Gila Cliff Dwellings, NM
April 2001

Dear Jake & Amelia,
We have just come from visiting the Gila Cliff Dwellings. We drove up small twisting roads through mountain forests and gazed down into deep valleys. Spring is just arriving. After being in the desert, the green vegetation is refreshing. Tall evergreens tower high above us. 

We climbed a path above a river valley. We came to a cave deep enough to provide protection against weather and to be cool in the summer. It faced south for winter warmth. The view was into the fertile valley below. Thousands of years ago the cave had been used for shelter by hunters. Around 1270 AD dwellings were built in the front, leaving a great space behind. There was a powerful feeling in this space. We thought of all the people who had sought shelter here. First came the prehistoric hunters. Later the cliff dwellers grew beans, corn and squash above on the mesa top and below by the river.

We camped in the Park at Upper Scorpion Campground and slept well, bundled against the cold. We kept meaning to ask the Rangers how many scorpions were around, but kept forgetting. Maybe we didn't want to know. We still haven't seen any. Robert told us that their sting is similar to a bee's. He recommended we buy a portable black light, go out at night and turn rocks over. Scorpions fluoresce.

Nancy & Peter

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