Driving Loop North of Deming

We got in Monday afternoon here at Deming, New Mexico and for the next 3 days we have had thunderstorms and heavy rain.  The campground has flooded then dried out, then flooded again.  Tremendous lightning displays.  We just sat still inside, reading, playing on the computer, just being bored.  And listening to our skylight in the bathroom leak, drip, drip, drip.  Dave is on top of the RV right now caulking around the screws that hold it in place.  He said that the skylight is cracked where they tightened it down, will have to replace it.

Yesterday afternoon the skies cleared somewhat so we ventured north out of Deming to Silver City. Drove around a bit, then detoured to go to Fort Bayard, an Army fort built in 1866.  Very big, lots of buildings still standing.  Another fort, but this one is very different.  Served the southwest region from 1866 to 1899 when the Army did not need to protect the citizens any more since Geronimo surrendered and the Indians had been forced onto reservations, also the railroad had been built and travel was much faster and safer.  The fort became the Army's first tuberculosis sanatorium.  It also served as a medical rehabilitation hospital for WW1 and WW2.  German POWs were housed there.  A state of the art health facility was built just across from the sanatorium and the Fort was finally abandoned in 1965.  I really felt the ghosts here.  Very eerie.  Construction and maintenance was going on, not sure if they are just shoring up the buildings or what.  Much sadness.

I felt eyes watching me, haunted

Windows open, wondered if anyone was inside?

Very creepy

New facility opposite the old Fort Bayard

Silver City is known for their copper and silver mines, the largest called Chino Mine but originally called the Santa Rita Mine, we stopped and gawked at how huge it was.  An open pit mine for copper, was awesome to see but a bit unnerving to how the landscape is being torn apart.

Chino Mine - very, very big copper mine!

Continued our drive and went east bound over the Black Range of the Rocky Mountains.  Stopped in little towns, read some of the historical markers, then continued on through the mountains.  Absolutely beautiful scenery.  Saw campers tucked away in the the piñon and juniper forest.  Saw lots of ponderosa pines.  Jagged rocks.  Hiking trails that we did not do, the rain/snow was threatening.  Yep, saw snow from the last couple of days - we were over 9000 feet.  Crossed over the Emory Pass and dropped down into Hatch Valley.

Steep, sharp turns

They were not kidding!  10 mpg

Dad looking left to right, Mom telling kids to pay attention, teaching the kids
how to cross a road without getting hit

Stopped in Hatch to see the town a bit more closely, having blown on through this past Monday.  Went into Sparkey's for lunch and had their famous chili hamburger while Dave had chicken breast smothered in their famous chili sauce.  Delicious but we paid for it later that night!  Did a quick stop at one of the places that you can buy chili this and chili that and talked with the owner, they were frantically putting orders together to go out that day for Albuquerque, Socorro, and Colorado.  Good for them.

Anything chili you need, you can find it

If you look closely, see peppers peeking through

Sparkey's - great food!

Found out that Deming is the world's largest producer of green chili pepper products (sauces, powders, etc.) and the country's largest for jalapeño peppers.  We will be making a visit to BorderProducts in the next couple of days to see if they have an outlet store.  The town of Hatch grows the peppers and Deming processes them.  Semi tractor trails loaded with chilis, see them peaking out of the crates, into and out of town all day/night.  Now it makes sense!