Today's thoughts on Columbus and Pancho Villa State Park (Deming: transplants, crime)

[CountryCarr]

One of my many trips found me spending last night in Deming and going down to Columbus today. The road to Columbus from Deming is very busy, with one out of 4 vehicles going both ways belonging to the border patrol. There were several scary looking people trying to thumb a ride down to the border crossing, including one strange guy who was thumbing a ride on both sides of the road in both directions, he just wanted to go somewhere! Having heard about all the problems and crime in Columbus recently, I just had to check out the town. Columbus is really a sad dead town, with all sorts of vacant land downtown where buildings stood before Pancho burned them down. The only thing on the main drag was a tiny American legion post offering coffee for fifty cents, a used book store, and an unpleasant grocery store. In the dusty downtown park, there were several ancient people who looked like they had hung out there for years without moving. There is nothing to buy, do, or see here, and I am betting that everyone here would leave if they only could. But one point of interest that surprised me was the Pancho Villa State Park. Pancho is looked upon as sort of a Robin Hood type folk hero down here, and truth and legend have merged together.

Kudos to the Park Employees; this park was extremely clean, with a great visitors center, modern restrooms, and points of interest. There is an old armored car from 1916 here, as well as an adobe cabin that was moved onto park property. There are many covered picnic areas with grills and more restrooms, and the entire park is trash free and full of western plants in planned arangements. There is even a trail you can walk with little bits of history on signs along the way. The park really is the only bright spot in this town and would be a reason to drive down from Deming for something to do if you weren't planning on crossing the border. Three miles away was the border crossing, with the Family Dollar right at the line and Border Patrol all over, didn't have my passport with me and really saw no reason to cross anyway...When you leave Columbus, plan on being stopped and questioned by the Border Patrol people again, but no big deal if you are not doing anything you shouldn't..

[Mzurie]

I must respectfully disagree with your assessment of Columbus.

I wish you had gone into the library - it's not just a library (for one, used to be a tavern) - it's a busy computer center and has what you might call a village living room with fireplace and couches. The library has more than 30 PCs and free wifi, used by students and adults in the area. People committed to this little town wrote and won a grant to get these computers. Doesn't look like much on the outside, but feels very homey on the inside.

One of the cafes (also on the main street) has a welcoming, colorful courtyard. There's a theater undergoing rehab.

When I visited in April, every person I talked to mentioned how much s/he liked living in Columbus - they felt safe, loved the inter-culturalism, and liked being apart from the busy-ness of more populous locations. Most were transplants.

There's a decent bed and breakfast there, where it's nice to sit out in front, under a shady roof, and watch for interesting traffic going by on Highway 9. (Think yachts.) Some folks use Columbus as their starting or finishing point for walking the Continental Divide Trail.

Columbus is also the terminus of an annual, 12-day trail ride that begins in Madera, Mexico, and in which up to 100 riders take part.

Would it interest me to live there? No. But Columbus is far from a depressing, dead town.