Day 206: Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, NM

On paper, Alea was supposed to be losing a fair amount of elevation as we left Emory Pass.  But the reality was that the terrain was undulating, making her 39 miles more of a challenge than she had expected.

And the temperature had barely climbed into the low 40s by the time she had started riding, though fortunately for her (at least as far as staying warm was concerned) she headed uphill immediately.  And it wasn't long before the elevation dropped enough that we found warmer temperatures in the valley below.

She rode as far as New Mexico Highway 15, which leads to Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, which is at the end of a long, dead-end road.  We decided not to ride there and back, but instead we piled the bikes in the van, opting to take a day off to explore the park.

Yet another roadside memorial to a cyclist who was killed on the road...

We were very glad for that decision, as the road was the steepest long climb that we have yet encountered.  And the descent into the Gila River Valley was even longer and steeper.

We were running a little low on groceries, so we stopped at a local trading post to see what we could find.  What we came away with was a $2 can of refried beans, a $5 loaf of bread and seven pounds of ice for $3.20!  But it was 45 miles to the nearest discount supermarket, so we were glad that we found a few things to tide us over until we could get restocked.

We camped at Upper Scorpion Campground (Free, primitive, no water), which is just next to the entry to the cliff dwellings trail.  Fortunately, the visitor center had potable water, so we were able to top off our holding tank and Igloo cooler before setting up camp.  A short distance from our campsite was small cliff dwelling and some pictographs, giving us a small preview of what we would see the next day.

Once again, it was in the low 30s in the morning, but fortunately quiet hours were from 10 pm to 6 am.  So at 7 am we fired up the generator, allowing us to have some cabin heat while we enjoyed coffee and breakfast.  We remained inside for some time, waiting for the sun to warm things up in the cliff dwellings canyon.