Silver City Revisited

 One of our favorite places to camp is at Rose Valley RV Park in Silver City.  Views from our site are gorgeous in the mornings and evenings, it is extremely quiet and yet we are close to all the amenities we could want.  Perfect combination!  Below is the view from our site in the outer row looking towards the east.

Silver City,  the one time Apache campsite and then a mining town has re-invented itself once again.  Besides a Mexican food haven, it now has numerous art galleries and an hippie-ish feeling to it.  Downtown is a cluster of colorful old buildings and many new murals.  You actually can stand in the middle of the street while taking a picture and not get run over!  We saw a lady pushing a stroller up the middle of one street while we ambled around. Below is one of my favorite corners because the building is so colorful.

Behind the wall is the local coffeehouse which is decorated with cholla cacti and metal.

The six of us ambled around the streets and at this point in time, were still required to have masks on even if we were outside!  The governor of New Mexico still had her clamps down even though the CDC had declared it was safe to go without masks and Silver City was enforcing the law.  As senior citizens we can still be a bit obstinate, so we took them off when we were by ourselves and no shop keepers were around to chastise us!

A new mural called The Pollinators is in the downtown area not far from the coffeehouse.  Of course, nothing is very far from each other in downtown Silver!  Old streets meet up with new murals.

Another new mural being worked on is on the wall by the Silver City Museum. It was built in 1881 and known  as the H.B. Ailman house. It was converted and used as a city hall from 1926-1931 and a  firehouse from 1931 to 1967.  It has been the museum since 1967 when the city re-purposed it once again.

I don't know how long the guitarist has been here, but obviously it's been a while! Don't you love his smile?

This is what the front of museum looks like. During the 1880's, that house must have seemed like a mansion! It was a symbol of wealth and opportunity to the community.

Hopefully, we will return in another 2-3 years to once again enjoy the sunrise view from site #60 and partake of burritos, tacos, enchiladas and sopapillas from various restaurants.

Adios, amigos!  Vaya con Dios.

 

Down Memory Lane

 Want to soak up the local history?  Well then, a visit to the local cemetery might fit the bill.  Or maybe not, if you are squeamish about walking around headstones with a "grave" look on your face.😂

We got our exercise and history lesson at the same time by walking over to the Silver City Cemetery located right next to Rose Valley RV Park.  It required a walk on a dusty gravel road to and from the cemetery, but the day was young and it was a gorgeous morning.  The sign at the entrance gave us a synopsis of important people who were buried here.

We were also told about a wall on the side that has mosaic images of the people listed above.  It is currently a work in progress, with some of the faces fully finished and other mosaics not started at all.

Mosaic picture of Ben Lilly, famous lion hunter and guide for Teddy Roosevelt.  He must have led an exciting life.

And below is the one for Billy the Kid's mother, Katherine Antrim who died in 1874.  Last time we were here, we found her grave, but not this year.

People are still being buried here with their loved ones.  Some of the family sections are clearly set off with iron fences or with cement curbing, many  have benches for family members to sit on.  Sadly, the old graves appear not to be maintained by the cemetery itself, becoming weedy and strewn with pieces of paper or tumbleweed pieces.

One of the interesting headstones I found was shaped like a cylinder.  Mr (or maybe Mrs.) Fitzsimmons lived from 1848 to 1905.  It was hard to read because it had been out in the weather for over 100 years.  This was a first time I've ever seen one shaped like this.  

Sandy, Jerry and I commented on the one below.  This lady outlived 3 different husbands!

The Town and Country Garden Club of Silver City maintains two rose gardens on the west end of the cemetery.  The gardens are on a small hill overlooking the grounds and hills beyond.

I had to lean over the wrought iron fence to get a close up of the gorgeous pink roses.  As the saying goes "Take time to stop and smell the roses".  I did just that.😊.  Then it was time to head back to our site at the RV park.

Fort Bayard

 We took a side trip to Fort Bayard that was established long ago in 1866.  The fort was needed to protect the people of Santa Clara from the fierce and mighty Chiricahua Apache warriors during that period of time.  Because the climate was dry and temperate, it transitioned over to a sanitorium for tuberculosis between 1900 and 1920.  Then Ft. Bayard was taken over by the V.A. and all five hospitals were phased out.

This 1885 hospital was vacant in 1945 when the U.S. government brought over German prisoners from the Lordsburg POW camp.  They were housed at Ft. Bayard and replaced the maintenance workers who were drafted for WWII.  I thought it was interesting that they were paid army private wages while there! 

The area for the plaza is now empty and many of the large trees that lined the streets have died .  Out of 400 buildings only 80 remain, most in dire need of paint and refurbishing.

You can see Don and Norm standing in the street.  No traffic at all to worry about!  Our group of 5 were the only ones wandering around.  Currently, they have tours each Saturday, but we left Silver City that morning.

There are eight large buildings still standing across from the plaza.  These were built for army officers and the doctors.  Below is the only building that has been refurbished and now is the start for the Saturday tours.  Wish we could have seen the inside and done the tour!  So much history to learn about this place!

