Silver City, NM

"When I come home from work today, I expect you to be gone!" said Kevin before leaving at 5am.  I told him I'd be on the road by noon.  I was only 30 minutes late.  He came home at noon since work was slow, but wasn't too upset that my truck  was still parked under the acacia tree.  He even gave me a bagged lunch from McDonald's which I ate right away: Hot and Spicy Chicken sandwiches, one of my favorite cheap eats.  Kevin took Tuesday off to give himself a five-day holiday and some quiet town alone.  I took no offense to his comment, since I tend to drag my departure time by hours at times.

I haven't driven my Ford Escape on a road trip in years.  It was a little cramped with two dogs and all the stuff:  water jugs, dog bowls, food, clothes, computer bag. I drove east on Hereford Road, then SR 92 into Bisbee where I stopped briefly to drop off the recycables at the transfer station, then on via SR80 to Douglas and the New Mexico border.  This two-lane road meanders past yucca-studded rocky hills before turning north from Douglas and away from the international border.  Traffic was minimal.

The heat did tire me fast.  Barely ninety miles into my drive, I pulled over to rest at the Geronimo memorial near Skeleton Canyon.  This area is popular with drug smugglers due to the closeness to the border and the low-lying canyon.  It's not a place I'd stop at night.  The town of Rodeo, near the entrance to the Chiricahua mountains, looked empty.  Where was everyone?

State road 80 then enters New Mexico as it continues north to Interstate 10, just west of Lordsburg, NM.  It's a scenic drive, with the tall peaks to one's west and abandoned mines in the rocky hills to the east.  Lordsburg is a truckstop town that disappoints first-time visitors because there's nothing lordy about this old, neglected town.  The two big truck stops, Love's and Pilot, have only been open for about seven years.  Gas is always cheaper here than in Sierra Vista.  Today it was twenty cents cheaper.

Silver City is north of Lordsburg on NM90 at an elevation of 5900.'  It's an old silver-mining town that now caters to RVers, hikers, artists.  Pinon pines and juniper trees now dominate the landscape as the road meanders northward.  The Continental Divide trail is to the west.  It's a big enough town with all amenities for all travel tastes.  Sometimes I stay at the Super 8, sometimes I camp out in the Gila National Forest.

It had been several years since I was in Silver City.    I arrived at 5:30pm. I forgot what a nice town it is.  I stopped off Bullard Avenue to walk the dogs along the Big Ditch riverwalk, a half-mile path along the badly-littered creek.  Today it was inhabited by a few napping men, but the dogs left them alone.  Scattered bottles and cans dotted the creek bed.  A small shrine was placed off the path.  (Wonder what that was all about) I only stayed long enough to let the dogs cool off before having a late lunch at the Jalisco Cafe (two bean enchiladas for $7.99).  This place is always busy, and people in groups often have to wait for an open table.  I was seated right away, ate my meal and then went nearby to the Toad Creek Brewpub, a new place that wasn't here last time.  It's the only brewpub in town.  It also serves food and has a separate dining area.

The place was still rather empty when I walked in.  I sat at the bar and was waited on by a heavily-tattooed woman.  She was inked from the neck down.  Her eye lashes where improvised by inch-long add-ons.  Veronica has become a local icon, as everyone who walked in called her by name and she responded in kind with "Hi, Hon!"  I ordered a flight of six beers.  The only home brew that was unavailable was the "Pendejo Porter."  What a name for a beer!  The beer was all good, but none stood out.  One thing I noticed was the low prices, when compared to the Tucson taphouses.  A pint is $4.50 ($3.75 during Happy Hour) and flights are $9.50  There are couches by the window.  This is a cozy place to hang out and fits in with the town's quirky character.

It was still early enough to hike nearby.  I googled nearby trails and came up with "Boston Hill," an open space area on the southwest side of town.  I had never been here before. It's an abandoned open-pit mine complex now open to mountain bikers, dog walkers, joggers and hikers.  I parked off Cheyenne Boulevard's free trail head parking lot (there are several starting points to this complex) and took the first trail uphill, tracking my route via my hiking app.  Only the main trails are marked and there are many single tracks that criss-cross the main trails.  There are trails everywhere that meander all around the huge mine, with great views back into town.  Dogs are allowed but must be leashed, but everyone I met had their dogs offleash.   I came across several free-roaming neighborhood dogs, too.

 I liked this area, but it's best done in cooler weather due to the lack of any shade.  My tracker only credited me with 1.5 miles, but it felt more like two or three.  I'll be back down here again.  I only cut it short because of the lack of sunlight for safe hiking.

Plans for tomorrow is to make it to Albuquerque and stay at the Kirtland AFB campground.  I'll be stopping at neat sites along the way.  There is no rush.