We are parked in an old apple orchard/rv park called Continental Divide RV Park. It's full of old, crummy trailers and converted rvs, but it's central to all of the things we want to see and the price is right.
We drove a narrow, windy road up into the mountains where the continental divide runs right through the rv park. Since we are at 7000 feet, I'm guessing the nights will be below freezing. And the scenery here is so different from the desert. It's green and there are trees everywhere. It almost reminds us of Idaho.
After we got all set up, we took a ride through historic Pinos Altos. This is the museum and yes, it's as old and rustic as the picture portrays. This was Grant County's first private school house, built around 1866. We didn't have a chance to go inside, but we certainly will before we leave.
This is the opera house. It was built in 1969, capturing the flavor of an old west opera house. According to the signs on the front doors, it is still used to present old fashion melodramas. I would dearly love to see one of those!
And this is the historic saloon, built in 1865. There were several more historic sights such as the original cemetary, the first courthouse and Judge Roy Bean's store site. But we didn't get pictures of everything. Maybe later.
Tomorrow, we will check out the Silver City visitor information center and the local rockshop for maps of the old mines in the area. Most of the mines are on BLM (bureau of land management) property and are open to anyone. Of course, we won't enter the mines themselves, but there is plenty of rockhounding material in the tailings piles.
Lots to report in the next week as long as the weather continues to be good. There are reports of heavy winds and a few rain showers over the next few days. Wish us luck!
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