GILA: Cave dwellings

So now we come to my favorite part of the trip :) Gila National forest .... which I have consistently been pronouncing Geela... but which Chris (just as consistenly keeps reminding me) is actually Heela. This is a national forest in New Mexico, which has the largest, most diverse landscapes and history (at least in my mind), that I have ever witnessed. The silence in Gila was unlike anything I have ever witnessed... completely inpenetrable. It was the first time, I have ever felt myself in the wilderness, and felt somewhat wary of the possibilities of what may surround me. My imagination of bears, wolves, bobcats, cougars, coyotes... and the thousand of other unknowns felt so close. It was the first time I have ever been in a place where I felt as though i was trespassing on nature's territory. I so wish my photographs could have captured some of the immense ammount of beauty I found there. The only words i feel could make anysense was that Gila was haunting but in the most beautiful way imaginable.

The drive on the way to the "cliff dwellings" [ our first daylight views of Gila].

a cactus flower

chris with a cactus and the views

rock outcropping

the signs on the way up! ... seeming both amusing and yet also not very far fetched :)

our first glimmer of a cave on the hike up to the "dwellings". They can trace these "dwellings" back until around 890 B.C. [ "the dwellings' are in quotes because they are not actually dwellings: refer to christopher's blog for further info]

if you look in the far left cave... you will see the structure of a hand built stone wall... attributed to the mogollon tribe.

the t-shape in this picture is an original doorway attributed to the Anasazi tribe: the conflicting Native American tribal signature pieces of the cave are what have contributed to the confusion of its' uses over the years.cave number 3the upper view from cave number three... looking into one of the smaller chambersthe inner view from cave three. This cave was huge.... and had absolutely incredible acoustics!Chris looking out of cave three one of the few remaining cave paintings.

i really enjoyed this series. me on the climb down from cave threea really big tree. this was a cave that was about a mile away from the 'tourist' cave dwelligns. It was recommended to us by one of the guides. It was hidden away off of a little trail... and was thought to be used as a home... during the time in which the 'cave dwellings' were used as a spiritual center.

christopher.... looking very christopher.