Silver City

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I'll make it short tonight, because frankly, we didn't do too much today. It was a comfortable night, not nearly as cold as the one before. We did a few things around the site after we got up, then we went to Walmart so I could buy my 5 day New Mexico fishing license. After that, we paid a visit to the Gila National Forest headquarters. I asked about the Scorpion campground, right near the Gila Cliff Dwellings. The folks there nixed that, as it is not recommended for trailers longer than 15'. Plan B time again. While there, I did enjoy seeing one of the rare, golden bronze Gila Trout swimming in a glass tank. I fully expect that this may be the last look I will get at one of those.

After that, we headed into town to see the sights. Silver City is a fun place to hang out, with all kinds of shops, restaurants, and bars in it's "Old Town" section. All along the streets they have planted cherry trees, and as luck would have it, they were in full blossom. We talked to a women we met while admiring them, and she said the blooming was weeks ahead of schedule, due to the very early Spring they were experiencing -- the same story we have heard everywhere on this trip. After we filled our morning with wandering around, we had some great wings and drinks at a local brew pub. The pub was called "Little Toad Creek Brewers" and they offered a damn nice stout, tasty! Then we went back to the camp to do some planning. We settled on a site not far from the dwellings called "Gila Hot Springs Ranch". They have RV sites, natural hot springs, and fishing access to the Gila River -- sounds good. I called then, and they do have a site for us, so that's where we head tomorrow. The folks there too warned us not to try to head straight north from Silver City on RT 15. I guess that is the crazy twisty stretch, we were told to do an end-around, and go east first on RT 152 to RT 35, so that's what we'll try.

Cathy then got on her bike and rode next door to the cemetery just west of us. Among the local luminaries planted there is supposed to be the mother of the famous "Billy the Kid" outlaw. I guess the old dame is there somewhere, but Cathy had no luck in finding her. Speaking of the cemetery, you would think that camping next to one would make for quiet nights, but no. This little town would seem to be a hold-out for 20th Century American car culture. We are not far from the town's main "drag", and I mean that quite literally. There seems a time (about 10 til midnight) when old-fashioned stoplight drag racing is the order of the day. No biggie though, Cathy never goes anywhere without her earplugs, and for an old motorhead like me, roaring engines and squealing tires constitutes nothing so much as a lullaby. Especially so, since I also heard a lot of shifting -- ah, the melodious and vanishing song of the standard transmission, a clutch at my heartstrings.

Later, it was back to town for dinner at a spot called "Diane's". We hadn't treated ourselves to dinner since Terlingua, and this was a good one. Cathy went with a prawn scampi, and I had curried chicken. We both enjoyed our meals, especially along with the libations available. After that we strolled back to the Toad Brewery and listened to some great live music. Soon we realized it was crazy late -- nearly eleven o'clock! So we hopped back into Moby, fueled him up for the next day's travels, and headed back to camp.

So we've now headed as far west as we'll get on this trip, it will be north and a little east tomorrow. They'll be no cell service where we are for the next few days, but they say that there is some available wifi -- we'll see? Don't be alarmed if we go dark for a bit.

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