Carol writes: This year’s long-anticipated turn north could not begin until spring had fully arrived in the mountain areas along our planned route. Meanwhile, Al conceived a great plan for us to bide our time by hanging out for a couple of weeks in Silver City, a small culturally progressive mining town along New Mexico’s western border.
And so we set up camp for a couple of weeks at the edge of the town that was once the boyhood home of Billy the Kid…
Silver City lies along the Trail of the Mountain Spirits, a name which reflects those who have lingered here through the ages. Over a two-week stay, we followed in the footsteps of those mountain spirits who preceded us: Ancient Mogollón Puebloans, Apaches, Spaniards, Mexicans, miners, and U.S. Army soldiers and doctors.
At Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, evidence of some of the earliest human habitation in the upper Gila River region was on full display. Ancient Puebloans of the Mogollón culture occupied these caves between 1275 and 1300.
A 1-mile canyon loop trail led to five natural interlinked caves that were situated about 180 feet above the canyon floor. What made Gila Cliff Dwellings special was unusually generous visitor access to the caves. Surprisingly, we were able to walk well inside the actual caves
along strategic pathways between various rooms.
The only dicey part for me was the exit down a ladder from the caves. Al had no trouble...
At City of Rocks State Park we meandered between giant rock formations that were created as a result of ancient lava flows 35 million years ago that have been eroded by wind and water. It was this volcanic molten rock that deposited the copper, silver and gold that would make this one of the Southwest’s richest ore fields.
The history around Silver City was the tale of mining, mining, and more mining. We observed eye-popping gigantic open pit mines and tailings that dotted the surrounding land for miles and miles.
In the Boston Hills Open Space area, a network of trails wound through prominent hills with clear evidence of various mining activities.
We found ourselves somewhat enamored with the ambience of Silver City, especially along the Historic Downtown streets.
We adopted a coffeehouse called the Jumping Cactus as our favorite haunt, and returned more than once for a great ‘cuppa joe’ accompanied by lively conversation with the barista, locals, and other visitors.
As always, I was intrigued by ‘then and now’ comparison pictures of historic homes, like this one of the Warren House,
which was the sole survivor of a devastating flood that demolished Silver City’s original Main Street in 1895. A 12-foot wall of water 300 feet wide carved a monstrous ditch as it swept through town. Silver City was rebuilt uphill, and what used to be Main Street has now become the Big Ditch.
We spent an interesting day at Fort Bayard, an abandoned frontier Army fort on the outskirts of Silver City. Fort Bayard served as a U.S. Army post during the Indian Wars (1866-1899) and subsequently as an Army tuberculosis sanatorium until 1920. The original hospital has been torn down, but the grand Victorian housing for senior medical personnel has survived.
The few structures that still stood were in a state of slow decay…
with the exception of the commander’s house,
which was open for tours. We found the inside well-maintained and beautifully furnished.
There were a couple of notable local hikes that were recommended to us. Dragonfly Loop Trail was a lovely hike that led through an unspoiled high desert grassland dotted with juniper trees and cactus.
This trail was named in honor of a dragonfly petroglyph
that required a bit of searching along a creek area where our map told us to look.
Petroglyphs were common in this area, if you were persistent in your search.
At times, we even shock ourselves at some of the ‘off-the-wall’ hikes we are tempted to take… like Big Tree Trail that led to a champion juniper tree! A tree is designated a “champion” when it has been judged to be supersized for its species.
Our concept of a juniper was that of a relatively small tree, so when we spotted this beauty from a distance, all we could say was, “Wow!” We appeared so tiny in photographs!
How fitting that a hike to a marvel of Nature nicely rounded out our stay in Silver City along the Trail of the Mountain Spirits…
Carol Galus
Photo-Blogger
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