1st day ride from Silver City

November 9, 2016

Gila Cliff Dwellings

The unaided part of our tour ended yesterday with our arrival in Silver City, so CGOB purists may want to take a pass on the final five days since they consist of a series of day rides abetted by the rental car we picked up last night. Use of a rental car worked well for us on this tour though - it was an effective way to manage our luggage, driving back west for a few hours rather tha shipping it forward; and as long as we had extra wheels anyway it enabled us to see some great country that we would have missed otherwise.

Today's ride is a case in point. The Gila cliff dwellings are one of the great sights of the region, and have an excellent reputation as a cycling destination. From town though, it's a 90 mile round trip ride with over 10,000' of climbing. Maybe thirty years ago I would have taken a shot at this but those days are long gone. For us it was just right to park about halfway there, have a manageable ride, and have time and energy for visiting the dwellings.

We started the day with a stop at Adobe Springs Cafe, a terrific breakfast stop serving ample portions suitable to the day's work ahead. Soon after we were seated, an elderly trio (even elderly by my hoary standards) seated themselves at the table next to us. The gent of the group was a well-worn figure - cowboy hat, few if any teeth left, strong accent and vernacular, and quite verbose and loud spoken (likely a bit on the deaf side as well). I inwardly cringed a bit - the election was last night and their conversation went to it immediately, and I braced myself for mutely listening to an offensive monologue. Within a few sentences though it was clear that they held last night's victor in very low regard. You can never tell.

After breakfast we drove northeast on route 35, parking at its junction with route 15. While we were assembling our folders, another biker came by and continued east on 35. A few yards down the road an angry dog the size of a small horse ran out after him, snarling and barking menacingly. Glad we're not going that way today!

Our ride took us up route 15, beginning with a gradual seven mile climb to a crest with a phenomenal overlook across the headwaters of the Gila River.

Climbing to the Gila overlook from the junction of NM15 and NM35. It's a beautiful, quiet climb - 7 miles at a steady 4% grade.

The view across the headwaters of the Gila River. I was surprised to learn that the Gila Wilderness was the first designated wilderness area in the country, established in 1924 under the urging of Aldo Leopold.

Once over the top, we enjoyed a somewhat steeper six mile drop to the Gila River, marred only by the awareness that this was a round trip and we'd be paying for the pleasure of this descent later in the day.

After that we followed the west fork upriver for several miles to the monument visitor center, where I submitted my plea to save our marriage - I was afraid I had left my wallet in the car, along with all my identification, cash, and national parks senior pass card. I appealed for free admission to the park so that Rachael wouldn't bail on me for making her climb over the pass pointlessly.

After some discussion the nice lady agreed with my point and directed us upriver another two miles to the trailhead to the Cliff dwellings - where we met with another park attendant and had to plea our case all over again.

Very embarrassing, and also very dumb - later when we returned to the car I realized I'd had my wallet on the ride with us after all.

The Gila River. I've been surprised by how much of our tour has been near or along this river. It's something I hadn't noticed when planning it.

Following the west fork of the Gila River toward the cliff dwellings.

The hike to the cliff dwellings is great. There is about a mile long footpath that makes a loop along the creek below the dwellings and then climbs to dwelling level and doubles back. It is a very evocative setting, first looking up from below at the placement of the chambers half way up the face of a high vertical cliff; and later to look out to the canyon and wilderness from within the dwellings themselves.

Looking up at the cliffs that rise above the dwellings

In Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. Established in 1907, this is one of the first of our monuments. It is protected by the Antiquities Act, signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906.

Admiring the Gila cliff dwellings, imagining a much different life than we live in our Portland condo unit.

At the Gila cliff dwellings. This is a companion shot to one from our first tour of New Mexico. We're still working on Rachael's photo technique - she's doing better with feet but my head just made the cut.

Here's the previous photo I was thinking of. This was taken in Bandolier National Monument, in October 2010. I'm fond of this photo partly because it's a picture of recovery. In January I suffered a nearly complete rupture of my left quadraceps tendon. I spent most of the next half year in rehab and physical therapy, so I was pretty happy with myself to be back on tour in the fall. My knee here is still somewhat swollen, nine months after the injury.

We kept an eye on the clock during our visit to be sure we left early enough to get safely back to the car before dusk, and hopefully in time to make it most of the way back to town. It's a pretty healthy climb on the way out of the valley - 2000' in about six miles; but once over the top we flew the rest of the way back to the car and arrived well before sunset.

The ghost of Geronimo? His birthplace is believed to be here, in the headwaters of the Gila River.

Alligator juniper, at the Clinton Anderson Vista.

This outcrop on the descent from the overlook was radiant in the late day sun.

For dinner we enjoyed a fine meal at Diane's restaurant, an elegant white table cloth establishment with live entertainment: a pianist and vocalist presenting the Ella Fitzgerald songbook. I especially enjoyed her rendition of Speak Low, one of my favorites - it always amazes me to hear it and be reminded that the lyricist was Ogden Nash, of all people.

Timeless landscape, timeless music - a welcome antidote to yesterday's traumatic event.

Lemon cake and coffee made the perfect end to a fine meal. Even better, a good vocalist and her piano accompanist work their way through the Ella Fitzgerald songbook in the background.

Today's ride: 38 miles (61 km)
Total: 637 miles (1,025 km)

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Kelly IniguezWhat car rental agency did you use? Darned if I can find any at all in Silver City. We are thinking of a version of this for Thanksgiving.
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2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Kelly IniguezPretty sure it was Enterprise, but not positive.
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2 years ago