I truly need to start this blog with a special thank you to Lola Polley of the Convention & Visitors Bureau and her staff … Mayor James Marshall … Christine Steele of the Silver City Sun News … Lanny Olsen of the Silver City Holiday Inn Express and his staff and a host of others who made our trip so enjoyable!
It never ceases to amaze me about all of the truly wonderful and friendly people we meet during our travels. I don’t believe I’ve been anywhere in the State that someone hasn’t come up to me to say “hello” and welcome me to their community. Silver City is no exception.
Only once before had I been here and it was a quick drive through. This time we spent three days getting acquainted and filming a whole new adventure for you blog readers and watchers of our weekly TV show! Let’s get started …
Silver City is the home of Billy the Kid’s mother and it is rumored that he shot his first victim here, although that hasn’t been confirmed. So we started our adventure with a re-enactment of a Billy the Kid Encounter. It was a lot of fun and the folks who put on the “show” for us do this regularly right next to the Visitor’s Center where a replica of Billy’s mothers’ home is located. These folks rehearsed and practiced for a couple days to get the scenes just right and we enjoyed every minute of providing them with their justifiable “15 minutes of fame!”
On Location in Silver City
The city is rapidly becoming an art mecca with over 30 galleries and growing. I was taken back by the number of great local and regional artists displayed and it is obvious that every gallery owner takes great pride in the art, jewelry and pottery they have in their stores. The art district is right off the main drag … easy to find … and anyone can point you in the right direction. Just fun to walk around … stop at one of the many café’s for a cup of coffee between browsing excursions.
We also found some great restaurants right on main street and had a great lunch (one of the only ones where we actually had time to sit and chat) at Diane’s, the owner of which also owns the pastry shop across the street so make sure you save room for pie and a great assortment of other deserts!
About a half hour south is City of Rocks State Park. Now we’re talking some great big rocks out in the middle of no where just sitting there by themselves waiting to be explored. Lots of camping facilities and RV hookups are available to make this a great overnight stay or weekend get away. As I said in our TV piece, this is a great place to bring the kids … turn them loose … and encourage them to wear themselves out playing “hide and seek!” The park is another one of those eye-openers that you just don’t expect to see and when you make the circular drive around the entire City of Rocks complex you can’t help but stop … look … and wonder about all of the different formations and how the heck they got there! Of course, the park’s visitor’s center will explain all of that. Photographer/Director Chuck and I had a great time climbing and exploring ourselves and watching many families doing the same thing! Let me know if you get lost while climbing around … just curious!
Prepare yourself for an incredible drive to the Gila Cliff Dwellings. It’s about 40 miles but will easily take you 90 minutes to get there and if you want to truly enjoy the scenery figure on about 2-hours. It is a great drive through the Gila National Forest and don’t be surprised at all the wildlife you’ll see along the way, particularly if you start early in the morning to arrive at the Cliff Dwellings when it opens at 9am.
It’s about a half-mile from the parking lot to the Cliff Dwellings along an unpaved path that winds along a small creek that once was a river. The river is still there … next to the parking lot. And then once you reach the cliffs it’s over 100 vertical feet to the dwellings themselves. From down below the view is breathtaking but nothing like you’ll see once you our inside the dwellings. I did say … inside. This is a great park because you can actually walk through and around several of the dwellings built into the natural rock caves. They go forever and give you a wonderful perspective of what life might have been like.
The view from inside, by the way, is just as spectacular as the view from down below. It’s almost as if the people who lived there shared one enormous picture window to the rest of their world.
In the campgrounds nearby you can hike other trails that will take you to smaller dwellings easily accessible along the paths and once again you can explore some of them inside and out. A great hands on adventure for you and the kids! And someplace you’ll want to visit more than once … isolated … serene … peaceful with vistas for miles once inside and during the drive to and from Silver City!
Fort Bayard is just a couple miles outside of town and was home to the famed African American Buffalo Soldiers from the mid-1800’s. Several of these brave soldiers received the nation’s highest medal for valor, The Medal of Honor. Today the Fort is home to New Mexico’s State Hospital but for many years it was home to those suffering from Tuberculosis. The officers quarters, the old theatre and other facilities are there and, with a guide, are open to the public. They do re-enactments here, too, so check with the Visitors Center for more information and dates. A real “hidden treasure” here is the National Cemetery where our brave soldiers are still being buried amidst wonderful surroundings and incredible history.
Dr. John Counts, president of Western New Mexico University invited us to visit with him and see the WNMU Museum, which houses that world’s largest comprehensive and complete collection of Mimbres pottery and artifacts going back over 800 years! Dr. Cynthia Bettison is the director of the museum and I doubt you’ll ever meet anyone anymore passionate about her job than Dr. Bettison. We spent several hours with her and learned so much about this incredible collection of pottery. We were given a sneak peak into the area where pottery pieces are put back together, analyzed and categorized. Fascinating to say the least! We’ve promised Dr. Bettison that we’ll be back to this great state treasure that is open year round (closed during normal university holidays) to the public. I would recommend you call first for hours … but do add this to your Silver City list of places to see. And if Dr. Bettison is around be sure and corner her and ask a few questions. My guess is that once you ask one, she’ll be off and running with you on a tour you won’t forget!
You have to take an hour or so to visit the “PAPO” … that would be the Pinos Altos Post Office, which just happens to house a great ice cream parlor, too. PA, as it is called by the locals, is on the road to the Gila Cliff Dwellings and once was home to famed barrister, Judge Roy Bean. Geronimo and several other notables visited PA during its gold mining heydays. And the ice cream parlor? The hands down best (and biggest!) banana split I’ve ever had. Wish I’d had time to finish it … make sure you do while you’re enjoying Silver City!
