After falling in love with Silver City, NM I headed towards the Gila Cliff dwellings. On the way was  a  sweet free campsite called Cherry Creek (32N54’51”, 108W13’29”, 6,724′).  I stayed for three days, exploring, wandering.
Then I drove a winding, narrow, long road to the Gila Cliff Dwellings. I enjoyed the Gila Cliff Dwellings. The walk up to the dwellings was a good opportunity to see the area and the hardships that must have been experienced in living there, building there. The interior spaces (this is one of the very few places you can go into old dwellings) are surprisingly roomy. The ceilings are black from  years of fires. There was a slight National Forest presence at the site. One fella explaining stuff. On the walk back down there was an area of forest that had burned. I tried to camp nearby (there were hot springs and free campgrounds and expensive campgrounds), but the free campgrounds were so messy that I would be spending days cleaning up. So I went back to tiny Cherry Creek campground for a few more nights. While there it became obvious that it was time to clear out the truck, so I drove out and went to a real campground that had water.  That burst of cleanliness lasted two days (at Mesa Campground on Lake Roberts, 33N01’55”, 108W09’27”, 6,126′, $5/night).  After a fine dinner of fresh, donated fish, I woke up the next morning and did a major clean-out, restocked, including airing out the sleeping bag. Phew.

I had big plans  to stop at the Silver City Walmart before heading further into New Mexico, but just kept driving. I didn’t even stop for gas. What was going on? I was heading somewhere very fast, but where and why? Stay tuned for the answers.