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Links: Interpretive Zone 2 | ||
« Hillsboro » These links will open in a new browser window on your desktop. When you're finished surfing, close the window to return to this page. | ||
  A very good history of Hillsboro is at the New Mexico Wanderings site. Note that the Hillsboro information at this site may seem to be over before it actually is... but keep going and you'll keep coming to more, including an article about Sadie Orchard, another about Old Days In The Hillsboro/Kingston Mine Area, and several pages of photos. The pictures are quick-loading, but poor quality. Worth looking at, though. With a historic photo of the old courthouse, the Hillsboro page of the Sierra County Chamber of Commerce gives a good historical synopsis as well as providing a list of visitor services and points of interest. Ghosttowns.com also has a page on Hillsboro with many photos. Photographs 7 through 11, inclusive, on this page were taken in Hillsboro. Brought to you by the New Mexico Film Office. Remember that "ghost town" doesn't necessarily mean "uninhabited." Respect the residents in these little communities while you enjoy the area's history and scenery. Please have a look at these Ghost Town Guidelines from New Mexico Ghost Towns... and Other Little-Known Places. Enjoy the nature, history, and culture of southwest New Mexico - but don't disturb the natural, historical, and cultural sites. Do not remove, destroy, or deface anything on any site; strict laws protect artifacts on State, Federal, Indian, and private lands. Buying, selling, trading, or transporting these stolen items is also illegal. Please report looting and vandalism to federal land management authorities or the local sheriff. Hide all traces of your travels as the Apache hid their passing so these wildlands may remain unspoiled, the historical sites may remain true to their history, and the developed sites may remain clean and pleasant. Thank you. | ||
Go to: « Hillsboro » | ||
| « Lake Valley » These links will open in a new browser window on your desktop. When you're finished surfing, close the window to return to this page. | ||
 A nice mix of history and photos is at the New Mexico Wanderings site. The pictures are quick-loading, but poor quality. Worth looking at, though. Here's a quirky little page with a great personality about Lake Valley, courtesy New Mexico Ghost Towns... and Other Little-Known Places. From there, you can link to an extended Virtual Tour of the town - in theory, anyway. Until the webmaster of that site gets the link fixed, you might have better luck using this one. (There's also a Quick Time panoramic movie, but it makes our browser crash every time so we can't review it...) A very nice, graphic-rich article from Southern New Mexico Magazine. Sporting five nice big photos and a concisely complete history, this Lake Valley page from ghosttowns.com is a good one. Additional fascinating details about Lake Valley's history are given by National Scenic Byways Online. It's actually better in the long run to go to their home page and navigate to the Geronimo Trail section than to follow the above link. Try it both ways to see what we mean. More exposition and more photos await at this page from the Sierra County Chamber of Commerce. Before you go, please have a look at these Ghost Town Guidelines from New Mexico Ghost Towns... and Other Little-Known Places. Enjoy the nature, history, and culture of southwest New Mexico - but don't disturb the natural, historical, and cultural sites. Do not remove, destroy, or deface anything on any site; strict laws protect artifacts on State, Federal, Indian, and private lands. Buying, selling, trading, or transporting these stolen items is also illegal. Please report looting and vandalism to federal land management authorities or the local sheriff. Hide all traces of your travels as the Apache hid their passing so these wildlands may remain unspoiled, the historical sites may remain true to their history, and the developed sites may remain clean and pleasant. Thank you. | ||
Go to: « Lake Valley » | ||
| « Kingston » These links will open in a new browser window on your desktop. When you're finished surfing, close the window to return to this page. | ||