Pictured below is the building that housed the army nurses and the one remaining Army sanitorium water tank. The building was built in 1910 on a hill that overlooked the 1885 hospital.

As I wandered around the grounds, I discovered an old playground for children. It was conveniently placed between the large double story buildings for the officers and the family houses on the next street. A concrete step over the cement lined ditch provided access for the officer's children.

One lone see-saw remains. It reminded me of my childhood days and being temporarily stuck on the top end while the other person sat on the ground!  These are things of the past, children's playgrounds today are completely different.

This is a view from the playground, showing the backs of the buildings, with clothes lines for each building.  I bet the clothes lines would have been used every day unless it was raining.

Can you imagine what it must have been like when this was a bustling fort filled with families in the middle of "nowhere"?  The roads were paved and there were even cement sidewalks! 

 Jerry ambled around and did a quick inspection on one of the houses.  He decided it would take a LOT of work to bring it up to code.

We both found a little cubby hole opening in the foundation of one building but decided against putting our head inside to take a further look.

Hopefully next time we visit here it will be on a weekend and a tour guide will show us around.

The White Dove of the Desert

 A trip to southern Arizona would not be complete without a visit to San Xavier del Bac, also known to the locals as The White Dove of the Desert.  This historic church was founded by Father Kino and construction was started in 1783. In 1887 a rare earthquake damaged part of the mission.  I was hoping to get some pictures of it without the scaffolding, but no such luck.  Half of the restoration on San Xavier has been completed, but there are still years remaining for the second portion.  It will be amazing once it is completed.

Restrictions were in place because of COVID.  The hours were shortened, social distancing was in place and the fry bread stands run by the Pascua Yacqui tribe were missing. Our group of 9 was allowed to enter into the church all by ourselves. We stood patiently in line with our faces sufficiently covered.  The following week, Governor Ducey announced that masks were no longer required in the state of Arizona.

As we entered through the front doors, I noticed the unique door handle.  I'm assuming it represents the snake from the Garden of Eden.  At any rate, both it and the wooden door have survived over 240 years of Arizona sun beating on them.  Imagine how hot that metal handle gets during the summer months!

Access is now allowed only at the back of the church where you can light candles.  The rich beauty of the altar, walls and ceiling remain as they have for centuries.

Outside the church was a separate building and courtyard. No tourists are allowed, but at least I was able to take some pictures.

This must have been a welcome respite for weary travelers hundreds of years ago. The thick adobe walls would have kept the church much cooler than the outside temperatures during the long summer season. 

East of the church is a hill with a white cross on top of it.  We discovered it isn't part of the church property but rather a part of the Pascua Yacqui Indian Reservation.  After many years and much legislation, the Pascua Tribe finally gained status in 1994 as a historical tribe recognized by the Federal Government.

Sabino Canyon, a Gem in the Desert

This March our little group decided to do a hike in Sabino Canyon, a treasured spot for hikers and visitors in Tucson.  This unique place has tall saguaros, riparian areas, steep canyon walls and at times, water flowing through it.

Our group included Doris, us and Sandy and Jerry with 3 of their grandchildren. Since COVID was still around, masks were required, even in the parking lot! 

This recreation area was created during the Great Depression in the 1930's.  The dam, bridges and concrete picnic tables were built, with most of them still standing.  A few of the bridges have been washed away by flooding and have been rebuilt.

Our group headed out to the Bajada Loop Nature Trail.

Views towards the mountains revealed Mesquite trees with huge clumps of desert mistletoe clinging to their branches. 

Further on, we transferred from a dirt path to a much wider, paved one.  Doris even tried walking backwards but that didn't last long!  We made it up the hill and from our vantage point could see Sabino Dam below us. Then we had to figure out just how to get there!  

Here is a closer view of our destination.  During the spring and summer months the dam usually has water flowing all the way across it.  Deep pools of water fill the canyon, creating places to swim during hot summer days.  It was one of my favorite places to visit when I was in grade school and high school.

Jerry managed to find a way down the hillside.  The path was narrow, rocky and steep at times. Of course, the "young'uns" ambled across the rocks quite easily.  😂😂

Ainslie and Wyatt crossed one of the original bridges, which is no longer being used because part of the road behind this is completely washed out.  During the 50's and 60's cars could drive all around the canyon and find a nice picnic table to eat at while enjoying the scenery.  The picnic tables remain, but now you will have to pack your lunch in a backpack and walk a few miles to get to it!

I stopped to take a pic of the small stream as it meandered downstream from the dam.

Jerry and Sandy chose this same bridge to have their picture taken with Micah, Wyatt and Ainslie.  It's a blessing to be able to hike with great nephews and a great niece.

After we crossed the bridged we had another hill to climb in order to get a closer view of the dam.  There were two children actually sliding down the rocks in front of the dam.  This is melted snow water people!  Way, way too cold for me to even think about getting my tootsies in the water, much less getting my whole body wet!

It was warming up as we started to head back to the visitor center and parking lot.

Before I caught up with the rest of the crew I stopped to take one more picture of this beautiful area created by God in the middle of the desert.