Fort Bayard

About 35 miles from Silver City is the now abandoned Fort Bayard.  We decided it would not only be interesting, but a good history lesson for all of us.  Sandy and Jerry had 4 of their grandchildren for a few days, so they obediently tagged along with us old folks.

The fort was established many decades ago, specifically in 1866, to protect settlers and miners in nearby Silver City.  It grew much bigger and changed over the decades of use.

 Now, all the streets are deserted, which makes walking quite easy.  We didn't have to warn any of the kids about watching out for vehicles.  The day was sunny, warm and a slight breeze made our meanderings quite enjoyable.  Not one of the grandchildren complained! 

Houses and huge buildings are all in various states of disrepair, which is unfortunate.  Stairs are missing steps, windows are broken, etc.  With all the money that is wasted in our country, why couldn't the government figure out a way to repair and restore at least some of the buildings?

 Below are some old pictures of the theater as it looked in 1904. over a 100 years ago.

Here is a picture of what it looks like today from the outside.  At first, I thought it might have been a church by the looks of the structure, but my guess was wrong.  I just wonder what the inside looks like now.

 The picture on one of the posts showed an aerial photograph of the fort taken in 1923.  At that point in time, the hospital was part of the Veteran's Administration.  Many of the barracks had been used for tuberculosis patients since the air was warm and dry. Different sports, such as baseball, boxing and golf were offered to patients as diversions.

I thought it was quite interesting that German prisoners of war were brought here and worked as maintenance people.  They were even paid for their work!  Wow!  That is quite different from what happened to our veterans when they were taken captive overseas. 

These massive buildings still line the street from the parade grounds.  They were used as officers' quarters. 

Cassidy, Ainslie, Wyatt and Micah did some exploring on their own.

Look at this picture......what do you see besides grass and trees?  I asked the younger kids and none of them knew they were metal poles used for wash lines.  Cassidy got an "A" for the impromptu test!  She had the right answer.  There were a lot of these around the fort houses and barracks.

Doris, Sandy and I guessed that these building were most likely housing for families.  Though small by today's standards, they were probably just right for the military man, his wife and however many children they had. 

Our last stop was the nearby Fort Bayard National Cemetery.  Here is what it looked like about a hundred years ago....

and this is what it looks like today.  I think that is the same small hill in the distance in both pictures.

It sure was peaceful and quiet out here (and not just the cemetery).  No fire engines or police car sirens, no traffic sounds, no cars with sound systems that jar your teeth (even if you have the window up).   Sometimes you just have to sit back and count your blessings for the little things!

Saturday Saunterings

If you are ever in Deming, New Mexico and you are wanting Mexican food, Amigo's is the go to place!  Doris has known about this hole in the wall for a long time.  It doesn't look like much, but the food is good and beyond cheap!

The lunch plates were $4.00.  I was so surprised at this I even asked the lady behind the counter if the prices were correct.  Compare this to most Mexican food restaurants where the combination plates go for $9-$12.00.  The hard part was deciding which one to get.  I would up with the red and pork tamales that came with beans and rice.

As we perused the items on the wall, I noticed the price of a dozen tamales.  My goodness!  Not the $24 a dozen that we pay for tamales in Phoenix!  Boy, I wish this place was located in Arizona. Time to load up on some frozen tamales, chili rellenos or maybe some enchiladas to take back home.

Since we were on a southwestern kick, our next stop was to pick up a chili ristra for our back porch from a local market.  There were plenty to choose from, in many different lengths.

Here is the one I finally wound up with.

In addition, there were all sorts of pumpkins, gourds and bags of chilies here too.

 This gourd looked like the side view of a duck to me.

 Huge bags containing red chili peppers lined the concrete floor outside.  One of those would be enough to keep me in enchilada sauce for years!

Our last stop for the day was City of Rocks State Park.

My priority at this point in time was a bathroom break.  Guess what was on the inside of the bathroom door?  You couldn't miss it!

 Yikes!  I was glad the weather was cooler, so the snakes were less apt to be out in the campground.

One of Doris' stepsons was camping out here with his family and friends for the weekend.  There were no kids in sight.....all of them were out scampering on the huge boulders.  This campground sure is different from Boyd Lake State Park in Colorado.  It might be appealing to many people, but the thought of rattlesnakes around is disturbing to me.  Just typing this and thinking about snakes just gave me the shivers.

All in all, we had a wonderful day, meandering around the Deming and Silver City area.

