A Road Trip While in Las Cruces, NM

While waiting for my last doctor's appointment late in May for a general checkup, Mike and I decided to explore some of the area around Las Cruces.  We found a doggie daycare for Bear, so we dropped him off yesterday morning then headed out for a circular trip.  Using Highway 187 North instead of Interstate 25 allowed us to drive at a leisurely pace and see some beautiful vistas.

Our first stop was Fort Selden near Radium Springs.  This fort is close to the Rio Grande and was originally built in 1865 to protect settlers from thieves and Apaches.  Because this fort was built from Adobe and due to lack of preservation, you can see in upcoming years there will not be much left.  Compare the picture I took to the one pictured on the poster.

Current Condition of Fort Selden



Earlier Condition

 

 

Next we visited the town of Hatch which is best known for it's various chilis and it's annual chili fest (http://www.hatchchilefest.com/).  We found that Flat Pericles was interested in some of the art, so we captured him admiring some.

Anyone Recognize These Two Guys?

After Hatch we went north to the town of Truth or Consequences.  The town's original name was Hot Springs (yes there are hot springs in the town).  The name changed however when Ralph Edwards from the popular game show, “Truth or Consequences” decided to air his 10th annual show in a different town.  This came about when one of his staff suggested, “Why not find a town or city somewhere in America that would be willing to change its name to ‘Truth or Consequences,’ and do the anniversary broadcast from that city?”  Hot Springs was picked for it's "friendliness for people and a desire to help mankind."  The town agreed to change the name.  On march 31, 1950 the town changed it's name and on April 1st Ralph flew in to the town to air the show.

After our visit there, we decided to take a circuitous route eastward through Hillsboro, Lake Valley (a ghost town) and back through Hatch.


Sadie Orchard


Hillsboro has a rather colorful history and one of it's prominent citizens was Sadie Orchard a "madam".  During here lifetime, she owned several businesses in the town and even drove the stagecoach at time.  For more information on this town, please see
http://www.hillsboronm.org/ .



Our last stop was Lake Valley, a true ghost town, founded in 1878.  Silver was the drive for establishing Lake Valley and in 1882 the "Bridal Chamber" discovery was made.  At the 1882 World Exposition in Denver, a single piece of silver from this mine was valued at $7,000 (value at that time was $1.00/ounce).  It eventually topped out at over $1,000,00 in silver.  The site volunteer told us that the silver was so pure that they dug it out in huge chunks rather than using a blasting method. In 1893 silver dropped in value and in 1895 the town burnt to the ground and was never rebuilt.  We also visited the graves above town.  The soil is so hard that graves, even recent ones, are two feet above ground.


Pericles in Front of the Martinez House

Grave Sites Above the Town

I hope all my friends and family are doing well.  Until next time...