Dude, in Truth or Consequences, NM

After hearing from my co-workers about Silver City these last few weeks, and seeing photos from others who have visited there, I decided rather than sit at home in the pizza oven with a few extra days available over the Independence Day weekend, it was as good a time as any to use some of those free days to come down to Silver City.

Body Shop, Truth or Consequences, NM

Part of my interest to visit here is simply from never spending any time in this area of the state. A few years ago, Tim came down to Silver City and shared some photos from his visit to the Catwalks and other local locations on his blog. At the time, I remember thinking it sounded like a neat town, but I, a New Mexico native, truly had no idea where it was located. A brief glimpse at the state map, and I realized it was in the dead zone of my state knowledge. I knew nothing about southwestern New Mexico. After the fact, I’d discovered two items about Silver City and southwestern New Mexico that demanded I find some time to visit down here: mining towns, and the Apache.

View east from Emory Pass

I still think about the writing project related to Juan Bautista. Although I’ve all but put it down for a while, I like to think that ideas related to a biography of his life are still stewing in my creative subconscious, and I am learning more about the world he lived in back in the day. And Apaches did a lot of damage throughout northern Mexico, Arizona, and New Mexico to the early European settlers who thought they’d try and live in those lands. I am still learning about the Natives who lived in New Mexico before it became an American state, or a Spanish territory, and a good amount of that history took place in the southwestern corner of our state.

The role of the Apaches in southwestern New Mexico

My plan is to get up early and try to do some photos somewhere interesting in the morning light. I’ll get to the Gila Cliff Dwellings. I’ll try to get to the town library at some point. And I anticipate driving around a fair amount to take some pictures and get a little hiking in.

The Chariot

I will just stop here and say I am so grateful for my little truck. She’s 14 years old this year and at times grandly underpowered for climbing hills (like an old P-40 Warbird), but she is steady and dependable and provides me with space to load up junk and to get up and go, and she keeps me warm and cool- whatever is needed. She is a pretty little chariot with pluck and a kind heart, and I am grateful she seems up regularly these days for a little adventure.

“I’ll wait, sir. I’ll wait.”

And I am grateful to live in such an amazing country that features so many amazing places and vistas, attractions and monuments, that are easily accessible by any citizen or visitor willing to hop in a car and go looking around. New Mexico, like the United States, is an amazingly diverse place, and I am overjoyed at being able to discover it myself, first hand, even at this season of my life.

Towering cumulus.

Chino Copper Mine

Chino Copper Mine

We’ll see what tomorrow brings.