No Whining at the Winery

Did Saint Clair, who is an Italian saint, like wine?  Since she died in 1253, there is absolutely no way of asking her.  But her name lives on in Deming, New Mexico.   The St. Clair winery is one of Doris' favorite places to visit when she's in New Mexico.  After all, you can't be within a 100 miles and not make a special stop for good wine at inexpensive prices.

Okay, it's barely 10 AM and the group is all set for wine tasting (except me.....I picked out a bottle of black cherry soda to sip on).  For some reason, I'm always picked as the "DD" or designated driver.  Maybe you were thinking delusional dingbat, but you'd be wrong.......

Doris, Don and Sandy check out the beautiful bottles of a sweet dessert wine.  We ended up with the bottle that had the Mexican adobe house on it.  Right now, it's sitting on our kitchen hutch, empty.  It didn't last long on Saturday night after being opened.  After all, there were seven of us sipping on it. 

Jeff and Erica contemplated the complexities of the wine.  They are true connoisseurs of the fermented grape.

They were at one end of the tasting bar while Doris, Don, Jerry and Sandy were at the other.  There was room (and enough wine) for everyone.  Plates of small snacks are available too if you want to nibble in between tasting wine.

Cheers!  Prost!  Skal!  Salute!  Bottoms Up!

Silver Revisited

Friday afternoon found us wandering around in downtown Silver City once again.  A few of the group tried out the Little Toad Brewery and Distillery while Doris and I roamed around the stores nearby.  Soon, all of us were hungry, and we headed to the Jalisco Café for Mexican food.

If you like HOT chili sauce, you would love this place.  The menu even has a disclaimer on the top that warns that both the red chili and green chili are hot/spicy/mouth-burning, etc.  Jeff (Jerry's son) loves hot food and his forehead was sweating by the time he was finished.  Us old folks were not as adventuresome and stuck with the taco trio.  At least our tongues still had taste buds on them!

After dinner, we all walked across the bridge and found an old log cabin near the visitor center.  Even though it was a replica, it is still interesting that Billy the Kid lived in this location many, many years ago.

We did manage to find the grave of Billy the Kid's mother a few days later as we walked around the Memory Lane Cemetery.

Can you imagine being a parent and trying to deal with a teenage boy like this?  Yikes!  Ordinary teenagers are enough of a challenge.  Billy was already in trouble with the law and a federal fugitive by the time he was 16.  I can almost hear her say "Billy, if I told you once, I told you a thousand times, don't play with guns!".   Maybe she forgot to mention rifles....

So that is your history lesson for today.   For our Arizona friends, Silver City is just a short day's drive from Phoenix.  Maybe it's time for you to visit this interesting and quaint town in southwestern New Mexico.

Silver hair and Silver City

All 3 RV's arrived safe and sound at Rose Valley RV Ranch in Silver on Wednesday.  There will be one more trailer for our group arriving on Friday.  We all have nice views out our back windows.

First on our list to do is going to downtown Silver.  It's an old mining town, so there is a lot of history and interesting buildings.  As you can see, there isn't much traffic on the street, and I was able to step into the road to get a photo.

I cajoled the other 4 into stopping for a picture on the bridge over the Big Ditch Riverwalk Park.

And this is the same 4, in 2008:

The guys still are wearing their hats, but the hairstyles have changed for both Doris and Sandy! 

When we get to old towns, it seems I am always taking pictures of the historic buildings.  Not only  are they are intrinsically more interesting, they usually have a lot more details than ones built in the last 20-30 years.

One old building had different paintings on the side wall that were quite interesting, with references to famous (and infamous) people that were in the area.  The one below includes a picture of Billy the Kid.  His mother is buried in the cemetery right next to the RV park.

More adventures to come.   Keep tuned in!

Salida

In September, as we headed home early to Phoenix, we stopped overnight in Salida, Colorado.  I loved walking around this historic town because the old downtown area has been kept up and restored.  Most of the buildings are occupied with different types of shops and restaurants.  Yes, as the sign on the building says....we did enjoy Salida!

For example, look at the details on this building built in the 19th century.

And the former gas station being turned into a café and a barber shop.

Cute flowers on the sidewalk in a very old metal baby stroller greeted residents and visitors.

A pair of gargoyles still hovered over the old U.S. mail building.

Where else could I find a metal alligator hanging from the side of a building?

To me, it's a lot more interesting walking around here than any mall I've been in.  So next time, if you pass through Colorado, make this one of your stops!