We got on the road at 11 AM on Thursday, 15 May 08

headed for Silver City, New Mexico…we stayed up

way too late the night before trying to get our travel

log for our last trip to Cottonwood and Prescott finished…otherwise we would be hopelessly behind after this trip…  Surprisingly, we didn’t feel too groggy even though we got up earlier than we normally would to do the last minute packing.

We hadn’t been to New Mexico since our last trip to Silver city when we had the small motor home...that was in January ’06, so we were looking forward to the return visit with more mobility than we’d had before since we now can unhitch the Airstream and take side trips. We took I-10 east toward the Arizona/New Mexico border, figuring it would take us 3-4 hours to get there… The trip was quite pleasant and “un-demanding” in terms of traffic, etc…we tow at a max speed of 65 for tire safety and the best mileage…  When we passed the turn-off to Safford and Roper Lake east of Willcox, we were officially in territory never visited in the Bambi, so the adventure began…  

When we crossed over into New Mexico…Greg tried to get a picture of the “Welcome to New Mexico” sign as we passed it, just for the record, but there were so many other signs in front of it that he only got half of it. We should

have stopped for a photo op maybe. Oh well...you get the picture (literally). About the time we hit Lordsburg it began to sprinkle off and on… Tucson had been in the triple digits but rain had crept into the weather forecast during

the prior few days. We expected warm weather, and still hoped for it, since the last time we were in Silver City, it was dang cold and windy. We stopped in Lordsburg, which is basically a train depot and what has grown up around

                     it…and the best place to get gas (Luv’s) for several miles in either

                          direction.  We had to chuckle as we passed the “Lordsburg

                            RV Park.” It was a completely flat, barren, gravel parking

                           lot with no trees or other vegetation whatsoever, with

                           electrical posts and sewer hookups sticking up…certainly

                            no other amenities. We didn’t even see a bathroom. Pretty sad. And they called is a “Park?” Surprisingly, there were 3 or 4 disheveled looking rigs parked there. What an exotic existence! It would be OK only in a moment of utter desperation! It’s too bad, too, because if it was nice, they’d probably make money hand over fist since there’s nothing for miles in either direction. Then the could call it a “Resort!”

Lordsburg is also where one exits I-10 to pick up highway 70 north for a

couple of miles, then east on highway 90 to Silver City. The drive from Lordsburg north on 90 is a very pleasant…rolling hills with lots of interesting landscapes and piñon pine and scrub oak. It is also a bit of a climb culminating in crossing the Continental Divide at 6300-something feet. We didn’t realize

we were that high. The outside temps were in the 60s by this time and we were heading right for dark skies…that predicted rain storm was happening. And

just as we neared Silver City it started to come down, complete with lightning.

It rained and sprinkled on us all the way to highway 180 in town, where we turned to head east through a section of major road construction (widening the main drag…it will be nice when completed) to Rose Valley RV Ranch

Park. This is where we stayed on our earlier trip. It is now under new ownership and they have made some nice improvements…free, more robust WiFi, for instance (before we had to pay for it and then it was too weak) and

it seems that they have cleaned up the grounds some and freshened the gravel roads. It seemed better overall than before, somehow, so we were pleased.

The WiFi was better this time so we had a good internet connection. And

this time is was far busier than when we were there in January! They put us

in a very nice site on the furthest road from the office, with wide open countryside spreading out behind us. They said if we didn’t like the site we could find another one and change...but they put us just where we like to be...

on the fringes where it’s quiet.

The most striking part of this park’s design is that each space has a privacy wall built out of recycled barn siding and/or stone...and they have left the natural trees in place. The spaces are quite roomy and some have tables made out of

old metal tractor and wagon wheels. Scattered around the park are vignettes of old farm equipment left to rust into quaintness…there’s an old windmill, an old water tower, and a barn that they’ve converted into a group gathering facility with a grill and fire pit. It’s all quite pleasant and a pleasure to roam around in. All this with full hookups, a laundry room, shower/bath and even an exercise room.  They also have cabins. All this only minutes from town…though you’d never know town was that close. We thought the price was good, too...about $26 a night and they offer a Good Sam discount. We were glad we came back.

It was sprinkling when we checked in but it started to rain again while we unhitched and set up…had to stop, go in and get jackets as we were dressed for the desert. There is gravel on the parking part of the site and finer gravel in the patio part…we put down the outdoor rug, even though we really

didn’t need it…just thought it might keep our feet a little cleaner

before entering the Airstream since it was rainy… By the time we

got set up it was coming down pretty hard, so our timing was good.

It had taken us exactly 4 hours to get to Silver City, and the

mileage was 199.8 miles… This is virtually the same mileage as it

is to Fool Hollow from Tucson…but no big, deep Salt River Canyon to

traverse…for some reason we were thinking Silver City was a longer trip. 

We had not really particularly counted on cold weather, so we were glad that Greg had thought to pack some warmer clothes. We arrived in shorts and short sleeve shirts and donned jeans and jackets as soon as we got unhitched. The rain picked up and the temps dropped, so we more or less hunkered down for the night…it was pleasant hearing the pitter-pat of rain on the Airstream. Even the Girls seems lulled into nap-land by the rain (after they had eaten, that is!)… Since we had entered a different time zone we lost and hour. Arizona doesn’t “do” Daylight Savings Time...AZ is on Pacific Time and later it’ll be back on its usual Mountain Time, which is what New Mexico is. We’d lost a lot of sleep last night and here we are losing yet another hour!  We’ll hopefully make up for it over the next several days.

