A Ghost Town and More Cliff Dwellings
(I found my pictures! They were just where I had put them ... on the auxiliary hard drive...)
From our location in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, it is just a short drive (less than 100 miles) to the ghost town of Chloride. Chloride was a silver mining town in the 1800's. It lost population and all but died when silver ran out in the early 1900's and then laid in wait for 60 years until much of the town was purchased by a family in the 1970's. Today there is a museum, whose proprietor you have to call if you want to see it, and a consignment crafty store and a splattering of houses.
The drive over was a beautiful one; this state is definitely scenic with the mountains and high desert landscapes. Mike spotted this "pair" off in a distance.
The clouds certainly made the photo that day.
This is the oldest house in town.
And next door is an old structure that had many rooms but they did not connect; all had outside entrances. Any guesses what that might have been? We were told that in its prime the town had 9 bars and at least one brothel. Ah, if this building could only talk...
This is the "Hanging Tree". It sits in the middle of "Wall Street" which is the main drag and it was never used for a hanging. Instead, if a person was drunk and disorderly, they were tied to this tree to sleep it off as there wasn't room in the jail. If it could only talk...
I loved the billowing curtains in one of the houses that is being restored.
The owners of this lot do have a sense of humor.
I spotted this fellow off in a distance... actually he is part of a sign by the museum, but I could imagine him walking the streets of this old village.
When we left town, we headed down a dirt road but didn't get far and it is a good thing. We were told later that it is an 80 mile trail but it could take you 7-8 hours and "with all the rain and all..." Good thing we turned around when we did.
On yet another day, we took a longer trip (over 300 miles) over to Silver City. This is a mine just outside of town that has been down to a skeleton crew for a number of years but I just heard on the news that it is going to open up again to mine copper. 
Once we got to Silver City, it was a 42 mile drive up to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument and we almost decided not to go, since it was already past noon, but it turned out that we were both glad we made the trip. Turns out that our trail that day to the dwellings and back another route was:
Yes, you could feel the spirits as we explored yet another ruin. We learned this area was home to Geronimo. 
The first dwelling was "understated" and we both thought we had made a mistake in driving so far.
As we walked farther along the mile long up hill trail, we were tempted to turn back but then we spotted our destination.
Besides there were plenty of places to rest and at one stop we talked with an old Apache fellow who was walking this trail with his very overweight middle aged son. Another Native American fellow told me it was "their journey".
The good thing about carrying a camera is that you can always stop to take a picture if you just need to catch your breath. 
The amazing thing about these cliff dwellings is that you can walk around inside and in some places actually see fingerprints made by the original builders. These structures are 80% original. That means that only 20% of what you see has been "fixed or repaired or altered in any way". That is amazing since these home are over 800 years old. The part that has been "improved" is the top of the walls to provide further support.
As you wander from room to room and notice the soot still on the rocks above and 
the indentations where corn and seeds would have been ground and
enjoy the views of the canyon and think about the walk up and down just to get water and then I realize the immensity of the tasks that had to be done each day. Once again I gain new respect for these early inhabitants.
It was after four when we started back to our EASY life.
If only this old fallen tree could tell us about the ancient peoples
who lived in this mountain and lived off this rugged land.
It was a very good day!
From our location in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, it is just a short drive (less than 100 miles) to the ghost town of Chloride. Chloride was a silver mining town in the 1800's. It lost population and all but died when silver ran out in the early 1900's and then laid in wait for 60 years until much of the town was purchased by a family in the 1970's. Today there is a museum, whose proprietor you have to call if you want to see it, and a consignment crafty store and a splattering of houses.
The drive over was a beautiful one; this state is definitely scenic with the mountains and high desert landscapes. Mike spotted this "pair" off in a distance.
The clouds certainly made the photo that day.
This is the oldest house in town.
And next door is an old structure that had many rooms but they did not connect; all had outside entrances. Any guesses what that might have been? We were told that in its prime the town had 9 bars and at least one brothel. Ah, if this building could only talk...
This is the "Hanging Tree". It sits in the middle of "Wall Street" which is the main drag and it was never used for a hanging. Instead, if a person was drunk and disorderly, they were tied to this tree to sleep it off as there wasn't room in the jail. If it could only talk...
I loved the billowing curtains in one of the houses that is being restored.
The owners of this lot do have a sense of humor.
I spotted this fellow off in a distance... actually he is part of a sign by the museum, but I could imagine him walking the streets of this old village.
When we left town, we headed down a dirt road but didn't get far and it is a good thing. We were told later that it is an 80 mile trail but it could take you 7-8 hours and "with all the rain and all..." Good thing we turned around when we did.
On yet another day, we took a longer trip (over 300 miles) over to Silver City. This is a mine just outside of town that has been down to a skeleton crew for a number of years but I just heard on the news that it is going to open up again to mine copper. 
Once we got to Silver City, it was a 42 mile drive up to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument and we almost decided not to go, since it was already past noon, but it turned out that we were both glad we made the trip. Turns out that our trail that day to the dwellings and back another route was:
Yes, you could feel the spirits as we explored yet another ruin. We learned this area was home to Geronimo. 
The first dwelling was "understated" and we both thought we had made a mistake in driving so far.
As we walked farther along the mile long up hill trail, we were tempted to turn back but then we spotted our destination.
Besides there were plenty of places to rest and at one stop we talked with an old Apache fellow who was walking this trail with his very overweight middle aged son. Another Native American fellow told me it was "their journey".
The good thing about carrying a camera is that you can always stop to take a picture if you just need to catch your breath. 
The amazing thing about these cliff dwellings is that you can walk around inside and in some places actually see fingerprints made by the original builders. These structures are 80% original. That means that only 20% of what you see has been "fixed or repaired or altered in any way". That is amazing since these home are over 800 years old. The part that has been "improved" is the top of the walls to provide further support.
As you wander from room to room and notice the soot still on the rocks above and 
the indentations where corn and seeds would have been ground and
enjoy the views of the canyon and think about the walk up and down just to get water and then I realize the immensity of the tasks that had to be done each day. Once again I gain new respect for these early inhabitants.
It was after four when we started back to our EASY life.
If only this old fallen tree could tell us about the ancient peoples
who lived in this mountain and lived off this rugged land.
It was a very good day!posted by jf and me | 4:06 PM
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