Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument – Silver City, New Mexico Catwalk Recreation Trail– Glenwood, New Mexico
Rose Valley RV Ranch was our home base to visit the Silver City area. In 1880, this was a 430-acre working commercial dairy ranch. The original water tank and windmill still stand. Scattered throughout the park are many of the original farming equipment.
Our first visit was to the Catwalk Recreation Trail. This trail got its moniker because boards covered the water pipes leading to the ore processing plant established in 1890. Guess the ore they were mining – correct silver. Today, the steel structures replace the wood boards allowing visitors to traverse through the Whitewater Canyon.
The next day, we were excited to start our journey to the Gila dwellings. The road to the Gila was challenging to say the least. The twists and curves were nerve-racking, and I could tell Mitch was concentrating on maneuvering the turns and hoping another vehicle wasn’t coming in the opposite direction.
Upon our arrival, we watched a presentation of the inhabitants of the dwellings. Sometime around 1280, the Mogollon people constructed homes inside the caves. The cave provided shelter from the sun in the summer and kept them warm in the winter. There was a steep climb to get to the dwellings. As I was climbing up, all I could think about was the trek the woman had to go through daily to get water from the stream below to the homes above. How thankful I am for running water coming from the faucet of our RV. It is incredible how these people made homes in caves, as the stone walls were constructed from rocks below the canyon. It is fascinating to learn how people lived so long ago.
