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