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The history of the Southwest is an ancient one, so ancient that sometimes the story is whispered only by the pictographs, cliff dwellings and pottery artifacts left behind by native peoples long since vanished.
One of those special places is Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument in northern New Mexico, where at times Mother Nature can make it as difficult to visit as the ancient ones had in trying to live there.
This winter has been one of those difficult times.
To reach the cliff dwellings, first you must cross the Gila River (pronounced Hee-la River), and each winter, as rains turn into torrents and snow melt adds to the flow, tearing away rocks and soil, the river almost seems to dare visitors to cross.
State Highway 15's West Fork Bridge washed out on Jan. 22, 2010, making it impossible for visitors to drive to the cliff dwellings parking lot, or even cross by foot. Over the years it's happened a lot, one ranger said.
A temporary solution was arranged in mid-February when New Mexico State Parks loaned a 35-foot-long foot bridge to the national monument. The bridge, actually a boat dock gangway, came from the state's Elephant Butte State Park.
A Wilderness Ranger District fire crew from the Gila National Forest and National Park Service staff also finished temporary reconstruction of damaged portions of the Cliff Dweller Canyon Trail and removed ice up to the cliff dwellings
"We're trying to locate a vehicular bridge now, even if it's just a one lane bridge," Steve Riley, superintendent for Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, told OldWestNewWest.com Travel & History Magazine.
The temporary bridge actually was placed on top the existing highway bridge to allow visitors to hike or bicycle back to the cliff dwellings.
"The public has been really good about the inconvenience," Riley said.
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is within the Gila National Forest, part of the Gila Wilderness, which holds the title as this country's first designated wilderness area.
Visitors to the monument must park their vehicles at Woody's Corral and then hike or bike on the closed road for one mile to the trailhead.
The one-mile loop trail leads to and through the cliff dwellings, taking visitors about 180 feet above the canyon floor. The trail is steep in places, rangers said, and is not wheelchair accessible.
Rangers advise visitors to allow at least three hours to visit the site, since visiting the cliff dwellings is now a three-mile round-trip.
Visitor attendance is down about 50 percent from last year.
"We had 43,000 visitors last year," Riley said as a point of comparison. "We usually run around 1,200 visitors in February, and this year we had 500 visitors."
While the cliff dwellings will be staffed daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Riley said there will be no scheduled tours. Entrance fees are being waived, however, until vehicle access can be re-established.
Lower and Upper Scorpion Campgrounds are open to pack-in camping and all trailheads into the Gila Wilderness in the area are open. Visitors must be at the Cliff Dwellings trailhead by 4 p.m. and should plan on beginning the hike across the West Fork Bridge from the parking area at Woody's Corral by 3 p.m.
No water or electricity is available above the bridge due to damage to utility lines when the approach began eroding. It is suggested that visitors fill their water bottles at Woody's Corral, or the Gila Visitor Center.
The New Mexico Department of Transportation hopes to begin reconstruction some time after March 22, when engineering design work is complete and the river calms down.
"What we will do is backfill the area that has been washed away," Bridget Spedalieri, public information officer with the New Mexico Department of Transportation, said. "The repair work will allow vehicles to have access across the river again."
It could take a month to two months to repair the damage that's been done.
"We've had a lot of rain and snow, that's why we can't say exactly when we can start," she said.
The New Mexico Department of Transportation plans to eventually replace the existing bridge.
"We're hoping within a couple of years, but to reconstruct the bridge the way we want to will take funding," she added. "We're looking at all avenues for funding."
Riley has his fingers crossed that the West Fork of the Gila River will behave itself.
"If we get another big flood, we might have to pull back the gangway bridge," he said.
For more information about Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, call (575) 536-9461 or visit the Web site at www.nps.gov/gicl/.
One of those special places is Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument in northern New Mexico, where at times Mother Nature can make it as difficult to visit as the ancient ones had in trying to live there.
 |
To reach the cliff dwellings, first you must cross the Gila River (pronounced Hee-la River), and each winter, as rains turn into torrents and snow melt adds to the flow, tearing away rocks and soil, the river almost seems to dare visitors to cross.
State Highway 15's West Fork Bridge washed out on Jan. 22, 2010, making it impossible for visitors to drive to the cliff dwellings parking lot, or even cross by foot. Over the years it's happened a lot, one ranger said.
A temporary solution was arranged in mid-February when New Mexico State Parks loaned a 35-foot-long foot bridge to the national monument. The bridge, actually a boat dock gangway, came from the state's Elephant Butte State Park.
A Wilderness Ranger District fire crew from the Gila National Forest and National Park Service staff also finished temporary reconstruction of damaged portions of the Cliff Dweller Canyon Trail and removed ice up to the cliff dwellings
 |
The temporary bridge actually was placed on top the existing highway bridge to allow visitors to hike or bicycle back to the cliff dwellings.
"The public has been really good about the inconvenience," Riley said.
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is within the Gila National Forest, part of the Gila Wilderness, which holds the title as this country's first designated wilderness area.
Visitors to the monument must park their vehicles at Woody's Corral and then hike or bike on the closed road for one mile to the trailhead.
The one-mile loop trail leads to and through the cliff dwellings, taking visitors about 180 feet above the canyon floor. The trail is steep in places, rangers said, and is not wheelchair accessible.
Rangers advise visitors to allow at least three hours to visit the site, since visiting the cliff dwellings is now a three-mile round-trip.
Visitor attendance is down about 50 percent from last year.
"We had 43,000 visitors last year," Riley said as a point of comparison. "We usually run around 1,200 visitors in February, and this year we had 500 visitors."
While the cliff dwellings will be staffed daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Riley said there will be no scheduled tours. Entrance fees are being waived, however, until vehicle access can be re-established.
 |
No water or electricity is available above the bridge due to damage to utility lines when the approach began eroding. It is suggested that visitors fill their water bottles at Woody's Corral, or the Gila Visitor Center.
The New Mexico Department of Transportation hopes to begin reconstruction some time after March 22, when engineering design work is complete and the river calms down.
"What we will do is backfill the area that has been washed away," Bridget Spedalieri, public information officer with the New Mexico Department of Transportation, said. "The repair work will allow vehicles to have access across the river again."
It could take a month to two months to repair the damage that's been done.
"We've had a lot of rain and snow, that's why we can't say exactly when we can start," she said.
The New Mexico Department of Transportation plans to eventually replace the existing bridge.
"We're hoping within a couple of years, but to reconstruct the bridge the way we want to will take funding," she added. "We're looking at all avenues for funding."
Riley has his fingers crossed that the West Fork of the Gila River will behave itself.
"If we get another big flood, we might have to pull back the gangway bridge," he said.
For more information about Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, call (575) 536-9461 or visit the Web site at www.nps.gov/gicl/.
