More Blog Fodder

We had heard about Gila Cliff Ruins since arriving in Silver City and today made the journey north about forty miles to view this unbelievable site.  People occupied this particular canyon for 10,000 years which I believe predates the current presidential campaign though at some times I loose track of time.  

As you can see by the picture the structures have held up well and have not been retouched by the park service save a few walls that were vandalized.  These ruins were abandoned at about 1200 AD and the inhabitants disappeared.  The belief is that they actually over hunted depleting the food resources which forced to move elsewhere.  Who knows?  

After the ruins we hiked to the confluence of the Middle Fork of the Gila River and Little Bear Canyon via Little Bear which was a narrow vertically walled water way, dry except for flash floods.  "Oh honey did you check the weather before we left?"  

"No I thought you would."  

Back home safe and sound after a beautiful day in the New Mexico Gila Wilderness without a hitch.  Actually the road was the most challenging part of the day.  Forty miles takes about 1.5 hours of serious concentration.  

Nice neighborhoods

As I mentioned in an earlier entry we are adjacent to a cemetery and though it isn't visible from our campsite we do  drive by it each day.  The neighbors sharing the motor home park are all alive and well I am glad to report and I wanted to send a picture a guy who is next door.  We all have interesting neighbors no matter where we live and are, in some cases, considered the "interesting neighbor".   The photo represents only a small portion of the collection that he keeps neatly displayed around his rv.  He is a silver smith by trade and appears to be pretty established in the area.  I think you can double click the photo and get the full effect.  

Silver City

Hello all,

We are spending some pleasant days here in SW New Mexico biking and hiking in 7o degree days.  Don't miss the snow, not one bit. 

Yesterday we hiked a short hike along the bottom of a cliff walled canyon to see an 1875 mining site.  One of the most incredible things about the day was the sycamore trees.  The photo of the tree that Toni is standing by doesn't even begin to demonstrate the size of these giants.  

At the mine site itself there is a cylindrical steam boiler something like 15'X4' in size and made of half inch thick  steel.  Think mini submarine in size.  How they got it up the canyon is one mystery but how they got it to the middle of nowhere is even more of a mystery.  The amount of work done in the name of silver boggles one's mind, but silver makes jewelry, women like jewelry sooo!!!!  

Silver City was founded on mining and is in transition.  The old downtown is full of coffee shops and galleries and eclectic eateries. Sounds familiar somehow.  About twenty miles outside of town a large, very large open pit ore mine is in full swing.   The mine sits in such a way that, unless you are passing by it, you don't see much of it so the two worlds co-exist pretty well.  

Adios mis amigos 

The learning curve

Today was filled with a lot of emotions and throughout the day we were slapped in the face with the realities of life.  I won't go into the details as they are the matters and business of family and friends and their personal life doesn't belong on a blog.  Simply put, our hearts and souls are with them.

Our journey has already taken us far and at times we feel a strong need to reconnect with those we love because life is so uncertain.  A large part of the reason we are on this adventure is because of the knowledge that only the current moment is available when one goes looking for life.  So we have chosen to go spend time being, just trying to breath the air that surrounds us and doing whatever is in front of us for the day.  We pay attention to all that is happening around the world and consider and do our part as we move about.  But we also disconnect from that frenzy that drives the world and convinces so many to work more, take less time off and worry about the poor bastards on Wall Street who may have to give up some of their billions.  

We miss all of you.  You are our friends and family.  Each day you are in our thoughts.  We are looking for something that matters greatly to us.  

Some of my thoughts today.  B. K.

Mural

We found this great coffee shop in Socorro, NM.  The mural speaks to the soul of the true addict. Oui?

All the way to Silver City, NM

We've seen gas as high as $4.10 per gallon and as low as $2.99 while traveling south over the last six weeks. Now 2114 miles later we find ourselves in Silver City, NM, a small town nestled in the Gila National Forest in southwest NM.  More on this later.

After leaving Durango we spent three days in mystical Canyon de Chelly, Az.  People have occupied the canyon for the last 5000 years.  The area is closely guarded by the Navajo Nation so getting down to the canyon floor itself requires a Navajo guide.  We took one guided tour walking beneath ruins that seem to hang on the cliff walls and getting glimpses of petroglyphs and art work that have endured the eons.  It is a very powerful place with a lot of bad times as well as hundreds of years of peaceful times stirring around.    

Then we did a power drive, heading  south and back into NM, ultimately to Silver City.  Picture a motor home, 500 miles, a head wind.   

Anyway, now we are anchored in Silver at the Rose Valley RV Ranch which is, appropriately, adjacent to a cemetery where old RV'ers are buried by the hundreds.  Pictures haven't happened here as yet due to our late arrival.  We came over a pass into Silver that makes Teton Pass look like an express way over a high spot, unfortunately no pictures of that road but it was a trip.  

Durango

We have, for the last week now, been enjoying the perfect weather in Durango, Co,  hiking and biking as much as possible and, grateful me , not embroiled in the ongoing political crap.  Oh we still see the headlines on line and in the papers each day but we are not under the constant bombardment of the media trying so desperately to convince us that they know something we don't.  I have no questions in my mind about the need for change in our country but it amazes me that the split in our voters isn't more divided.  A sign that the times ahead will be interesting and challenging.   I won't even start on the greed in Wall Street.  Enough of that.  

We have had the good fortune of catching up with the Haggart Clan and they are happy and healthy, having made Durango home.   Other Jacksonites also call this home so we have bumped into a few familiar faces.

The photos are from a hike we took into the San Juan National Forest a few days ago.  We walked along the Vallecito River for a few hours and swam in one of the coldest clearest pools on the planet.  

I hope all of you are well and seeking your bliss as we are.

Happy Trails