I’ve always been a bit curious about the early people that populated the Americas, from the first primitive peoples to the complex societies of the American Indians.  So when I discovered that the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument was not that far away, I took the opportunity to visit them.  [Note:  The correct pronunciation is “Hee-la.”]  The dwellings are reached by a lovely drive though the mountains of western New Mexico, which turned out to be surprisingly cool and damp, with both pines and deciduous trees.

I’d also like to note, however, that the FJ reached a major milestone on this day, hitting 30,000 miles on the odometer.  We left Nashville togehter three months ago with the odo reading 14,500, so we’ve come farther together than Baby Blue had ever been driven before.  Well done, Babe!  I think we’ll be forever til death do us part… 🙂

The two hour drive through the mountains from the nearest highway was apparently called the Trail of the Mountain Spirits Scenic Byway, although I wasn’t aware of this when I started that way.  It was a great name for a great drive, though.

And honestly, getting there was half the fun!  It was a hoot, even!  This is one of the straighter parts of the road, bobbing and weaving around, but there were so many hairpins and switchbacks, steep grades and beautiful cool forest scenery.  I loved it, and just don’t have a picture that does it justice.

Since Wikipedia does a good job of explaining what’s known about the cliff dwellings, I’ll just quote from there to give you more details: “Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is a U.S. National Monument created to protect Mogollon cliff dwellings in the Gila Wilderness on the headwaters of the Gila River in southwest New Mexico. The 533-acre (2.16 km²) national monument was established by President Theodore Roosevelt through executive proclamation on November 16, 1907.  Considered by archaeologists to be on the northernmost portion of the Mogollon People’s sphere of influence, the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is home to two prominent ruins sites among a collection of smaller sites located within the Gila Wilderness inside the Gila National Forest. The Monument landscape ranges in elevation from around 5,700 to 7,300 feet above sea level and follows the branches of the Gila River. The terrain around the ruins is rugged and arid, and contains steep-sided canyons cut by shallow spring rivers and mesas and bluffs forested with Ponderosa pine, Gambel’s oak, Douglas fir, New Mexico juniper, pinon pine, and alligator juniper (among others).  The Monument … contains the remains of a Mimbres Culture community in various locations, two of which are most prominent. The namesake ruins’ developers made use of natural caves to build interlinked dwellings within five cliff alcoves above Cliff Dweller Canyon. The TJ Ruins are located on a bluff overlooking the Gila River. The Mogollon Peoples are believed to have inhabited the region from between 1275 and into the early 14th century, during the Pueblo III Era.

Archaeologists have identified 46 rooms in the five caves on Cliff Dweller Canyon, and believed they were occupied by 10 to 15 families. The “Heart-Bar Site” or the TJ Ruins (named for the former ranch which the mesa takes its name from) located on TJ Mesa are largely un-excavated.  It is not known why the community was abandoned.  Hopi oral tradition refers to migrations occurred based cycles calendars, and in response to changing environmental conditions.

Several mummified bodies had been found at the Gila Cliff Dwellings location, though most were lost to looters and private collectors. In 1912, a burial ground was found; a mummified infant later referred to as “Zeke” was located.”

It’s also known that the Apache Chief Geronimo was born near the headwaters of the Gila River.

There’s a small museum there containing artifacts that were discovered at the site.  These food scraps were particularly interesting to me, I suppose because it brought home the humanity and basic living needs of these long-forgotten people, of whom so little is known.  You can see that the piece to the right is clearly the dried out top of a pumpkin.

The tools and weapons found there were made of stone, flint, and obsidian, and of sophisticated make.

And the large storage pots, very well preserved, are simple but well made.

The climb up to the cliff dwellings got me panting a bit, but was really not a great challenge.  The trail was rough but well maintained, gaining about 200 feet in elevation, mainly in the final climb up to the dwellings.

The view from a distance is impressive, and I’d have to say that the gorge containing the dwellings had a rather protected and home-like air about it.  I could see why you might want to live here, although in reality is was probably mostly about the available resources, including the Gila River at the base of the cliffs.

I was a little surprised at being allowed to climb right into the dwellings and walk through them, although visitors are warned not to touch the walls.  And see, I found more nice people who offered to take my picture near the entrance, although I’m starting to look a bit scruffy and dishevelled again.

And I was able to go right into the dwellings and experience what it must have been like to live there.  It felt protected.  There was still plaster on the wall in one room, with what a volunteer told us was the remains of a mural.

There were ladders set up in places so that visitors could look over the rock and adobe walls and into the rooms.

There’s no clear indication now what the individual rooms were used for, although some did appear to have fireplaces.

I and other visitors asked a number of questions, but in fact, very little is know about the people who lived here, so we probably walked away with as many questions as answers.  Although the walls of the dwellings are thought to be built by the Mogollon people, it’s believed that the caves were probably used by others as early as 500 BCE.  Climbing down the ladder to leave the dwellings, I was almost hoping to have the feeling that I was leaving someone’s house, but since the Mogollon people lived here only about 20 years, I’d have to say that it was more like leaving a nice cosy temporary residence than a well loved home.  I know, I know, I look for significance and connection in everything, don’t I?!

Rather than push on much farther, I decided to spend that night camped over the river and through the woods down a 4wd track in the most forested area of that lovely two hour drive.  It was a cool night with a pleasant rain, and I was completely alone.  Ahhh… I like places like that.

I’m getting pretty tired, however, and hitting the wall, so think I need a rest day soon.  All the travelling alone is starting to catch up with me, particularly the few long driving days I’ve had, and I need to recover before I can go on.  Tucson, Arizona looks like it might be a good place to do that…