Monday Feb 25th – We’re staying at Silver City RV just on the edge of town. It’s small, quiet and comfy. Every AM the office has a coffee shop goin’ on with fresh baked goodies. We packed a lunch, got JP a 3 day fishing license and we headed into the Gila National Forest. In 1924 the US Forest Service established the Gila Wilderness (the first wilderness area in the nation).

We stopped at Robert Lake so JP could do some fishing. It has trophy size bass but alas no fish in the chilly waters.

We headed up to the Gila Cliff Dwellings for the second half of the day.
Its a bit of a hike up and around the one mile trail that climbs 180 feet over steep and rocky steps. A bit harder for us since the elevation was about 8,000 ft. A stretch for us sea level folks at 20ft!

The Cliff Dwellings were left behind over 700 years ago by the Mogollon People. No one knows why they left their home here around 1300 or how long the dwellings will continue to live on. The dwellings have been dated back to 1280 by studying the tree ring patterns from the wood used to make the ceilings. Pretty amazing!