Our Trip to the Gila Cliff Dwellings

So this weekend, Echo, Austin and I went to the Gila Cliff Dwellings. As you will see in the pictures below, the weather and landscape are a lot different from El Paso and Albuquerque to the East. The drive alone was beautiful, and next spring, we're looking forward to going back to do some serious camping (thanks to Cheyenne, we've got a great camping book to give up pointers on which camping spot to pick. All the ones we passed were in there.).


This is a shot of the Gila National Wilderness area. You have to take small windy roads to get here and go slow. It keeps the whole world from doing this everyday and makes the view once you get there all the more worth it.












This is Echo and Austin on the trail up towards the cliffs. You can't see it but there's a beautiful cliff just to their right.












This is the cliff.














Here are Echo and Austin up on the shelf in front of the Cliff Dwellings. They are saying now that the "dwellings" are actually ceremonial chambers, and that no one really lived there year-round.











This is a look down into the valley from the Cliff Dwellings. They say that during the ceremonies, it filled with families dancing, chanting, singing, etc.









Here's a shot from inside the Cliff Dwellings. Apparently, the only way to get inside originally was a log ladder that you pulled up behind you.









Here's another shot from the inside. They called some of these rooms "Kivas."














A shot of Jesse in the Dwellings












So after a while up in the Dwellings, we head down to the Gila River where we cooled off a bit.














Going in for the kill!