April 8 Silver City

 Silver City!  Well -  not exactly a ghost town!  But it does have some great historical buildings.  And since we stayed at the Murray Inn which is just a short block off the main drag, it was very easy to walk to the historical part of town.  I never did manage to get a photo of our hotel.  I chose this hotel because of its historical significance, hoping for atmosphere.  The only atmosphere we got was that the room was very tiny - which was typical in the past.  The only furniture that fit in the room were the two queen size beds.  Queen size by 1800's standards not current standards.  There were no chairs, no desk and not much space to put our suitcases.  The bathroom was just large enough for one person to turn around in.  

The hotel lounge and check in desk looked like any other hotel lounges we have seen.  There was no bar.  There was a free breakfast which included dry cereal and milk.  Coffee and tea.  A waffle maker, a toaster and various breads including bagels which were actually quite good.  Pealed cooked eggs like you buy in huge quantities from Costco.  And real butter which was a plus.  I believe there was some yogurt and string cheese in a little refrigerator.  So after our scrumptious breakfast we were ready for our days of touring!

On Saturday, after our busy day of driving to see Lake Valley, Hillsboro and Pinos Altos, we arrived back at our hotel about 6pm.  We had had a very late lunch in Hillsboro, so decided to skip dinner and just walk around and photograph historical Silver City.

Maybe we should have chosen this hotel just a short distance from the Murray.

We had dinner here at the Little Toad Creek Brewery on Friday night.

A historical theatre showing a very current movie!

The owner of this truck was working on restoring one of the buildings on main street. Looks like his truck could use some restoring as well.

This was near the river walk.  I took some photos from the bridge looking down on the water bed - but it did not look that great.  Maybe if we would have taken the time to go down the steps onto the actual walk things would have been prettier.

                                        

We did not go hungry - The ice cream at this shop was delicious!

This was a very large establishment - filled with all sorts of games you could play as well as booths.  A father and daughter were playing dominos.  Another couple were playing billiards.

We walked back to the hotel on side streets.  Time to get some sleep before heading back to Albuquerque on Sunday.

April 8 Pinos Altos

 This little strip of a town is just a few miles outside of downtown Silver City.  They boast a saloon, an Opera house, a general store and a few more buildings currently either gift shops or art shops.

A gift shop - closed

The Opera House

Inside the Opera house

This balcony is just above the bar.  We talked to the locals inside - I asked did anyone go up there.  They said only if absolutely necessary!  It wasn't very stable

We were invited back at 7 to attend a dance in the Opera house.  But we had been out all day and were ready to head back to Silver City and our hotel.

One photo of the Saloon.  The saloon was in full business mode.  People coming in at the same time had reservations - so it felt a little weird going in just to take photos.

The general store was not open

This building is across the main street.  It appears to be an artists location.

The sign at the intersection of the two main streets.

April 8 Hillsboro

 This town, just like Magdalena, is making a come back.  The inhabitants seem to be very neighborly and community oriented.  We had lunch at the cafe below.  

The side wall had this painting on it.

One of the locals with his lunch.

We found this side yard with all kinds of antiques.  I'm not sure if they were for sale - I didn't see any prices.  

This seems to be a community meeting place.  When we first drove into town these chairs were filled with people.

The town is still a mix of buildings that have been renovated and others in need of it.  And lots of junk laying around.  Altogether, an interesting place to visit.