To reach Gila Cliff Dwellings you have to travel on the Trail of the Mountain Spirits National Scenic Byway. This journey is not for the weak hearted. The road is not recommended during the winter months as they do not plow the road on weekends. It is extremely narrow and windy at times. It took us two hours to reach the National Monument leaving from Silver City and traveling only 30 miles. The Mountain Spirits National Scenic Byway holds a lot of history, yet our only goal this trip was Gila Cliff Dwelling National Monument. We were told they are one of the few cliff dwellings left in the United States where you can climb inside. Particularly due to the fact that they have very few visitors daily. I would assume this is the case solely due to the treacherous scenic byway which is the only way in and out.
I printed our Junior Ranger Book for Gila Cliff Dwellings ahead of time so that I could plan our day in the Park. If you would rather pick up your Junior Ranger Book at the Visitors Center you will actually drive past the entrance of the Cliff Dwelling to the location of the visitors center and then backtrack to enter the park. The visitors center also has restrooms, a small museum area and a gift shop. The long drive to the National Monument gave us the opportunity to discuss what to expect and complete pages 2, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 13 prior to our arrival. These pages covered a wide range of topics such as, habitat, the Mogollon's native language, the wide range of settlers to the area during different courses in time, and what rules to follow while visiting the National Monument. To become a Junior Ranger at Gila Cliff Dwellings you must visit the Cliff Dwellings, explore the museum, and complete all the activities that feature a Ranger Hat symbol as seen here.
As we were intent on making the only ranger guided tour offered daily we did not spend much time in the museum area. The tour begins at the cliff dwellings, approximately one-half mile from the beginning of the trailhead this may not sound like much, but when you are in a hurry, in the heat of the day it feels a lot longer then you think. As we entered the beginning of the trailhead a ranger was standing at the entrance reviewing the rules with each and every visitor prior to them making their way up to the dwellings. The entire hike is a one mile loop divided into the lower trail and upper trail. The lower trail is shaded and fairly easy. We did not end up taking the upper trail due to the fact that while we were in the caves a thunderstorm moved in and it was no longer safe to take.
Once we arrived Ranger Nancy led us through each dwelling helping us imagine what it might have been like to live up high in the cliff dwellings. The tour was a wealth of information and really helped us picture life as an Ancient Puebloans of the Mogollon area and the struggles they might have encountered.
To be able to see up close each artifact pictured in the Junior Ranger book was truly an educational experience. It helped us to understand why and how you knew which room was utilized for cooking not just by seeing the grinding stones pictured below in the book but by having the ability to look up and see all the soot that was covering the roof. Children are naturally curious so if we could inspire them to investigate how or why the wealth of knowledge they are able to absorb is astonishing.
Once the tour had ended we were able to leisurely walk through the dwellings exploring each area in such detail on our own timeline left us the opportunity to complete almost the entire Junior Ranger Book.
In the last cave Jaxon choose to draw a pictograph that had been on the wall. It was so far in the distance that we could not get a really clear picture of it but if you look real close you can see a faint red paint on the wall located right above the wall on the right.
On our return hike down from the cliff dwellings Jaxon took a seat on a bench to complete page three of his Junior Ranger Book. This page came extremely easy for him as we were hiking down in the mist of a thunder storm so the sounds of the storm superseded anything else in the area.
As we drove back towards the visitors center we stopped at the Trail of the Past located right next to the Lower Scorpion Campgrounds to complete the page below. The trail is a very short trail and can be done in less then ten minutes.
The last page of our Junior Ranger book took us on a journey of reflection on our visit. Asking us the simplest question, What did this special place mean to you, the people you know, and the people who choose to spend their time protecting it?
