
around are campers or the rangers; it was nice and quiet. For those of you that need contact with the
outside world you had better look for another place. On our trip back home we didn’t get good cell
phone connection until we were almost back on I-25. We enjoyed the silence.
Many hiking trails; day hike length to multi-day backpack
excursions start in and around the National Monument. The Cliff Dwellings themselves are a part of
the 533 acre National Monument, a small part of the Gila Wilderness, a 3.3
million acre area of forests, mountains and range land which was designated the
country’s first wilderness area in 1924.
One of the volunteers working the visitor center had a couple hiking
suggestions for us for our adventures.
Two branches of the
Gila River converge in the National Monument.
The rivers were flowing quite well and very clear. I thought the river would be lower given the
lack of precipitation we have received this winter. We got to see a few trout lurking in deep
pools or close to some overhanging branches ready to dart for cover. We waded in calf deep water crossing the
river a handful of times at the end of the EE canyon trail. The water felt good as it got up into the
mid 70’s with sun during our hike.
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| Catching a cloud |
Spring is just starting to bloom; there are a few flowers
showing their color, otherwise it’s mostly brown, or black. There were many black skeletons of trees holding
their own against the incessant wind blowing that day. Returning to the cliff dwelling trailhead we
spoke with one of the volunteers about the area finding out that several of the
fires in the area were caused by arson.
I don’t understand.
Back at our site we had dinner then settled in for our
traditional evening campfire. No singing, just a few S’mores.
The next day, after breakfast, we head for the cliff
dwellings. The campground is very
convenient being less than a mile to the trailhead. Overall there are over 40 archeological sites
within the monument. Pit houses dating to
550 CE (Common Era) are in the area along with pueblos dated at 1400 CE.
The geology of the area is remnants of two volcanoes that
erupted 28 million years ago leaving the area covered with deep areas of
ash. Later the volcanoes collapsed
covering the ash with lava. On top of
this a layer of sedimentary rock from even earlier volcanic rocks added to the
terrain. The caves where the dwellings
are now standing were carved out by running water eroding the sedimentary rock
leaving what we see today.
It is hard to imagine making homes in these areas. It’s an easy climb from the stream bed
several hundred feet below to the dwellings.
We follow a partially paved walkway, cross the small stream several
times using multiple bridges, and use handrails and steps to assist us in the
steeper parts. We also have hiking
boots, water bottles and hats to keep the sun off our faces so we can see
better when photographing the area with our phones. The natives were barefoot going down to the
stream for water, further out of the valley for game, then to the mesa top to
their gardens. 
After a brief snack at the camper we hiked a part of the
Little Bear Canyon trail. We did about 6
miles. We were not in peak hiking form
this day from the 8+ mile hike we did yesterday. Stopping for lunch we admired the views at a
pass that lead down into the next valley.
From this point we had an almost 360° view of the valleys and
surrounding rock walls.
Watching the ever darkening gray clouds with light gray
streamers hanging below we decide it’s time to make our way back. Our almost two hour hike up to our lunch spot
was a one hour return trip. A wall of
dark clouds moving towards us is pretty good incentive to quicken one’s pace.
The heavy rains never appear but we did get some rain. After a pasta dinner and an approaching
clearing sky Nicida tries her hand at building the evening’s campfire. I may be out of the job of chief fire master. We enjoy multiple roasted marshmallows and
S’mores a second night.
After a good night’s sleep we pack up, starting our five
hour trip back home. Along the river
beds many trees are putting on their bright green leaves - spring has come to
this area.
It was a great weekend.
Thank you for stopping by,
Mark
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