Fort Craig, New Mexico

It was sunny, hot and once again the air con was working overtime when we drove along Highway 1 before turning onto the dirt road leading to Fort Craig.

In about 5 miles we arrived at the entrance. The area along the Rio Grande near  where Fort Craig, http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/recreation/socorro

/fort_craig.html was established in 1854, was once home to early Puebloan peoples who developed settlements on gravel terraces near the river, eventually constructing adobe buildings several storeys high.   There are archaeological sites in Mockingbird Gap north east of Fort Craig but I’m not sure whether or not they’re open to the public.

The Spanish explored the area in the 1500’s and thousands of settlers rested here before setting off along the infamous ‘Jornado Del Muerto’ (Journey of Death) section of the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro.    During the summer travellers along this section of the road suffered from lack of water and scorching temperatures, in the winter lack of water and freezing winds were the problem, although at any time of the year there was always the threat of attack by marauding Apache.

Fort Craig was one of 8 forts along the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro and became one of the largest forts in the west it was also the sight of the largest Civil War battle in the Southwest.   The Battle of Valverde took place upstream from the Fort at Valverde Crossing, Union forces succeeded in holding the Fort and half of the Confederates supply wagons were destroyed.

After the Civil War the Fort resumed attempts at controlling Indian raids, and the valley prospered under military protection.   The Fort was temporarily closed for 2 years between 1878 and 1880 and then was permanently closed in 1885.

The Fort Craig site is now a BLM Special Management area and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Have fun, we are!

El Camino Real International Heritage Centre

It was hot and sunny definitely another day when we needed the air con as we drove along highway 1

and I25 before turning east past the ‘Road of Dreams’ monument sculpture on the road leading to the El Camino Real International Heritage Centre http://www.caminorealheritage.org/.

In use for over 300 years the first Spanish colonists from Mexico travelled along the El Camino Real 22 years before the Mayflower arrived at Plymouth Rock.   The arrival of the railroad in the mid 1800’s was the beginning of the end for the road, although it had a brief revival in the early 1900’s when automobiles used it as the first highway from El Paso to Sante Fe.

It was quiet the day we visited the Heritage Centre and we practically had the place to ourselves, luckily for DB the shop was closed so there was no temptation for me to add to my collection of books. 

The Heritage Centre.

 Some of the many interesting exhibits in the Heritage Centre.

From the viewing platform at the Heritage Centre you can look out to El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro and the Rio Grande. 

I can’t begin to imagine what it must’ve been like for the settlers who travelled along the road with no maps, no satellite navigation, no cell ‘phones and no water expecting to be attacked by hostile Apache at any moment.   Even now with all of the above in our truck it wouldn’t be much fun to break down or be lost out here.

Have fun, we are!

More Ghost towns - found one, lost one

We followed highway 51 in search of Engle (the one we found).

Built in 1879 as a station on the Aitcheson, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, the town was probably named after R L Engle a railroad construction engineer.

Engle became a thriving cattle town, at one time having a population of about 500, it was also a shipping point for supplies and ore.   When White Sands Missile Range to the east of Engle was created in 1945 it spelled the end for the town.

A few of the original buildings still stand, along with the school house which is now a country church. 

We followed the road south towards Cutter (the one we lost).

Cutter once a mining boom town of 3,500, people moved away as the mines failed and today it’s a ranching area with no sign of the once thriving town.   We reached a sharp left turn which we think would’ve taken us to Spaceport America, we didn’t investigate further as at the moment it’s only open to the public on organised tours.

Continuing straight ahead the road turned to dirt heading towards a couple of places on our ‘to visit’ list, the Yorst Trailhead, and Point of Rocks Overview http://www.nps.gov/elca/historyculture/yost-escarpment.htm on the infamous Jornado Del Muerto, a harsh, waterless section of the Camino Real de Terra Adentro.

We hope to return and visit the overview and hike the trail earlier in the day when it’s cooler.   The Yorst trail is only 1½ miles long but as it crosses mesquite desert it is really easy to get turned around and it’s definitely not somewhere we’d want that to happen.

Have fun, we are!

Elephant Butte State Park

Between 1910 and 1916 Elephant Butte Dam was built, when it was completed it was the worlds largest irrigation reservoir.

We drove up to the Winding Roads picnic area, which was, I think, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps the picnic tables have fabulous views over the ‘Elephant’ Butte and lake.

