New Mexico Visit

Sunday - we went to 10:00 Mass at St. Anne's in Tucumcari, then back to the motorhome.  Checking the weather again, we decided to leave a day early for Lincoln, NM, because the wind Monday would be 20-25 miles per hour.  We called Ginger to see if we could come early, she said come on down.  We did fight some wind as we went down Hwy 54 to Carrizozo, then southeast on Hwy 380 to Capitan.  We unhooked the car there, Gary continued on and I stopped at the grocery store for a few supper items. (Because we were a day early, we offered to take care of making supper that night.)  A wonderful reunion, we were glad to be together again.

Wild West Driver

Monday - Wednesday  Ran errands with Ginger, took a walk through Lincoln, their nearby town.  Tuesday afternoon we went with Ginger to a presentation hosted by the Lincoln Historic Association, new information about Billy the Kid. The author who has researched and written books about Billy the Kid, shared that they had found new information about where Billy was born and who his parents may be.  Very interesting, it was fun for us to be present to hear more about that history. It was held in the historic adobe church there in Lincoln and the Historical Association had found, restored and added the original church elevated lectern, a very cool piece.  That night Winston and Ginger took us to the Valley of the Sun Casino for dinner.  They have a beautiful pond and fountain there that sits at the base of the mountain, a lovely sunset view.  Wednesday we went to Ruidoso and visited the Hubbard Museum.  Very interesting - they had fifteen different wagon/carriages from the late 1800's through early 1900's, some we had never seen before.  They also have the entire Anne C. Stradling Museum of the Horse, a personal collection including art and antiques from four generations of her family.

Restored lecturn - the round sound reflector is made of wood!

Thursday - it was time to say goodbye again to Ginger and Winston and head south before the cold weather arrived there.  We packed up and drove to Capitan and visited the Smokey Bear Museum and Historical Park.  Smokey was the little cub that was found with burned paws after a 17,000 acre forest fire in 1950 on the Capitan Mountains near Capitan, New Mexico.  After living in the National Zoo in Washington, DC for 26 years, Smokey passed away and was returned to the Village of Capitan to be buried at what is now the Smokey Bear Historical Park.  Smokey Bear has been the best campaign for fire safety in the history of the National Park Service.  Then we drove to Truth or Consequences, NM for our next stop, T or C (as it is called).  Originally named Hot Springs, the city changed its name to Truth or Consequences, the title of a popular NBC radio program.  In 1950, Ralph Edwards, the host of the radio quiz show, announced that he would air the program from the first town that renamed itself after the show; Hot Springs won the honor! We stayed at a private RV park in nearby Williamsburg.

Friday - Happy Birthday Ben!  We drove to Silver City, NM.  We took Hwy 26 from Hatch down to Deming and then Hwy 180 back up to Silver City.  A better route for motorhome driving. We were able to stay at their Elks Lodge and were the only ones camping there. We had a wonderful view of the surrounding area from our campsite.  For supper, we found a local Mexican restaurant, Mi Casita. Delicious, authentic New Mexico fare, especially the red sauce. Back home, we saw a beautiful sunset from our site and found another camper had arrived

Silver City, NM sunset

Elks Lodge campground

Saturday - we researched and found a hiking trail northeast of Silver City, Purgatory Chasm. The road to the trailhead was very scenic and became tight curves up the mountain on Hwy 35. The trail took us through a slot canyon and along a ridgeline. A good workout and beautiful scenery. On the way back to town, we took another road and came upon the Santa Rita copper ore mine, one of the oldest and still operating copper mine in North America.  It was huge, continuing for miles as we drove by it!  Information told us they had been mining since 1910, now working 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.  We stopped at the Little Toad Creek Brewery in Silver City for college football and an early supper.

In the Gila National Forest near Silver City, NM

Purgatory Chasm Hike

Fresh Water Pool

Watch the rock piles!!  They mark the trail!

Bright fall colors in New Mexico

Gila Wilderness

Santa Rita Copper Mine

Interpretive sign for Santa Rita Mine

Note all the various colors in the mine

Those are HUGE mining trucks on the road, but look like toys!

Sunday - Went to Mass at St. Vincent de Paul Parish.  Then home to pack up and on the road to Benson, AZ.  We found the SKP Saguaro Co-op, one in the Escapees RV park network.  Each Co-op park is a separate and independent corporation.  Only Escapee members can purchase a membership there, that allows them to use a specified site until they sell their membership. We went for a long walk after getting parked and set up.  This park had beautiful views of the mountains, was very clean and had many amenities for the members to use.  Everyone there was very friendly.  We stayed three nights, so that we could explore the area.

The view from SKP Saguaro campsite

Back in Arizona!