Gila Cliff Dwellings

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The Gila Cliff Dwellings were an amazing site that we visited in the morning, just prior to our departure to Reserve. After we packed up from camp we moseyed over to the Dwellings, a mere 1/4 mile from where we camped at the Upper Scorpion Campground. We were quickly greeted by Jim Ransom- interpreter, geologist, and owner of Gila Hot Springs Campground a few miles away. Mr. Ransom was a true character with crooked smile, blazing eyes, and a sweat-stained hat that numbered is days in the sun. He spoke to us for nearly an hour about the beauty of the dwellings and the debate between himself, as a geologist, and archeologists about what happened to the inhabitants of the dwellings. He was so friendly and humorous and shared many insights into the lives of the Mogollon people and the way that they used the land and interacted with the environment in the Gila Valley. Below are two excerpts from the National Park Service website that explain the area a little better, and you can find plenty online about this area as well. One of the most striking things about these cliff dwellings is that they are the only ones in the United States that allows visitors to actually enter the dwellings and see the rooms that were created- either by footpath or by climbing old wooden ladders to look over taller walls. We took advantage of that opportunity, spending over an hour at the site, marveling at their masonry and their apparent lack of fear of heights....

~Leslie

From: http://www.nps.gov/gicl/ and http://www.nps.gov/gicl/pphtml/nature.html

"Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument offers a glimpse of the homes and lives of the people of the Mogollon culture who lived in the Gila Wilderness from the 1280s through the early 1300s. The surroundings probably look today very much like they did when the cliff dwellings were inhabited. It is surrounded by the Gila National Forest and lies in the middle of the Gila Wilderness, the nation's first designated wilderness area. Wilderness designation means that the wilderness character of the area will not be altered by the intrusion of roads or other evidence of human presence."

"Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is located in the Gila Wilderness inside the Gila National Forest. Within a few miles of the Cliff Dwellings, elevations range from around 5,700 to 7,300 feet above sea level. In the immediate vicinity of the Cliff Dwellings, elevations range from 5,700 to about 6,000 feet. The terrain is rugged, with steep-sided canyons cut by shallow rivers; forested with ponderosa pine, Gambel's oak, Douglas fir, New Mexico juniper, pinon pine, and alligator juniper (among others); and usually dry. July and August are the rainy months, with possibly a short but intense rain each day. Monthly rainfall can vary from almost three inches in August to a third of an inch in May, the driest month. Precipitation in winter ranges from about half an inch per month to an inch and a half. During the summer daytime highs average in the nineties while nighttime lows can reach into the fifties. During the winters daytime highs can be in the fifties, while nighttime lows can reach into the teens. The most common large mammals encountered are mule deer and elk. Black bear and mountain lion are in the area, but are seldom seen. Coyotes can sometimes be heard at night. Because the Gila National Forest plays a role in the reintroduction of the Mexican gray wolf, wolves may be in the area, but encountering them would be rare. The most common birds in the vicinity of the monument are vultures, ravens, crows, hawks, hummingbirds, and various songbirds.