Silver City, circa 2018

  The town of Silver City is an old one, dating back to the 1870's when silver was found in the area.  There are many artists and art galleries in and around the downtown area and the old buildings have a lot of character.    Doris and Wyatt stopped in front of the visitor center to look at the map.

 And inside, Micah posed beside a life size photo of Billy the Kid.  He had lived in Silver City with his mother and step father in the 1870's and is rumored to have killed 8 men before he himself was shot and killed at the young age of 21.

 Right outside is a replica of the cabin he lived in from 1873-1875.  It was a gift from Ron Howard and was part of the set for the movie  "The missing".

A few days before we had walked to the town cemetery, which is beside Rose Valley RV Park and located the grave of Billy the Kid's mother.

 One side of the Visitor center displays a new mural created by art students from the local university.

Looks like the group is ready to go across the bridge from the visitor center over to the downtown area.

 Don and Micah stopped to look down below, the area known as the Big Ditch.  During most of the 20th century it was used as a sewer and a dump (yuck) before they cleaned it up.

Guess who is sitting behind the sign, talking on the phone?  If he was trying to hide from me, it didn't work!

Loved the sign in one of the windows on the main street!  Either they are lazy and don't care whether or not they sell anything, or they are rich and this is just a hobby for them!

 As we moseyed along the sidewalk, a group of football players from Western New Mexico University stopped us and offered us free tickets to the game on Saturday.  Their mascot, Rawhide, must have been a bit warm in his suit.  This is the first time that I saw a purple horse when I went downtown shopping!

 He was quite impressive with all of his muscles!

Time to head back to our trucks, which meant crossing over a different bridge.

But before we all got in the truck, the kids all wanted to take a walk along the path under the bridge by the Big Ditch.  Doris and Jerry went along for two reasons: to make sure they found their way back and to be sure the kids were safe.

This is what the part of the path below looked like.  I would imagine it is frequently used by homeless people and vagrants.  Not a place for young children alone.

Mission accomplished!  All made it safely back to the parking lot.  After all, it was lunch time and all of us were hungry.

Doin' the Catwalk!

On Thursday we traveled north and west to the town of Glenwood, NM.  Nearby was the Catwalk Trail that we had been on 8 years ago.  Since that time, the majority of the trail had been washed away by floods, necessitating the complete rebuilding of the Catwalk trail.  Steel beams jutting out from the boulders and paths above the stream bed allow you to go half a mile in.  Beyond that is at your own risk!

At the trailhead is a beautiful picnic area shaded by gigantic trees.

Our group included Don's sisters, a brother-in-law, Don's cousin, a family friend, two great nephews and one great niece.  Ages from almost 11 years old to 79! 

 Norm was at the head of the older group as we sauntered up the first part of the trail.  Of course, the younger kids were way ahead of us.

Doris was goofing off as I took her pic.  Not uncommon for our family!  We laugh a lot and tease each other whenever we're together.

 Across the way, Sandy, Doris, Wyatt and Jerry continue on up the hill.

 Halfway there, I holler at them to stop so I can get a picture of them from the front.  Believe me, I have tons of them from the back!

 I think Doris wore her shirt with them embroidery on the back just so my pictures would be more interesting!

This may be the reason everyone is ahead of me:  I'm always stopping to take pictures!  Doris caught me as I took one looking down at the water below.

 It was a perfect day for walking the canyon, not too hot, no wind, and not too cold.  It was no easy task putting in the steel walkway.  Don and John got to the end of the finished part, which is wheelchair accessible now.

 Half of our group was brave, and clambered down over the huge boulder before they could get to the damaged portion of the trail.  Workers were at this area, bringing in bags of cement and a huge machine that they had a devil of a time getting down this rock!

Doris took the next two photos and captured what the trail looks like now before it is repaired.  The asphalt trail is under the huge boulder in the middle.  You have to go over it in order to get to the next portion of the trail.  Ugh!

 More boulders and parts of trees that were washed down on to the trail.  They gave up and turned around.  It's not worth the risk trying to climb over these.  The hospital in Silver City is an hour and a half away from the trailhead.  Something to ponder in your head before proceeding.

 Norm pumped the water for Wyatt so he could get a drink of water at the end of the hike.  Time for a picnic lunch before John headed back to Phoenix and we headed back to the campground.  There was a slight detour to Dairy Queen before we made it back!

 

One Million Bones

I bet you a million to one, that most of the people reading this post will have never heard of the One Million Bones project. This is a large scale social arts project to bring about awareness of the ongoing genocides and atrocities in Africa, mainly Sudan, Somalia, Burma and Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

The bones were all hand made.  Every bone that was made generated a $1.00 donation, up to half a million dollars by the Bezos Family Foundation.  The project is a collaboration of a creative arts project and activism.  There were 50,000 bones placed in the Congo Square in New Orleans, and one million in the National Mall in Washington, D.C.  Their final resting place is in Silver City, on land behind the Bear Mountain Lodge.

There are still lots of boxes of bones, patiently waiting for people to pick them up and then place them in the secluded valley approximately a mile away.  Many people opt to hang them from trees, or place them along the trail.  You must bring your own bag to carry the bones, unless you want to carry a whole box (recommended only for football players or strong individuals).

 We all wandered around, picking out the bones we wanted to use in our individual art projects.

 This bone has "forgive" written on it.

 Our choices made, we headed out on our hike.  Just don't say "hike" to Sandy....she does NOT hike!  But if you tell her we're going on a walk, she'll join in.  Thus, 8 of us hiked, and one walked the trail.

Don's knee was acting up again, so he quit near the beginning after he had made his directional arrow out of the bones he was carrying.  The rest of us trudged onward.

The trail was rocky, and steep in parts, and we had wonderful views of the valley below us.  Silver City is almost 6000 feet in elevation, so us old folks were slower than usual.  At least I was!

Norm stopped to rest for a few minutes on a nice rock beside the trail. Finally we reached the area where the majority of the bones are resting.   Below, Ainslie found the spot she wanted among all the piles and piles of bones!

I call this the dancing couple.

Doris' creation:

Our great nephews, Micah and Wyatt, by the field of bones.

This was my contribution.  Can you tell it's a scorpion?




And near the end, a poignant moment when reading the inscription on the bone below.  What if I was one of the victims? Or maybe my family? Something to ponder.

There's a Silver Lining

It was time to meet up with some of our family and friends in Silver City, New Mexico.  Don and I met up with Doris and our friend Norm on Sunday afternoon.  Sandy, Jerry and 3 of their grandchildren (Wyatt, Micah and Ainslie) got to Rose Valley RV Park on Monday afternoon, and the last to arrive was John, Don's cousin.

Monday morning's sunrise at the campground was beautiful, the sky awash with gold, peach, pink and various shades of blue.

We're all in sites on the same row, Doris, us, then Jerry and Sandy towards the back.  Norm is two sites down and John has rented one of the casitas in the park.

It was a picture perfect day:  cobalt blue skies with lots of fluffy white clouds.  Rose Valley has all sorts of interesting antiques scattered around, making it a photographer's paradise, so to speak.  I was one happy camper!

We always share the evening meals together, and it is definitely a joint effort.  Monday night had Don grilling on his Traeger, and Doris cooking on her new grill. It worked out well.

 Supper of Wisconsin brats (supplied by John), hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, coleslaw, and chips was enjoyed by all.  Not one of us went away hungry. 

Afterwards, God gifted us with a beautiful rainbow.  What more could we ask for?  We are richly blessed.