We had read about Silver City and it was described as a small, friendly, artsy, charming western town with a rich history – with two museums we thought would be worthy of our 70/70 quest as well as restaurants worth sampling and shops worth checking out. Thus we decided to add it to our itinerary. It was a delight!
Delight #1: For the first time this entire trip, I could run trails from the campground! Excellent! Everything from views to art to jackrabbits!
Delight #2: art everywhere throughout a downtown filled with unique shops!
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| Visitors Center Mural celebrating the Continental Divide Trail (which goes through Silver City - we saw many hiker-looking people while we were there) |
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| Coffee shop - good coffee, good art, good fun and they let dogs in! |
Delight #3: Downtown Silver City has a rather bizarre history in that Main Street would
regularly flood and get re-repaired until 1895 when a wave 12 feet deep and
300 feet wide completely washed out Main Street and its buildings. Locals built a bridge over it
and let it be as is until 1902 when another catastrophic flood carved the gulch
even deeper. It is now known as the “Big Ditch” and has footpaths and gardens
all along it.
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| The "Big Ditch" (a small portion of it) |
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| A mural of the flood history, a garden, and a Taz |
Now on to our 70/70 quest items!
70/70 Quest #33: Silver City Museum
The Silver City Museum opened in 1967 and is housed in the H.B. Ailman house, built in 1881 – which is the museum’s single largest artifact. The building evolved from being the family home to a boarding house, to City Hall, then the town fire station for 35 years before becoming the Silver City Museum. The 20,000 other artifacts in the museum cover eras and cultures from the Mimbreno people to settlers, miners, ranchers, entrepreneurs, and contemporary life.
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| Museum - great view from the cupola Kendall rather liked the view of the car! |
70/70 Quest #34: Silva City Botanical Gardens
We pretty much
just stumbled upon this gem. The land is owned by the town but the Gila
Native Plant Society volunteers keep it going. In fact, there were a dozen
or so volunteers there, weeding, planting, and happy to chat with us the day we
wandered through. The idea of a garden was years in the making and when a
Native Plant Society member made a substantial donation, the idea became a reality.
Today the acre of land is a demonstration garden of more than 100 species
of plants specifically native to southern New Mexico.
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| These yucca shoot up huge stalks - and then that's it for the life of the plant... |
70/70 Quest #35: Western New Mexico University Museum
This museum has a massive collection of Mimbre artifacts from a variety of sites primarily around New Mexico and many very near Silver City. We looked through most every nook and cranny; these three photos represent the variety of history found here.
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| I am a sucker for beautiful basketry - and this was beautiful basketry |
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| This so awed Kendall he had to bring me in to see it! |
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