 Here's a historical taste of the fabled wild-west (emphasis on "wild") town of Kingston from - you guessed it - the Sierra County Chamber of Commerce. Besides a history, this page has an old photo of one of the partially-remaining buildings. A more detailed history and several photos are to be found on the ghosttowns.com site. The most fun book about the heyday of Black Range mining is Black Range Tales, by James "Uncle Jimmy" McKenna. A chapter titled "Christmas in Kingston (1882)" is reprinted in whole at Southern New Mexico Online: "Christmas was coming to Kingston. The Christmas spirit was in the air. Every burro that came into town over mountain trails packed a Christmas tree, a big bunch of mistletoe, or a branch of red berries. A little of the evergreen went to decorate Mrs. O'Boyle's cabin where the Catholics of Kingston would gather on Christmas afternoon to celebrate the birth of Christ; some of the holiday green went to brighten up the eleven saloons of the town; but most of it went to adorn Pretty Sam's new dance hall..." (Though Pretty Sam's is no more, its stones were re-used in the '30s in an addition onto the Black Range Lodge - now a bed and breakfast - across the street.) What's Kingston like now? (Or back in 1993, anyway.) Here's a long article titled "Boomtown revival: Artists bring new spirit to former ghost town of Kingston" from a 1993 issue of New Mexico Magazine. Remember that "ghost town" doesn't necessarily mean "uninhabited." Respect the residents in these little communities while you enjoy the area's history and scenery. Please have a look at these Ghost Town Guidelines from New Mexico Ghost Towns... and Other Little-Known Places. Enjoy the nature, history, and culture of southwest New Mexico - but don't disturb the natural, historical, and cultural sites. Do not remove, destroy, or deface anything on any site; strict laws protect artifacts on State, Federal, Indian, and private lands. Buying, selling, trading, or transporting these stolen items is also illegal. Please report looting and vandalism to federal land management authorities or the local sheriff. Hide all traces of your travels as the Apache hid their passing so these wildlands may remain unspoiled, the historical sites may remain true to their history, and the developed sites may remain clean and pleasant. Thank you. | ||
Go to: « Kingston » | ||
| « The Gila National Forest » These links will open in a new browser window on your desktop. When you're finished surfing, close the window to return to this page. | ||
 The terrific Gila National Forest website from the Southwestern Region of the USDA Forest Service. Much info in a very appealing presentation. "The Gila's beauty is in its diversity of rugged mountains, deep canyons, meadows, and semi-desert country. Elevations range from 4,200 to 10,900 feet and cover four of the six life zones. Flora and fauna are diverse. Ocotillo and cactus are found in the lower elevations, and juniper, pine, aspen, and spruce-fir forests are plentiful in the high mountains. Wildlife such as the black bear, mountain lion, elk, deer, antelope, bighorn sheep, and wild turkey inhabit the forest while the bald eagle, peregrine falcon, and the red-tailed hawk soar in the wind." An attractive page about the Gila National Forest with several enlightening internal links comes from GORP - Great Outdoor Recreation Pages (with unspoken apologies to Grain-Oats-Raisins-Peanuts). "The adventurous traveler will find in the Gila National Forest 3.3 million beautiful, rugged acres, and more wilderness than in any other national forest in the Southwest. If an outdoor lover seeks solitude, remote Gila offers it in abundance, for the Forest is relatively untouched by modern humans and their activities. At the same time, those seeking an active vacation will delight in the Forest's year-round recreational opportunities. The magnificent mountain scenery and cool summer temperatures lure visitors to enjoy..." Another nice exposition is given by National Parks of The Southwest - a website with the somewhat unusual premise of being dedicated to national parks in the southwestern USA, southwestern Canada, and southwestern UK. "Covering large tracts of forested mountainous country in Southwestern New Mexico, the Gila National Forest contains many recreation friendly areas, Indian and mining history and dramatic and isolated wilderness." The Continental Divide (so called because rivers on the west side of it flow west, and rivers on the east side of it flow east) runs through the Gila National Forest. There's a 3,100-mile hiking trail that runs the length of this Divide, running through Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. These pages are brought to you by Hooked On the Outdoors. For a more human-interest/historical perspective, Southern New Mexico Online has a couple dozen articles about the Gila National Forest and the Gila Wilderness, with topics ranging from wildflowers to mountain men. Want photos? This multitude of shots were taken during the Gila Road Race 99 - a bicycling event, so naturally there's bicycles in every shot (except