It was downright cold—in the 40s—when Terry took the Girls out for their last walk of the evening…nobody wanted to stay out long, and they weren’t…just long enough to do business and get back into the comfort of the Bambi where

the furnace was keeping the cold at bay. It rained off and on all night. Terry

got up at some point, turned the furnace off, and started the fantastic fan to bring in a little fresh air inside. Both of us slept well that night and of course,

the Girls did too.

                              Friday it continued to rain off and on. We took walks with

                                 the Girls and chatted to a few folks in the park, but

                                pretty much hung out in the park all day waiting for the

                                rain to go away… Late in the afternoon we were in the

                                 Bambi and here comes a 1950 Silver Streak (precursor to Airstreams and whose design was influenced by Willy Byam, the designer of

the original Airstreams)…very cool…we spoke briefly to the owners who have restored it…they offered to show us inside later…but we never saw them again during our stay…they departed Sunday morning before we arose. But we did get pics. It was quite the rig.

Saturday the rain lulled, so we headed into the old part of town with galleries, antique stores and interesting shops and sidewalk cafes are…it was a pleasant afternoon of walking around the streets… lots of “sidewalk” activity in this area…folks enjoying their espressos and friends at small tables outside of restaurants and coffee houses. It reminded us of Bisbee, AZ somewhat. It, too,

is an eclectic mix of hippies and bikers and 30-somethings.  One area that had once been either a motel or a gas station and auto shop, “The Hub,” has been re-invented into a market place with small shops in one area, with another sort

of warehouse area broken up into individual “shops” by partitions, etc…a

step up from an indoor swap meet and quite a pleasant, fun place. In the court yard there was a public area with a fountain...obviously used for public gatherings and performances…

We visited some of the same antique stores and shops we’d been in before and some new galleries and shops filled with local artisans’ work. Some interesting art for sure, but we showed great restraint…only bought a handsome Indian pueblo pottery miniature piece for Greg’s collection… It seemed

like there wasn’t that much traffic in the stores for a Saturday

afternoon, though, and wondered if the economy was hitting

this area hard, since there’s not much there that is “necessary”

to life…but more a place to use disposable income. (You

remember what that is, right??)

After leaving downtown we drove back through the construction and beyond the turn-off Rose Valley Ranch to see what had changed out that direction… The town doesn’t seem to have spread that much…a few more areas of commerce on the outskirts, but nothing like we had experienced in the Cottonwood and Prescott, AZ areas.  We saw no big box stores or new large shopping complexes. That was refreshing.

It had been cool when we left for town earlier but turned out to be a decent day downtown…we shed our jackets and walked around in shirt sleeves…but by the time we were back to the park, it began to sprinkle again as a new bank of clouds rolled in. We wanted to grill that night, so Terry fired up the grill for burgers, and about the time he was finishing up, the rain and wind got more intense…so another day of off and on weather.

Sunday we had thought we’d drive up into the mountains to see the

scenic sites up that direction.  But we ended up opting out of that until the

next time we’re through here. Gas prices were the highest we’d seen so far…$3.899 …so we just decided to stay put and relax for the day, as we were heading on to our next destination Monday. This gave us plenty of oppor-

tunity to walk the Girls around the park and take some pictures when it was sunny…for the first time, really. The Girls really liked this place…guess the

                   new smells got them all excited or something because on nearly

                         every walk they were tugging at the leashes to linger just a

                            little  longer at many “spots of interest” …where they

                           thoroughly and intensely sniffed the “fragrances” of doggies

                          past, no doubt. If you’ve every walked a dog, you’ll know

                           what we mean…  It’s their walk, too, of course, we so usually

                          indulge them so that can get their fill of those interesting aromas. Mmmm. Life is good!

On one walk we met a lady from Colorado who had just come into the park the day before…they had been to Tucson and were on their way home to Colorado…she was walking her 13-year-old yellow mellow lab mix, Cassidy, who was mildly interested in exchanging sniffs with the Girls but really more interested in getting pats from us. And we obliged her, of course.  She was sweet, and interestingly, Sadie didn’t try to boss her around.

This visi to Silver City turned out to be less “busy” than we anticipated...

we didn’t go north into the mountains to see the sites there, and we pretty

much stayed in the park out of the rain...but it was pleasant nonetheless.  Besides...that leaves us things to do the next time we are through this part

of New Mexico.

Monday checkout was at 11 AM… We got up in time to get ourselves packed for the short tow to City of Rocks New Mexico State Park and took off to our next adventure. On the way out of town, we stopped at the Ace Hardware looking for the elusive aluminum cabinet edging Greg is putting in the Bambi. None there. Dang!

Click on the slideshow button below for pics of our stay in Silver City...and on “City of Rocks” to go to the next leg of this trip.  Or you can click on “Other Trips” below the pictures to return to the trip list page.  Whatever you do, we hope you enjoy yourselves!