From there we continued on to Paseo Del Rio, also built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, where we followed the trail along the Rio Grande

After that we strolled back past old fish ponds, which although no longer in use are still in remarkably good condition.

There are campsites all around the lake and along the Paseo Del Rio, some are primitive and some with full hook-ups.

Have fun, we are!

Ghost Towns

On a slightly chilly day we headed off along one of the New Mexico ghost town trails.

Following a meandering road that climbed into the mountains our first stop was the General Store in Winston, where, after hot coffee and apple cider and successfully resisting the lure of a roaring log stove we continued on to Chloride.

Chloride http://www.pioneerstoremuseum.com/index.html is at the end of the road, almost, a 4WD forest road continues on high into the Gila Wilderness.

In the mid 1870’s, Harry Pye, an Englishman passing through the area with an army mule train found some promising ‘rocks’.   When they were assayed they were found to have a high silver content.   Experienced prospectors refused to go the area with Pye as it was a favourite hunting area of the Warm Springs Apache, eventually Pye met two men recently arrived from Kansas and in 1879 they returned with him to his secret canyon.

They only managed to dig about 10 feet into the mountain, before they were attacked by Vittorio and his band of warriors and Pye was killed.   Holding out until dark the two men managed to make their way across the mountains to the present day town of Hillsboro where they told about the fight and the silver in the secret canyon.   Almost overnight a tent city sprung up and Chloride was born.

Chloride became a bustling town with 3 general stores, eight saloons, two butcher shops, a newsstand, an assay office, a lumber yard, a confectionary store, boarding houses, a livery yard, a stagecoach line and a post office.  There was no church and no jail, although there was a hanging tree.

No-one was ever actually hung but if cowboys or miners got to rowdy they were dunked in a water trough and then chained to the tree until they saw ‘the error of their ways’.

In 1896 when the price of silver fell to rock bottom the town practically died overnight.   The General Store hung on until 1923 when the doors and windows were boarded up and closed.   

The intention was that the young son of the owner could get an education and the store could be re-opened when the town had a resurgence.  

Over 70 years later after clearing out accumulated bat, bird and mouse droppings the store was found to contain its original stock.   Among many interesting items the store boasts are the latest in kitchen stoves;

Along with the latest fashions and a beautifully decorated safe.

And everything you could possibly need for your horse and buggy.

Chloride’s a really interesting place to visit, some buildings have been restored by the current owners and a small RV park sits behind the General Store and Saloon.   Quite a few buildings are still privately owned and not open to the public.   There is no charge to visit Chloride, but donations are appreciated and go towards building renovation.

From Chloride we followed the road back through Cuchillo which has several ruins and a pretty white church.

Our last stop was Monticello where just through the town the road turned to dirt so we turned round and headed back.

The historic plaza in Monticello.

Well it was either that or follow FR 139 to wherever it ends up, looked interesting though, maybe another day.

Have fun, we are!

Truth or Consequences, New Mexico

Originally known as Hot Springs, the town changed its name in 1950 when Ralph Edwards, the game show host, offered national publicity to a town if it would change its name to Truth or Consequences for one day.

Hot Springs did just that, permanently, the name change was voted on 3 times during the years and each time the vote was carried.

We visited the Geronimo Springs Museum

In 1863 while visiting the hot springs, the Commander of nearby Fort McRae, Captain Pfeiffer, his wife and two servant girls were attacked by Apache.

During the attack the escort of volunteer soldiers were driven away and Mrs Pfeiffer and one of the servant girls abducted, although wounded Captain Pfeiffer made his way back to Fort McRae and raised the alarm.   An Army patrol pursued the Apache who took part in the attack, sadly they were never caught and the two women were killed. 

Luckily for us there were no marauding Apache around the day we visited the Museum.

Some of the exhibits 

The Mogollon and Mimbres bowls below are just a few of the amazing collection housed in the museum.

The saddle and horse blanket belonged to a Mescalero Apache leader name Daklugie, who was a nephew of Geronimo.

It’s a small museum, but very interesting and well worth a visit.

Have fun, we are!

Trying to catch up!

Once again we've been having soooooo much fun that we've got behind with the blog, the plan (there is always a plan!) is to get caught up in the next few days, we hope!

Have fun, we are!