We crossed the border of Texas into New Mexico and stopped at the welcome center to pick up some tourist information and grab a quick geocache….our first in the desert! Not long after crossing the state line into New Mexico we had our first border patrol stop on Interstate 10 which was quick since they just waved us through. We stayed at an Escapees park called Dream Catcher RV Park. One thing we noticed so far about RV parks in west Texas and New Mexico is it is very much like camping in a parking lot…wide open spaces with no trees or grass, just hookups for your RV. This is something that has taken some getting used to! The next day we decided to drive the two and a half hour drive to see the Gila Cliff Dwellings in Gila National Forest. The signs promised us a scenic byway, and we were not disappointed! Not long after leaving the Deming city limits we encountered another border patrol stop. This time they made us stop, and they looked through the window of our car, asked if we were both US citizens, and then wished us a nice day and we proceeded on our way. We loved seeing windmills against the mountains. The views were amazing as we climbed over 8,200 feet along narrow roads with sharp curves and hairpin turns. We were more than a little surprised to see snow on the mountaintops and along the side of the road! We arrived at the trailhead to the cliff dwellings. The ranger told us they had recently had 4 inches of snow, and while the trail was clear, there were some icy patches along the trail, so we decided to use our trekking poles. We purchased the trekking poles last fall to help with steep and uneven terrain, and we have certainly enjoyed using them and have found them to be very helpful. We really recommend them to anyone who does much walking or hiking. We did not find the trail particularly difficult going up, but coming down was another story since that side of the trail does not get much sun and the trail was very icy in some places. Certainly not what we expected to encounter when we left home that morning, but the snow and ice all added to the excitement of the day. It had been some time since we had last seen snow! The cliff dwellings were amazing and definitely worth the drive over and back. We were told by one of the park rangers that this is the only cliff dwellings in the country that actually allow you to go inside the dwellings and not just view them from a distance. Archeologists believe the Mogollon people lived in the dwellings from the late 1270’s to 1300 AD. They think they lived here for such a short time because a severe drought affected their ability to farm and they moved on. The cliff dwellings have approximately 40 rooms built inside several natural caves in the canyon. We did see some pictographs but many have faded over time. After the Mogollon left, it appears no one lived in the region for over 100 years until the Apaches migrated there around 1500 AD. Geronimo was born near the Gila River in the early 1820’s. In 1878 a prospector and miner H. B. Ailman discovered the cliff dwellings. By 1884 when archeologist Adolph Bandelier arrived, looters had stolen many of the artifacts and burned the roofs of some of the cave dwellings. In 1907 President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed the area a national monument in an effort to prevent further destruction. We had planned on leaving Deming the next day, but Tuesday night we received a high wind advisory on our phones for difficult driving conditions along Interstate 10 for high profile vehicles like RVs. Since we had seen many signs throughout west Texas and New Mexico along the interstate warning of cross winds and low to zero visibility due to blowing sand, we decided to heed the warning and stay in Deming another day.
December 2, 2013 Deming, New Mexico
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