AIROSMITH

    The drive from Silver City, New Mexico to the  Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument  takes about an hour and a half.  Just a short drive to go back several thousand years of history. Once at the park, first visit the Visitors Center.  There you will get the history of the  Mogollon People  who occupied the dwellings, and of the ancients who visited before them.  There is a museum and video that tell their story. The history in these mountians extend beyond the Mogollon.   The Apache made these hills their home for many years after these caves were abandoned. You will hike about a mile loop to visit the Dwellings.  The trail travels along the canyon floor, next to the North Fork of the Gila River, and climbs to the bluff and the caves that house the dwellings.  The history and the views are stunning. The Stairs begin just at the first views of the cave and ruins Arriving at the first caves you see the signs of human occupation.  Archeologists have determined that the caves would

    We have driven past this National Park several time over the past three years, and never have had the time to stop and visit.  We were returning, from our annual family ski trip,  to where we moochdocked AIROSMITH north of Phoenix.  We chose to stop in Holbrook Arizona for several night with the express purpose to spend a day at the Petrified Forest National Park .  It was their park video on this website that won us over.  Take the time to watch it. The park is an easy one day visit, unless you plan to spend time in the backcountry.  Being out of our home, we snagged two nights at a Best Western in Holbrook.  It made the 10+ hour trip from Colorado worth it.  The park is easy to visit from here, as the Park Road makes for an easy one day loop.  We began ours at the Painted Desert Visitors Center on the north, driving south through the Park and leaving past the Rainbow Forest Museum.  The route is easily done in the opposite direction.  Plan on a full day.   The north part of the p