Bob and I took advantage of a lovely, sunny mid-60 degree F day to explore a bit more of Southwestern New Mexico, and we did our own Veterans Day celebration in the process. We headed southwest from Silver City for a 45 minute drive to the small town of Lordsburg in the boot heel section of the state.
We drove down on highway 90, which is a pretty scenic route. Not far outside of Silver City, we stopped at the Tyrone Reclamation Overlook, near the Tyrone mine, from which you can view the work done to reclaim the hills that have been mined.
A couple of pics from the road.
The Reclamation Overlook had a covered pavilion from which to read about the area (we assume); however, it was fenced off, so we just enjoyed the view from the gravel road into the area.
with the reclaimed area on the left
and the mined portion on the right
Since Lordsburg is in Hidalgo County which abuts the Arizona border, it has a welcome center, so we started our visit there. It was clean and welcoming with some historical markers about the area. However, the inside visitors center was closed for the holiday.
The porticos on either side of the courtyard provide coverage
for a number of picnic tables.
Including an area for dogs and more non-covered picnic tables
on the back of some facts about Lordsburg.
Some facts about Lordsburg that we learned from signs at the Welcome Center. The town lies at an elevation of 4,245’. For comparison, Silver City is at approximately 5,900’. Lordsburg was founded in 1880 on the route of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The town was named for Delbert Lord, an engineer with the railroad. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh landed here in the Spirit of St. Louis plane.
Another fun fact about Lordsburg that we learned online is that it is the birthplace of the official New Mexico state song, “O Fair New Mexico.” It was written by Elizabeth Garrett, the blind daughter of the county sheriff, and was made the official state song in 1917. The town has a population of about 2,300.
Just outside of Lordsburg is what is now the Shakespeare Ghost Town. When open, you can take a guided tour of the old town for $15.
After leaving the Welcome Center, we headed into downtown to check out the Hidalgo County Museum. It was not open.
Not sure if this means it is permanently closed or not.
We saw lots of fenced off areas as we drove around.
We then drove a couple of miles out of town to Veterans Park. We thought it might be busy today, but it was not. It was basically a gravel space with lots of covered picnic tables and a couple of military items at the entrance.
all of the branches of the military. Bob’s brother and sister served in the military.
We then drove back into downtown to walk around a Memorial Plaza that we had driven by on the way to the park. Surprisingly, this was also not busy, but we did learn that it is dedicated not just to military personnel but also first responders and miners who died in war and/or on the job.
for their ultimate sacrifice
The final thing that we did before heading back to Silver City was to drive out to Fraggle Rock, which we had read about online. It is an isolated graffitied rock in the desert named after Jim Henson’s 1980’s puppet television show, which was created to promote world peace.
on a side road off of the interstate
in white on the left.
Thank you to all veterans for your service.
