Winding down ...

With a just a little more than a week to go until we pack up and head for home, we're going to try to get a couple more day trips in before we leave.  

Couple weeks ago we drove north on a narrow state highway (I skip the interstates as much as possible), going thru Hatch -- the chile pepper capital of NM -- then on north to Truth or Consequences, then out into the boonies.  Took highway 52 from TorC on a long winding trip thru desert and mountains to the old ghost town of Chloride.  We passed thru lots of open range with cattle near or on the road.  We stopped in the little town of Winston just before we arrived at our ghost town destination, enjoying a snack break in the community center/park where it was so quiet you could hear the wind blowing thru the sycamores way down by the dry creek.  Got to Chloride in the middle of the afternoon.  Besides two couples from WI and IA, we were the only visitors that day.  Chloride has a very interesting past.  An old couple, the Edmund's' live here, own the center part of town, and keep the old buildings standing.  Visitors are allowed to go thru about three of them.  A very interesting and industrious couple!  I think this old town keeps them young.  I took lots of pictures that day!  Here's some that you might find interesting  ...

This log home was moved to this spot in Chloride from outside town and you can go inside where it's furnished to show you how people lived here during that period of time (late 1800's to 1920's).  

This is one of the old saloons and is now a gift shop.  To right is the museum, which used to be the general store/post office/undertakers/printers, etc.  In the 1970's when they bought the town, the Edmund's found the building closed with its inventory intact, as if the owners just walked away one day.  

Both of these pictures taken inside the Museum/general store.  It was awesome.

One of the old saloons. Right opposite this building, in the middle of the street (you drive on both sides of it), is the hanging tree.  Mr. Edmund said they haven't found any proof that anyone was actually hung here but if they got too rowdy they got dunked in the horse tank and tied to the tree overnight.  

Along the road to Chloride was this interesting mailbox with spur decor ...

This lovely little church is in the small town of Cuchillo, along highway 52 on the way to Chloride.  There's a small valley right here that is irrigated and farmed in long strips along the dry creek.

The guy who discover chloride silver at this location in the late 1800's was Henry Pye, and his cabin is there on the grounds, available as a vacation rental!  Doesn't that sound interesting!?  There are actually 11 residents who live in the settlement but the old ghost town part is owned by the Edmund's.

*************************************************

Well, another day we took a another long drive out into the desert.  We took a little highway south out of LC and went all the way south and found highway 9, which goes along the border with Mexico.  Right after we turned onto highway 9 we saw our last electric line until we got to the town of Columbus NM!  It was a long, beautiful drive thru a remote part of our country.  I wish you could have been with us!  We could see the border fence most of the way (and several border patrol vehicles, too).  Took a break (top picture) in the middle of nowhere!  It was awesome.  So quiet too.  I can't describe the quiet.  Not much traffic for sure.  Finally we got to Columbus after about 90 minutes.  There's a border crossing south of town and that's what sustains the community.  The second picture is of an air park north of Columbus on highway 11.  It was sort of a long string of adobe homes with their own airplane hangars attached.  Never seen anything like it.  This old plane was their yard decor!

After we left Columbus we went north on 11 into Deming, got a frappe at McDonald's, then back toward "home" along highway 549, until we had to get back on the interstate to get into LC.  Right inside the city limits along the interstate at a rest park is this roadrunner sculpture.  Wow!  I loved it.  A true recycled work of art!  Look closely at all the "stuff" the artist worked in.  He sure used a lot of sneakers!  I loved finding the keyboard, crutches, skillets, fishing poles, tools Mardi Gras beads, car parts -- it was fun to just sit there and pick out all of the unique items used to make this really huge sculpture!  It was a great way to end the day.  Got home as the sun was setting ...
 

Well, I have a few more pictures and I'll put them on soonest.

God bless you all and have a wonderful week.  Say a little prayer for us as we wrap up our winter in Las Cruces NM!