Arizona/New Mexico – Spring 2024

Starting Somewhere in the Middle – Heading into New Mexico: Silver City, Gila Cliff Dwellings, and City of Rocks State Park

April 2-3, 2024

Hello everyone. I have been on the road for over two weeks now, first down into southern Arizona and then on to New Mexico, a place that I have long wished to visit. I’ve been camping and have had little opportunity (time and wifi) to write any blog posts, but I’ve had two nights in an airbnb in Albuquerque and am finally making a start! I really prefer to start chronicling a journey at its beginning, but here we go, from somewhere in the middle, about to head into New Mexico…

In southeastern Arizona, camped at Chiricahua National Monument, I went to sleep in my Toyota to the sound of heavy rain and woke up very early, in the cold darkness of morning, to the surprise of white all around. Brrrr!

I drove to the parking area for Faraway Ranch, cooked up a breakfast of coffee and toast, and watched the half moon rise over a snow-dusted mountain before me.

Then I was off, driving north out of the park but I didn’t get very far before having to stop and look back at the new snow covering the Chiricahua Mountains.

Ahead of me, the road was clear and the sky was moody, shifting often from dark clouds and splashes of rain to clear blue sky with sun and bright white clouds.

I joined Interstate 10 East, with Elvis’ Greatest Hits playing on the stereo, and passed from Arizona into New Mexico, singing happily along. Then, highway 90 from Lordsburg was a dream of a road, newly paved and scenic as it began to climb up to Silver City. However, shortly after crossing the Continental Divide at an elevation of 6355 feet, that still-moody sky darkened and snow began to fall in great big flakes that swirled about every which way in suddenly strong winds. Yikes! Stereo off as I negotiated mountain curves with limited visibility, and then traffic increased as I neared Silver City, with locals in trucks seemingly not at all concerned about slowing down for the conditions. I stopped, with relief, at a McDonalds, pushed my way through the wind and cold wet flakes to get inside, and by the time I’d finished my order of fries the snow had stopped and the sky was blue!

So I drove back down the highway to visit Silver City’s historic old town. Founded in 1870, shortly after the discovery of rich deposits of silver ore in the area, the town’s historic centre features grand buildings built in the late 1800s.

Side roads off of the Main Street featured many brightly coloured art galleries, gift shops and tiled murals.

One of my favourite street art pieces was a low wall tiled with a collage of car emblems, hub caps, little toy carts, glass marbles, and other fun and colourful objects. It was very creative!

The clouds swept back in, with light drops of rain, so I found refuge in the wonderful Tranquille Buzz coffee shop, decorated with many beautiful instruments. It was definitely the right place to be to recharge for the rest of the mountain drive ahead.

I left Silver City and began the mountain drive up to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument on a series of S-curves that recrossed back over the Continental Divide and then rose to a pass at an elevation of 7440 feet (where light snow flakes were falling out of a blue sky!), before descending in more S-curves along the side of another mountain to a high-elevation valley cut by the Gila River. There are several free campsites near and at the monument but they were all empty and lonely-looking, all except for the horse camp that had several large trailers, pickup trucks, corralled horses, and one lovely mule! I found a spot there, despite my horseless state, and settled in for another night of below freezing temperatures.

The following morning it was so cold! I cooked up my breakfast, all bundled up, but at least the sky was clear, the sun was shining, and there was little wind so I was very happy as I crossed over the Gila River on this pedestrian bridge to begin the climb on a trail up a narrow protected canyon to reach the cliff dwellings.

Interpretive panels on the way up described the local plant and animal resources used by the Mongollon people who built the dwellings and lived here in the late 1200s. I learned that they crafted feather blankets made from a mat of yucca fibres interwoven with feathers and down from wild turkeys. After several very cold nights in my Toyota (it is early April, not even winter!) I was very interested to learn this fact! The Mongollon also created clothing and blankets from furs, often of rabbit which was the second-most hunted animal after deer. Here is my first view, half-way up the trail, of the cliff dwellings ahead.

The cliff dwellings were built in naturally-occurring, south-facing and connected caves, with three large “picture-window” openings that provided views up and down the canyon. Mortared stone walls, roofed with local ponderosa pine logs and planks, divided the caves into various rooms for individual families, storage and work areas, and a large communal space. A park ranger was stationed at the dwellings and he answered my many questions about the people who had lived in this remote and high place.

At the last cave, a somewhat daunting ladder led down out of the cave to the path below.

I descended the trail and stopped for this view down to the pedestrian bridge, parking area, and ranger station. The pale gray line of tall bare cottonwoods marks the path of the Gila River.

After my excellent visit to the cliff dwellings I went to see several small cave dwellings in the valley as well as several pictographs that were created with pigments made from crushed red hematite.

I progressed to the Visitors Center where I watched an excellent film and then viewed artefacts and information panels about the life and culture of the Mongollon cliff dwellers. I was so glad that I had made the effort to visit the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, and as I left to renegotiate the many steep ascents, descents, and endless S-curves of the mountain road, my spirits were high and my heart was full.

Off of the mountain, I headed south on Highway 61. The sky, again, was unsure of what to do with itself – bright and sunny, or dark and ominous?

It was a great drive, with almost no traffic and lots of opportunity to glance all around at the ever-changing scenery. I arrived, early in the afternoon, to the fabulous City of Rocks State park where camping was only $12 per night, hot showers included! (New Mexico campgrounds are the best-priced that I have ever come across!) The campsites are arranged among and amidst giant boulders, many in private little coves of rock, but I chose one on the edge of the campground with views out to a beautiful expanse of Chihuahuan desert and distant mountains.

I enjoyed walking around the entire large campground and on the many small trails that weave between the boulders. By the time I got back to camp, rain was threatening in the distance and there was a rumble of thunder.

Thankfully, the rain clouds were swept away by the wind and by the time my dinner was over, and the sun was beginning to lower in the sky, I was ready for another walk, this time on the Hydra trail out onto the flat expanse of desert.

The sun was setting just as I returned from my walk, and I was welcomed back tocamp by the warm orange glow that decorated the grasses, boulders, and even trees. I watched the sun set, and then braved a rising cold wind to sit on my camp chair for a while looking up at the stars as they slowly revealed themselves in a giant dark night sky. It had been a fabulous first and second day in the great state of New Mexico.

Thank you for reading.

This post is dedicated to my dear brother-in-law, the late Richard H., who loved the outdoors.

With love, from Christine and family.