Road Trip to Gila National Forest – Heading to Burning Man

Today was a much better day. Not only was there still some leftover stale bagels and coffee at the Continental Breakfast, but Shaun and managed to not be sick on the road today. Normally we’re pretty healthy eaters and the change to fast food, but quick bites and snacks from the road trip has killed our stomachs.

The general plan was to head out to Gila National Forest to the Gila Cliff Dwellings. As a child Gila was the closest area to go and experience “real” camping and I spent countless weekends there hiking, swimming, reflecting, etc. I was ecstatic that I could share such a personal experience with Shaun.

While it takes almost 2 hours to head up a 40 mile mountain trail (make sure your car has “ganas”), and it was thunderstorming like crazy (monsoon season?), the light at the end of the tunnel was fantastic. We enjoyed two things that this gem has to offer: The Gila Cliff Dwellings and the Hot Springs.

We headed to the hot springs first. While I’m sure that forging two rivers with a camera while a crazy thunderstorm is ensuing is not the smartest idea ever, we made the short hike through prickly brush and sunflowers. I highly suggest you do this – but next time, bring long pants. I can’t even tell you how many pokes I got even through the top of my capris. The hot spring is in a canyon right next to a cliff overhang, next to a river. This allows for the hot springs to mix with the cold river water to make for a more tolerable experience. I personally cannot handle 130 degree water and I’m sure Shaun would look like a lobster if he tried. There is something about finding a dead frog that boiled himself alive that kept me from hopping into the steaming water.

We made our way back to the car through the jungle and headed to the Gila Cliff Dwellings. My parents used to talk about taking us there but for some reason or another we were unable to make it while camping there.

There is something almost visceral about the ability to touch and be next to historical artifacts. It is times like these where I realize that I should have gone ahead and gotten an archaeology degree while I was in college (not that I regret getting a film degree). I LOVED being able to touch the walls and look into the canyon from where the natives did. There were no safety rails (except one to get down a ledge) and one small mistake and you could tumble down 100 feet. This made the adventure even more exciting and Shaun was ecstatic that he was able to so fully integrate himself into the experience.

We left to Phoenix after the Cliff Dwellings (in which Shaun made it down the mountain in 45 minutes) and both of us were satisfied and exhausted. After two cups of coffee at a sketchy Denny’s in Tucson, I quickly got us to our friends. We will be spending the next 3 days here and expect a nice long post about it. 🙂