Visiting Ruins

     The Southwest United States is filled with ruins left by ancient 
civilizations. I have long been fascinated with cave dwellings,petroglyphs,
and cliff dwellings.
      There is something about walking through ancient ruins that brings mypresent moments connecting with the past as each footstep re-traces
over what feels like Sacred Land. I know that as I walk and journey where
prior animals and past cultures have trekked I am connecting to those 
incredible beings. 
       I can almost hear and smell the campfires and ritualistic dances of
times gone by as I climb over stone artifacts across ancient plots of soil.
It is my Sacred Honor to walk through ruins of the Ancient Ones without 
speaking for in doing so I am taken back to the knowledge of past human 
species who knew connecting to the elements and the wilderness contained 
wisdom unlike any book or internet available to our world today. The       storytelling and history of those civilizations that lived long before us  is reflected in observing the pottery, baskets, and tools that             were left behind.
      I visited the Gila Cliff Dwellings which is accessible through the 
Gila National Forest, a wonderful adventure in itself! The National Forest is a terrain of unspoiled beauty ranging from deep canyons to forest 
covered hills and rugged mountains. The wilderness called me through 
mesquite, Apache pines, cottonwoods, and willow trees. I had to keep 
pausing by the roadside to breathe in their majestic towering callings 
taking me back to times long forgotten.
      On the way to the Cliff Dwellings I was invited by the awe-inspiring scenic banks of the Gila River that literally took my breath away! As I 
stood hanging on the railing of a bridge overlooking the glorious waters, a
young woman and her child were equally mesmerized by the beauty as they 
stood below me at the riverbank. I called out to her and we shared a momentas we all three smiled at this serene view!
      Once I arrived at the Cliff Dwellings I crossed a bridge and hiked 
the well traveled path across several footbridges up wooden ladders into
natural caves of the Mogollon Culture who lived here in the 1280's. The 
openness of the ancient dwellings felt like a comfortable arena of safety
as I imagined what their life must have been. The Mogollons as well as the 
Anasazi's disappeared from these areas so long ago. Yet my connection with
their existence as I reflected during my visit upon their lands was a 
reverent piece of my New Mexico travels. I could feel their presence within
my grateful heart and soul for having the opportunity to know them on some 
intangible level.