New Mexico

The first stop in New Mexico is Silver City.  It is a bit off the usual trail, set in the mountains in the Southwest of NM, elevation about 6,000'.  It lies just east of the continental divide.

Like Bisbee, AZ it has a mining history, largely silver and later copper.  A handy RV Park in town makes seeing the sights easy.  We are enjoying the comfort of a larger RV, nice couch and reclining chair, easy to make queen bed, separate shower and loads of storage. This, coupled with a Mr. Toad, the go anywhere separate tow vehicle, makes slowing down and spending time much easier.  By this time on our last trip we would probably have logged 2-3,000 miles.  Now about 800.  Silver City is a delightful place, many preserved buildings because of the early insistence on brick for fire prevention.  I first heard of the place from an old friend who spent his first four years here with his Mom, living in a small home with grandparents while Dad was off fighting in WWII.  Back then the floor had a dirt floor and there was an outhouse.  Dad returned home and my friend became another incredible American success story, ending his career as an appellate court justice in California.

Silver City was established in the 1870's but had been an Apache camp and before that, home to Anasazi Indians.  The main street was washed out by a series of flash floods, dropping it 55'.  It is now the home of the lovely Big Ditch Park and serves as a flood control channel as well.  Raggie enjoyed a nice walk in the park while Boogs snoozed.  Boogs' limit these days is about a block.

Big Ditch Park

The 17 year old, blind dog's favorite spot in Bella

After a day in the city we took a tour of the nearby countryside.  The terrain is varied, from rocky pine forests to one of the healthiest ponderosa pine forests in the Gila National Forest to the now agricultural Mimbres Valley, home 1000 years ago to the Mimbres Indians and their famous pottery.  The last stop on the tour was the Santa Rita open pit mine.  We thought the Lavender pit mine in Bisbee was large, but Santa Rita is huge.

Mimbres Pottery

Santa Rita Mine

Santa Rita Mine

Of course the big attraction in NM is the food.  Different from CA and AZ
Mexican and I am told,  from TexMex as well.  We found two local places, Mi Casita which were were told was "on the dirt road just before the car wash."  We found it and joined the crowd for a wonderful lunch of Hatch chile rellenos and MN style red enchiladas with an egg on top.  Himself is forever on a search for good rellenos and found these to be among the best.  The next day we planned to have lunch there again but alas, the restaurant was closed.  I suspect that it was in honor of the Easter weekend though only Saturday.  Instead we had lunch at Fidencios where we enjoyed a carnitas burrito and tacos.  Only cooking in lard could make them that good.  We got local info and mining employment stories from the friendly, born in Silver City, Roberto.

Today was a trip in Mr. Toad to a place called the Catwalk.  It is a narrow trail in a box canyon about one hour out of Silver City.  The scenery was fabulous and the 2+ mile walk invigorating and scenic.  There were many families picnicking and hiking on Easter Sunday.  We do find the people here to be extremely friendly.

The catwalk was originally a water pipe bringing water to a town and mining operations.  The mining was no longer taking place when the CCC built the first catwalk for recreational use.  It has been upgraded over the years and now even includes a wheelchair accessible portion.

A nice chicken chile crockpot dinner and relaxing in the delightful 70's weather before we break camp tomorrow and head for Hatch and,  hopefully,  a freezer full of roasted green chiles.

The Catwalk

The Catwalk

Bella and Mr. Toad

Raggie entertaining neighbors, Eric and Rio

Much has happened since the last entry.  The LA RV market proved too hard to resist.  We found a nice, ten year old Bounder 32' motorhome.  The prior owners bought it new and there was little sign of use though there were 42,000 miles on it.  Funny, they had a slight accident and were then unable to match the original decal trim so had it painted in USC colors.  Those USC people sure need to label themselves.  I threatened to make changing it to Bruin colors a condition of sale but in the end, I really like the colors.  I have named the motorhome Bella (Bounder). Himself took the old camper to WA where it was quickly sold and he returned to prepare for the next leg. Seal Beach has a generous provision for newly acquired RV's, allowing them on the street for 2 weeks.  That was handy for outfitting the new rig though we only needed a week.

 A trip to the Mini dealer revealed a need for more work and $ than I was interested in.  Over the last year much thought had been given to the next car, one a bit bigger, weather tolerant, good for the boys and towable.  While himself was gone, I purchased Mr. Toad, a lovely red Subaru.  Both new vehicles were licensed in WA, not without some angst but thanks to the nice gentleman at the franchise license business on the island.  I can't even imagine what it would have been like dealing with the CA DMV from another state.

Boondocking at the El Centro Walmart

Yuma Territorial Prison

The picture above is from our first night out in the El Centro Walmart.  The first of the challenges came in the morning when the bedroom slide would not go in.  Much effort by himself finally allowed a manual retraction, probably risking a stroke or heart attack from the significant exertion.  The next stop was Yuma where a mobile technician replaced two relays which allowed both slides to again work.  Yuma is an amazing place.  If you like RV parks with lots of old people it is the place for you.  Restaurants are filled with gray haired patrons.  A visit to the Territorial prison, in operation from 1876 to 1909, was the highlight.  Each small cell had 6 iron bunks, and the conditions were brutal in the summer.

The RV park where we stayed was clean and without shade.  Like most in Yuma, it is adjacent to the freeway so the road noise is constant.  There were very strict rules for pets, the back half being entirely off limits.  I inadvertently walked the boys in the forbidden section only to be severely chastised by a woman with much time on her hands.  Apparently she is the self appointed pet warden, having called the police on prior offenders.  We were happy to leave Yuma.

The next stop was Tucson where we visited friends and more work was done on Bella and the tow equipment.  Despite buying one of the top end units,  Mr. Toad caused Bella to sway on the road, making driving quite difficult.  Also, some issues again arose with the slide and leveling jacks.  The guys visited RV and towing dealers, asked many questions and then fashioned a "fix" with metal shims, welded in.  They also developed a theory that the slide/leveling problem was attributable to a problem with the safety switch.  So far this theory seems to be correct though there is more to do.  I have no idea what one would do with an RV if not handy.  A friend described RV's as earthquakes going down the road.  While the guys were working, Sherrill and I enjoyed ourselves at the Tucson Botanical Gardens.  It is a wonderful place, once a private home that was donated upon the death of the owner.  Much is in bloom in the desert and the citrus blossoms were so fragrant.

View of the Lavender Pit Mine from the back of Bella

The next stop was Bisbee, AZ.  It is a small, funky mining town now taken over with artists and people with "alternative lifestyles" plus tourists.  We have visited before and it is interesting that it is on the foreign tourist route.  A couple from France was in a rented RV in the small campground, last time we met a British couple. The campground is next to the Copper Queen hard rock mine, no longer in operation but available for tours.  The mining claim for the Copper Queen was filed in 1877 The owners found the ore was 23% copper with silver and gold as byproducts.  Most mines of the era contained only 3-4% copper so the Copper Queen was extraordinary.  Mine operations were shut down in 1975 as the quality of ore declined. 

 The back of the motorhome looks out on the huge Lavender Pit mine, in operation from 1950 to 1974 by the Phelps Dodge Corp.

Copper Queen Hotel

The Bisbee trip was finished with a cocktail on the patio of the Copper Queen Hotel, often mentioned in J.A. Jance mysteries set in Bisbee.


Next stop, New Mexico.