one). Ah, but they're in front of scenery! Pics hosted by GilaWilderness.com. For more info about the bicycle thing, check out the Tour of the Gila website. Hey birders - check out the annual Bird & Nature Festival website. Note that a comprehensive pamphlet titled "Birds of the Gila National Forest" is available at the ranger station in Truth or Consequences; it lists 166 species known to breed in the Gila, 114 others that are more or less regular non-breeders, and 57 species considered to be casual (recorded 3-5 times) or accidental (recorded but once or twice). Enjoy the nature, history, and culture of southwest New Mexico - but don't disturb the natural, historical, and cultural sites. Do not remove, destroy, or deface anything on any site; strict laws protect artifacts on State, Federal, Indian, and private lands. Buying, selling, trading, or transporting these stolen items is also illegal. Please report looting and vandalism to federal land management authorities or the local sheriff. Hide all traces of your travels as the Apache hid their passing so these wildlands may remain unspoiled, the historical sites may remain true to their history, and the developed sites may remain clean and pleasant. Thank you. | ||
Go to: « The Gila National Forest » | ||
| « The Black Range Mountains » These links will open in a new browser window on your desktop. When you're finished surfing, close the window to return to this page. | ||
 The web page for the Black Range Ranger District of the Southwestern Region of the USDA Forest Service: "The Black Range mountains stand as a prominent landmark... elevations here range between 4,200 feet to over 10,000 feet, with average elevations being about 7,000 feet." Edited excerpts about the Black Range from a 1998 issue of Heart of the Gila, the Gila National Forest Employee Newsletter: "This crest has for centuries stood sentinel over the unfolding drama of the Rio Grande Valley, through which runs the Camino Real, where civilization has passed for centuries. How appropriate that this ridge forms the Continental Divide." (The article is most specifically addressing the Continental Divide Trail.) Snakes? They're out there, but it's not likely that you'll even see one. However, if you're lucky, you might come across a Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake! Writes Dave Long, "In 1992 there was a discovery of a new population of Sonoran mountain kingsnake, Lampropeltis pyromelana, in the Black Range in Sierra County, New Mexico. This was exciting news as this locality was much farther east than any previously known locality..." Read all about it at this page from www.kingsnake.com - 'The internet portal for the reptile & amphibian hobbyist.' Enjoy the nature, history, and culture of southwest New Mexico - but don't disturb the natural, historical, and cultural sites. Do not remove, destroy, or deface anything on any site; strict laws protect artifacts on State, Federal, Indian, and private lands. Buying, selling, trading, or transporting these stolen items is also illegal. Please report looting and vandalism to federal land management authorities or the local sheriff. Hide all traces of your travels as the Apache hid their passing so these wildlands may remain unspoiled, the historical sites may remain true to their history, and the developed sites may remain clean and pleasant. Thank you. | ||
Go to: « The Black Range Scenic Area » | ||
| « City of Rocks State Park » These links will open in a new browser window on your desktop. When you're finished surfing, close the window to return to this page. | ||
 From an article about City of Rocks on Southwest New Mexico Online: "It catches you by surprise. Unseen from the state highway, down a two mile spur of blacktop, the City of Rocks State Park rises, suddenly, from a vast yellow plain of waving grama grass. The columnar, pastel stones make an uneven and disheveled skyline. Some tower as high as fifty feet. Others hunker to the earth like brooding trolls. In the interior of 'the city,' the rocks meld and merge to form arches, curvaceous streets, and dark alleyways. Off to the side, isolated on the yellow plain, small groups of standing stone look like gentle giants - caught in a gossipy conversation." Also on Southern New Mexico Online, this more scientific article discusses the formations. Edited excerpts: "One particular layer of tuff deposited during these times of cataclysmic change now forms one of the region's many geologic oddities. City of Rocks State Park is named for the dense cluster of house-sized rocks that sits in a bowl-shaped basin. The rocks, eroded along natural joints into queer giant forms, are part of one of the early tuff