I’ve never had a problem with heights, so all I was thinking about as we climbed the 300-foot, steep ascent to see this archaeological find was my knee when it was time to go back down. Jeez Louise though, the second we approached the caves in the side of the cliff and I saw that there are no handrails, no viewing decks—nothing to disturb the cliffs but narrow catwalks and a few ladders between you and a fall straight down the canyon—I suddenly realized I do have a problem with heights, and I’m having it at this exact moment.
Tracy followed the park interpreter up ladders and into recesses to peer at what’s left of this mystery group of Mogollon families.
I stayed on a tiny bit of level-ish rock, gripping my hiking poles, trying to keep my eyes focused inside the caves and not outward at the cliffs on the other side of the canyon. I could feel the plummet behind me, though.
I walked the short catwalk after the ranger to see the rooms he wanted to point out, but only because I thought that was the way out.
When he pointed behind me and said, “You can go down that ladder or back the way you came,” I have to admit I panicked just a little. I can go down ladders—when the possible fall is like 10 feet. Not 300 feet. But I was damn well sure I was not going to walk that narrow cat walk again. So I gave Tracy my hiking poles, gripped that ladder like death, and moved one limb at a time and then gasped when a foot touched the rock below. Tracy didn’t tell me I was at the bottom, thinking I was looking down. Yeah, right.
Guess what? I survived! Now I know, though. No more archaeological finds teetering on cliff faces for me.
Gila Cliff Dwellings
As usual, my factual information will be off the top of my head, but I can say that people have used the caves in these cliffs for thousands of years, as evidenced by the soot in the cave ceilings. What’s remarkable is that 8 to 10 families moved in to the caves for 25 years in the late 1200s, built a common room and individual families’ rooms inside using stone and wood, and left personal items such as woven shoes, mats—heck, a store of corn cobs—behind, and then mysteriously left.
They are the ancestral people to the Puebloans, we do know that, so, for instance, we can guess that this pictograph is of a shaman, with the markings above his head indicating he’s in a trance.
They were unusually skilled at painting pottery; these are reproductions of pots found in the dwellings that we saw in the park’s visitor’s center. (Man did I want to buy a set of mugs with these on them!)
Archaeologists believe people settled here for a bit because the three forks of the Gila River meet here, and, according to tree rings in the posts the builders used in their structures, they were here during a significant drought.
They left behind hearth rings, storage rooms, evidence of having killed deer, big horned sheep, rabbits, and bear.
This t-shaped doorway is common in the Chaco Canyon to the north but found no where else near here, so it indicates a trade in ideas along with goods; seashells and macaw feathers were found here, the traders having traveled across so much dessert with no pack animals. The park ranger telling us this was visibly moved by his admiration for their stamina.
You can see the cliff openings from far below; this area was flattened when volcanoes erupted eons ago, and fissures turned into canyons and river beds, and caves were carved out of what remained.
Only when you climb up can you see the built walls and roof beams inside the caves. It must’ve been an amazing sight to the first white people who found them. It wasn’t until Teddy Roosevelt declared it a national monument that the caves were protected, and much had been lost by then.
The hike up was short and steep but lovely with the morning light on the cliffs around us.
And I was so relieved to be coming down that I didn’t even notice the landscape or my knee!
We’re here for a week, boondocking in a gravel lot also used as a horse corral. It’s an amazingly beautiful spot, and I’ll post pictures of that next time.
Absolutely fascinating! Those are great pictures!!
I saw something like when my partner and I traveled before the kids came but we never got inside, we only saw them from the outside. Love that I was able to get a close-up through your pictures and story. 💟
Do you remember where you were when you saw something like this? It was an amazing experience, that’s for sure.
Arizona? I think we vacationed in Sedona…
We’re in New Mexico right now. Neighbors to Arizona, though.
What an amazing and fascinating place. Though I’m with you on playing mountain goat.
Now you know in case anyone invites you to visit 🙂
I have issues with height to the point that just those photos and the thought of trying to get up there made me legs feel wobbly. I guess at least I wouldn’t go up the ladder to start with and wouldn’t get trapped up there but it makes me sad I’ll never get to go up and see it all for myself!
That’s wild, because I struggled to find photos that show the drop down below. Partly because I was trying to take pictures of the archeologically interesting stuff for you! I didn’t know you struggled with height. Remember that old photo of us on a rock in Harpers Ferry? Maybe that wasn’t as high as I seem to remember.
To my defense, it was a standard hike up there, with that ladder being a way down.
Great, now I’m going to feel weird looking at photos, too.
It’s not all heights or all photos of heights, I’m not sure what exactly triggers it. Presumably I could figure it out but I just play it by ear. The Harper’s Ferry rock would have been fine I’m sure, it’s more precipitous falls that get me most. The first time I discovered it was at a lookout off a Sydney Harbour Bridge pylon that was high above the harbour. There was an armpit high wall around it but suddenly I got scared I might just, I dunno, randomly fling myself off. It’s so weird! Like there’s an honest to god fear of actually falling in legit situations where that might be an issue, and then there’s some kind of touching the void attraction and that’s the really scary one! I hasten to add I have absolutely no desire to do it and never will so why the thoughts are there I have no idea. Anyways, this one seems like a legit and very reasonable reaction to being very high up with narrow paths and rickety ladders and no safety rails. You certainly picked a good one to realise that you do have limits on heights! 😀
This is exactly what my mom used to say, that all she could think of was what if she did jump? Or just fell? And by that time all she was able to think of was the fall, whatever precipitated it, and she was fully in her mind then and not able to even see the logic of the situation.
Also, now WordPress isn’t even identifying you. Damn.
First time I saw the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde I considered what it must have been like raising a toddler there! Talk about some form of Darwinism! I got close, but was, both times, either short on time or with someone with fear of heights, so I never made it “into” the dwellings. I climbed a 90′ tower years ago for NGS, but am not sure I could do it again. And that was just 90′ off the ground, not with a cliff perhaps hundreds of feet down!
Nice pics and commentary.
Anonymous is Renee Shields-Doyle! not sure why it didn’t ask my name!
Renee, you and I are made of some of the same stuff, at least, because that was exactly what I asked the ranger up in the dwellings. How did families keep toddlers from falling off?!? Maybe they tied them to posts!
I love hiking, but I have a hard and fast rule: anything that involves ladders is not for me. As the kids say, I can’t even.
Very cool spot though, and thanks for the history lesson!
I had thought that I can even! Very frustrating. Now I’m with the cool kids, I guess.
Wish I’d known you were coming to New Mexico! I bought a house in Taos, and I just spent the winter there. I’m back in the DMV now, but maybe some day we’ll coordinate…
Mark, I figured we’d miss each other since you were here in the winter and we’re here (although not in Taos) in the spring. That’s fabulous about your house – I’ll email you.
Wow! Every time I think I know all the of the marvelous places in the US, you all again re-educate me!
Hey Eric! Glad to be of service 🙂