We snowbirded to Silver City, New Mexico for a week in January. "Silver" is an old mining town formerly enriched by silver, gold, copper, turquoise, meerschaum…
Our adobe rental was perched on a hill at the edge of town, walking distance from Main Street and Western New Mexico University. The peacefulness was disturbed…
The peaceful vibe attracted visiting mule deer every evening.
The mining culture lives on. Copper mining returned to profitability in the 1970's and the nearby Chino (Mexican slang for quartz) mine has been busy ever…
Back in Silver City, the downtown is well preserved and supported by locals and tourists. The town mandated fire-resistant masonry construction in the late…
In it's contemporary incarnation, Silver attracts people seeking an alternative to more modern and polished destinations.
This dominant building began as a Spanish colonial revival structure (note the protruding roof beams, called vigas). In the prosperous days of the early…
The five story, 52 room Murray Hotel opened in 1938 and has been going ever since. It features a wood-floored ballroom with Art Deco touches that was and is a…
Springtime floods dug an arroyo over 50 feet deep and destroyed the main street of town. The channel was stabilized and the front and back doors of neighboring…
A former era of prosperity is reflected in the facades of other buildings in town.
Turquoise is usually featured on the turn of the century decoration.
Our other big interest in the area was hiking. Here Jean walks down the former wagon road serving a nearby army fort and used to fetch water and timber.
The early morning light makes the branches of a cottonwood tree shimmer.
Founded in 1866, Fort Bayard at first provided security (mainly by African-American “Buffalo Soldiers”) against Native American attacks on settlers. It was then…
Our next stop was the larger city of Las Cruces, New Mexico, at the base of the Organ Mountains. Spanish explorers thought the vertical front of the mountains…
The Rio Grande has always been a natural north-south path from Santa Fe to the Mexican border. The trail then goes on to Chihuahua, Mexico, once the regional…
We got a good view of the Organs from the back patio of our rental on the edge of town.
There are fissures on the west side of the Organs, permitting nice hikes up into the mountains.
The Chihuahua desert, in contrast to the Sonoran, is supposed to receive its rain during summer monsoon storms. It's January and somebody didn't get the word.