formations from the long-vanished volcanic vents." Photos? Photos? There's about 20 of 'em hosted by GilaWilderness.com. "To the extent that I'm even willing to lick a rock, I'm hard pressed to find one that doesn't just taste like dirt and mud, much less a common condiment. Maybe I'm not licking hard enough." Strangely enough, that quote does come from a page about City of Rocks. Yet another bit of quirkiness from New Mexico Ghost Towns... and Other Little-Known Places. We'll balance the above link with this one: just the facts, from the State Parks Division of the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. Several pages of exposition and photos of City of Rocks State Park from the New Mexico Wanderings site. Enjoy the nature, history, and culture of southwest New Mexico - but don't disturb the natural, historical, and cultural sites. Do not remove, destroy, or deface anything on any site; strict laws protect artifacts on State, Federal, Indian, and private lands. Buying, selling, trading, or transporting these stolen items is also illegal. Please report looting and vandalism to federal land management authorities or the local sheriff. Hide all traces of your travels as the Apache hid their passing so these wildlands may remain unspoiled, the historical sites may remain true to their history, and the developed sites may remain clean and pleasant. Thank you. | ||
Go to: « City of Rocks State Park » | ||
| « Santa Rita » These links will open in a new browser window on your desktop. When you're finished surfing, close the window to return to this page. | ||
 Many pages of history and photos of Santa Rita from the New Mexico Wanderings site. The pictures are quick-loading, but poor quality. This link is about Santa Rita the town, which was eaten by Santa Rita the mine - but this page from ghosttowns.com doesn't mention that. Instead, it talks about the history of a doomed little town that started in a bad way and didn't seem to get much better before the earth below it was literally stripped away. A much longer page about Santa Rita with a couple historic photos, from Southern New Mexico Online (reprinted from New Mexico Magazine). "Only on the pages of history does Santa Rita remain... flavored with early Spanish New Mexico, challenge and valor, greed and treachery - all the dust of the rawhide West." Also from Southern New Mexico Online is this article about the Kneeling Nun formation that overlooks the mine. | ||
Go to: « The Santa Rita Open Pit Mine » | ||
| « San Lorenzo » These links will open in a new browser window on your desktop. When you're finished surfing, close the window to return to this page. | ||
 This brief page about San Lorenzo devotes as much space to Saint Loren as it does to the town. Not photos, either. But it's all we could find. Kudos to ghosttowns.com for digging up anything at all about the place. Remember that "ghost town" doesn't necessarily mean "uninhabited." Respect the residents in these little communities while you enjoy the area's history and scenery. Please have a look at these Ghost Town Guidelines from New Mexico Ghost Towns... and Other Little-Known Places. Enjoy the nature, history, and culture of southwest New Mexico - but don't disturb the natural, historical, and cultural sites. Do not remove, destroy, or deface anything on any site; strict laws protect artifacts on State, Federal, Indian, and private lands. Buying, selling, trading, or transporting these stolen items is also illegal. Please report looting and vandalism to federal land management authorities or the local sheriff. Hide all traces of your travels as the Apache hid their passing so these wildlands may remain unspoiled, the historical sites may remain true to their history, and the developed sites may remain clean and pleasant. Thank you. | ||
Go to: « San Lorenzo » | ||
|Exposition:« About Geronimo Trail Scenic Byway » « The History of The Area and Its Early Inhabitants » « Geronimo » « Festivals » |Zone 1 South:« Truth or Consequences » « Williamsburg » « Las Palomas » « Caballo » « Caballo Lake » « Percha Dam » |Zone 2:« Hillsboro » « Lake Valley » « Kingston » « Gila National Forest » « Black Range Mountains » « City of Rocks » « Santa Rita » « San Lorenzo » |Zone 3:« Mimbres » « Gila National Forest » « Gila Wilderness » « Lake Roberts » « Gila Hot Springs » « Gila Cliff Dwellings » « Aldo Leopold Wilderness » « Wall Lake » « Beaverhead Work Center »| |Zone 4:« Winston » « Chloride » « Cuchillo » « Placita » « Monticello » |Zone 1 North:« Elephant Butte » « Elephant Butte Lake State Park » « Engle » |Beyond: « Greater Southern New Mexico » « Greater New Mexico » | ||
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