Silver City NM, land of the Gila Cliff Dwellings

Our stay in Silver City New Mexico was brief, as the nights are getting colder.

A friend recommended we make some time to see the Gila Cliff Dwellings, and it was good advice.  These cliff dwellings were built around around 1230 AD, accurately dated by the core samples of the wood used as supports in the structures; an early prelude to rebar, and the visible wood within the caverns still looks very good.

From their prime location on the New Mexico cliffside, these people had an easily defensible space which took advantage of the winter sun and summer shade.

Gila Cliff Dwellings

The ride out there from Silver City was only 44 miles but it took over 2 hours because it was very windy and steep. We decided to leave the motorcycles and take the car, this decision was heavily debated but decided to be in the best interest of Lance's foot, which still isn't quite healed.  The dog was the big winner here, getting to join us for the ride instead of waiting on the bus.  We were glad we brought plenty of water and snacks because this turned out to be an all day venture and there was nothing to be purchased anywhere.  We are getting smarter about this, as it seems to be the recurring theme for our National Parks.

The RV park we chose in Silver City was Rose Valley RV park, which was spacious and beautifully maintained.  We certainly couldn't complain about the neighbors making noise... some of these graves go back to the 1800s, I can't imagine the day-to-day challenges life as a pioneer and miner must have dished up around here.

Very quiet neighbors

We love this little town but can definitely feel the icy breath of Old Man Winter right behind us, it's time to hit the road in the general direction of South and East.

We made reservations in Corpus Christi TX for a whole 30-day stint, it's right on the beach in the Gulf of Mexico, we expect tropical-like conditions there.  It's over 849 miles from Silver City NM to Corpus Christi TX, we intended to break it into easy 200-mile days, but after elbowing our way through El Paso we didn't find much to slow us down so we just kept going, covering over 400 miles that first day and coming to rest in Marathon, TX before pushing on to Del Rio, which puts us less than 300 miles from our destination on the Gulf Coast.

It's good that we paused here, as we seem to be in the sweet spot for the current weather. The neighboring towns are suffering snow and overnight freezing but we're snug and dry here in Del Rio.