We left Sahuarita mid-morning and headed East about 60 miles to Cochise Stronghold. The Dragoon Mountains were inhabited by Cochise and his people (can’t recall the dates sorry). This region provided reliable water all year and plenty of hunting and gathering for sustinence. Early on the Natives and the Whites were on friendly terms until, one day a young white boy was kidnapped. The White People blamed Cochise and his people for the kidnapping. Cochise denied it. They didn’t believe him. The battles began. The White people attacked and killed many of Cochise’s people-men, women and children, still the boy was not found. The land was a natural fortress providing high lookouts and several hiding places. Cochise and his people stayed there to fight. Knowing the lay of the land so well had the fighting advantage. Many people died here. Turns out, a nearby Apache Tribe had the boy all along and Cochise was falsely accused—too late by then, the damage had been done and Cochise wasn’t going to forget or forgive. Cochise eventually fell ill, supposedly with stomach cancer, and was buried here at Cochise Stronghold. He was buried with his favorite horse and dog. What a story.
Jason and I did our own exploring after reading the interpretative signs and played out our own interpretation of the battle at Cochise Stronghold. We followed the wash (dry this time of year) scrambling over, under, between and through these huge boulders and rocks. These boulders led us to several little caves, overhangs and hiding places—we can see how ideal a fortress this place would have been. We had a blast monkey-ing around and of course, we had to make it to the top….”it’s just right there” Jason says. So, we climb up, up and up. WOW—what a fantastic vantage point of the surrounding area. Nobody could sneak their way in without one of Cochise’s people noticing. We got up top and hung out a short while to catch our breath and take in the view. Then, back down we went—picking our path back over, around, under and between the huge boulders. It was so much fun. Kids would absolutely love this jungle gym. Its pretty safe, as long as you’re not trying to do a 5-12 climbing move and peel off the rock. There are numerous options to negotiate the environment—over, under, around, between, or through. It was a great day. We needed to get out and burn some energy too.
We drove into Southwestern New Mexico to the Gila National Forest the rest of that day. Superbowl Sunday-Green Bay Packers vs Pittsburgh Steelers. We were hoping the Packers would win. Tuning into patchy AM radio as we drove along, we were able to listen to the 4th quarter. It was an exciting game going into OT. We tried to make it to the Buckhorn Saloon in Pinos Altos, NM , just north of Silver City, to catch the last bit of the game. If it was open, we would have been able to watch the Packers win the superbowl while enjoying a beer, but it was closed. There was nothing going on in Pinos Altos at that time of night, week or possibly anytime. The bar looked more like a Historical Exhibit rather than a bar. It was dark, late and cold. We camped in the valley at Cherry Creek Campground. We woke up in the morning and saw the sun shining up above and drove directly to it-- about 5 miles out of the valley. We did our usual morning regimen in the comforts of the sun and then headed for Glia Cliff Dwellings.
We drove to higher elevations through more beautiful mountains to the Gila Visitor Center for info, maps, etc. A nice stroll along a small creek and up the hill to the area’s largest Cliff Dwellings. People of the Mogollan culture inhabited these lands from 1280s to early 1300s. There were 6 caves that were naturally formed in these cliffs and used by Natives. After much study and research to find out the whos, whys and whats, anthropologists have their theories on these dwellings but nobody knows for certain what went on in these dwellings. It’s hypothesized that the caves were used as a place to gather for rituals and celebrations rather than living or sleeping. The native people were highly resourceful and adaptable to the land. They didn’t try to build permanent structures from materials that were difficult to attain or shape the land that would be convenient to their needs. Rather, they accepted the gifts from nature and adapted their lifestyles to fit in with the natural world around them. (What a grand idea). Most likely they built temporary pit houses amongst their crops of corn, beans and squash. Maybe they stored crops in some of the cliff dwellings-out of the weather and safe from animals. Nobody really knows---but it was fun to try and imagine what life would’ve been like as we walk through little passageways and storage rooms in these caves. We tagged along on a guided tour by a lovely little park voiunteer, Sarah Officer. She was very knowledgeable, animated and loved telling stories and getting people thinking. Cave 3 was the largest cave and the black soot on the ceiling was carbon dated back to the 1280s and 1300s. It’s impressive to look around and realize all of this was built by hand. These walls have stood for 7 centuries! In this day and age, we have buildings that sometimes don’t last 50 year, even though we have all kinds of resources at our fingertips! During the early 1800s, cowboys and other passer-throughs looted the caves, destroying many of the structures, breaking left behind pottery and removing tools and other things that may have offered some more insight. Bummer.
Gila National Park was the first designated wilderness in the USA. We were fortunate to get information on places to see and what to do from Liz, a co-workers of Sonia’s. She definitely guided us to some cool things. Cliff Dwellings and Hot Springs!! Thanks Liz.
Later that afternoon, we decided to find some natural Hot Springs nearby the Visitor Center. It was a cold afternoon and soaking in some natural hot springs would feel really nice. We packed a backpack and headed out. We only had to do 2 river crossings that were calf deep. It was very cold water, but luckily not swift water or a very wide crossing. A short hike, we rounded the corner and saw the steam rising under a landmark rock overhang and we were there. 2 other people got there at exactly the same time we did—they were coming from the opposite directions. We all got undressed and soaked for a couple hours. It was lovely. A pool of hot water about 2 ft deep with sandy/rocky bottom right on the river’s edge. The hot springs feeds directly into the river. The pool is natural with retaining walls made of sand rocks not mortared together-keeping it raw, natural and beautiful. The water draining in is about 130 degrees F!! Very hot! You simply slow the hot springs by putting a few rocks in the path and then open up some space so the cold river water drains into the pool to find a comfortable soaking temperature suitable to your liking. It felt so good. These hot springs don’t have a lot of sulphur or iron therefore did not smell like rotten eggs. These hot springs are as a result of water pushing upward from magma down in the earth’s crust. This region was formed from previous volcanic activity and there are fault lines all over and therefore are blessed to have several hot springs in the area.
That night we camped at Gila Hot Springs and were able to soak some more-- Like we weren’t prunes already. It is a privately owned ranch with camping facilities along the river and 3 hot pools to soak in. The 2 people we met earlier at the hot springs were our camp neighbors and came over for a visit around the campfire and hot chocolate that night. Nice folks; the girl grew up in the Seattle Area—small world! After another very cold night, we warmed ourselves in the morning in 3 different pools. 2 were 105 degrees and the other was 102 degrees. There was only 1 other woman in the pools that morning—pretty quiet once again. Gila Hot Springs was a funky, cool place with driftwood structures and “yard art” all around. It was a cool place and cheap, $5/person/night. Oh and there were baby goats that were only a week old that were so cute. You have to drive past their goat pens on your way to camp. We wanted to bring a kid home for DeWayne….there was a cute brown one that would’ve matched him and Monty. How Cute. After Soaking for almost 1.5 hours, we were all relaxed and not moving really fast. We were heading for City of Rocks that afternnon and it was only 2 hours away.
Gila National Forest was beautiful and we could’ve spent a lot more time exploring and hiking ….another time. Thanks again Liz for the great tips.
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