Trip Recap

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Geo: 34.7242, -82.7814

We departed GSP Saturday, October 24th, at 10:25 AM
(EDT) and arrived in El Paso, TX, around 3:30 PM (MDT).
We picked up our rental car from Budget car rental.
After a bit of confusion about our reservation, which I
suspect was an attempt to charge us a higher rate,
we managed to settle on the original terms. We drove
to Alamogordo, NM, and checked into our motel.

Sunday morning we drove to the smallvillage of
Cloudcroft in the Sacramento mountains above
Alamogordo. The village is a much smaller version
of Gatlinburg, TN, with several touristy shops. Anne
had read of several trails nearby that followed the
bed of an old railroad that operated from the late
1800's to the mid 1900's. Hiked about 3.5 to 4 miles
along these trails, then drove back through Alamogordo
to the Oliver Lee State Park where we hiked the Dog
Canyon trail to a line cabin about half way up the
mountain. This was about 7 miles round trip in length
with an elevation gain of around 1,900 ft. This was
a good hike with views to the west of White Sands,
the Tularosa basin, and the Organ and San Andreas
mountains in the far distance.



After the Dog Canyon hike, we drove to White Sands
National Monument, arriving at about 5:20 PM, just in
time to join a ranger-led walk over the dunes. Very
interesting to hear how the dunes were formed, how
they move, and little known facts about the plants
and animals that live on and around the dunes.

After a pretty strenuous Sunday, we took it fairly easy
on Monday, driving to Paradise, AZ, where we stayed
in the 100 year old George Walker Guest house.
Paradise is a tiny (twelve year-round residents) former
mining town surrounded by National Forest land.
During its short but lively heyday, the town boasted bars,
a barber shop, mercantile stores, hotels, a jail, and a
red-light district. Almost everyone left when the mines
failed, pulling down their homes and businesses and
taking the lumber with them. The guest house, built by
George and Lula Walker at the turn of the century, is
one of the few original structures still standing. The area
is known for being a prime birding area with over 13
species of hummingbirds that pass through Paradise
each year as well as hundreds of other bird species.

However, since we are novice bird watchers (emphasis
on novice), we were more interested in the many hiking
trails in the surrounding Chiricahua mountains. The one
our host recommended, and the one we took, was the
Silver Peak trail. We hiked this trail on Tuesday, our
second day in Paradise. This was a strenuous climb
of 3,000 feet over 4.6 miles one way to the 8,000-foot
summit. Along the way we saw lots of evidence of bear
activity (lots of scat in the trail). Consequently, we were
careful to make a good bit of noise so as not to surprise,
or be surprised by, any bears. The climb to the summit
was well worth the effort, even the last 52 concrete steps
to the top. Views were 360 degrees of the surrounding
peaks of the Chiricahua mountains to the north and west,
Cave Creek canyon to the south, and the Chiricahua
desert in New Mexico to the east.



On Wednesday we checked out of the George Walker
House and drove over the gravel roads from Paradise to
the Chiricahua National Monument where we hiked
several of the trails there. Initially we hiked about 4
miles on a loop consisting of the Echo Canyon,
Hailstone, and Ed Riggs trails with only around a 500
foot elevation gain. This loop took us through some
of the best examples of the unusual rock formations
that the monument is famous for. After this hike, we
drove to the trail head for Sugarloaf Mountain. This
was a short mile-long trail with again a 500 foot
elevation gain. The hike up to the top seemed longer
than a mile, but the views from the summit were
worth the effort.

After our visit to Chiricahua NM, we drove to Willcox,
AZ, and our motel for the night. Since we usually try
to find a good pizza place for at least one meal on
most of our trips, we decided to try to find one in
Willcox. No such luck. Tried one place that advertised
pizza but their kitchen was closed. Since we were
primed for pizza, we took the only other option –
Pizza Hut. So much for good local pizza.

Thursday we modified our original schedule (we had
planned to revisit the monument) and drove to Silver
City, New Mexico, where we stopped at the town
visitor center to ask where we could find a good area
for hiking/walking. Several were recommended with
the closest being an area called Boston Hill Open
Space Trail System. It was a series of rolling hills
that had been the site of extensive mining, originally
for silver but later for copper and iron ore. The area
was crisscrossed with lots of trails over the large area
covered in huge excavated ditches and pits left by
the mining companies. Once the mines played out
and the company closed, the city of Silver City acquired
the area and turned it into a “green space” for hiking
and the enjoyment of visiting nature lovers. The day
we visited was sort of a gray overcast day and with
the open pits left by the mining industry, it looked
anything but “green”. However, it is an interesting
area if for no other reason than to demonstrate the
destruction that was visited upon natural areas by
the industrial revolution of the early 1900's. We hiked
around the area for about 2 hours, spending the last
half hour trying to find our way back to our parked car.

After our hike, we drove back into town and checked
into a neat historical hotel, called the Palace, in the
middle of the original downtown area. The hotel was
built in 1882 and was first a bank before being
converted to a hotel in 1900. The first floor of the
building houses the hotel lobby and several retail
shops while the second floor contains the 18 guest
rooms and suites as well as a breakfast and
common area with comfortable furnishings and
where the free Wifi connection is available. A really
neat, creaky old historic hotel with sufficient modern
amenities to suit most visitors.

Dinner that evening was at a nearby craft brew house
called Little Toad Creek Brewery and Distillery that
served very good food and an extensive line of locally
brewed beer and distilled spirits. I had a Big Ditch
Brown Ale along with a hamburger made with local
grass-fed beef. Anne had a Bloody Mary made from
their Green Chili Vodka with her Portobella Mushroom
sandwich. Both, the meals and drinks, were excellent.
For me, this meal was the best of the trip rivaled only
by the cold cut sandwich and Cheetos I had on the
Silver Peak hike.

After dinner we walked around the
downtown area a bit and walked out to the pedestrian
bridge that crosses the “Big Ditch”. A series of devastating
floods between 1890 and 1910 washed away the original
Main Street and several of the buildings that were along
the street. As a result those buildings that faced the
original main street began using their back doors along
Bullard Street as their front doors. What used to be
Main Street is now known as the “Big Ditch” and lies
some 55 feet below grade with a creek running through it.

On Friday, we drove to El Paso by driving through Deming,
NM, and on to Columbus, NM, and then east along route
9 which parallels the US/Mexico border. With all the hoopla
about illegal immigrants, and since this area didn't have a
“wall”, we expected to see hordes of Mexicans trooping
across the desert to find a better life here in the US. Didn't
see even one. We did see several border patrol units.
Arrived at our motel in El Paso around 2:00 PM, checked
in, and, of course, went in search of an area where we could
get our daily walk in. We found a residential neighborhood
with a small park where we were able to “get our miles in.”
Back to the motel, packed up our suitcases for the last time
and went to bed early in preparation for our 6:30 AM flight
home the next morning. Flight home was pretty uneventful
and we arrived back home around 3:30 PM Saturday, tired
but grateful to have seen, one more time, some of the
fantastic natural areas of this beautiful country.

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