Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I live in Santa Fe and a few years back I decided to explore Silver City area. It seemed "everyone" was raving about it.
Gila National Monument area is great; wonderful scenery there. interesting.
Yet, I did nt see what folks were raving about the town. I thought some of the newsprint articles/photos colored it as such a vibrant place. I found it rather isolating (for a "in" place) and really kind of a distance to get to a major airport. I had expected it to be kind of like a mini Durango .
I did find the Los Cruces area appealing in the sense of active area of things to see/do, wonderful Farm/Ranch museum and the overall very friendly folks(local and quite a few seasonal).
I don't want to be a snob, but Silver City is a blue collar mining place, not what we want, have plenty of that in the UP. I knew right away last Sat. When we stopped a the welcome center. They had no clue what we were looking for I could tell. It's too bad they can't get the town on the right track. I have seen that before when the bulk of tax dollars goes to the wants and needs of the mine workers. We did go north on 15, the further we went the better things looked. Too bad the road was closed because of a little snow. I could see they do a poor job of plowing and sanding. I did want to see more of the Gila, too bad the weather had slowed things down so much.i did notice a fair number of aging Hippies that look trapped in what one told me in a shop " we were going to be the Santa Fe of the South" when I remarked that they had a ways to go.....she said " we will get there, just takes a longer amount of time, say another 10-20 years now" . Then she offered to sell me the building for 250,000 , I said no thanks and dropped the subject.
Silver historically is in a precarious position economically due to fluctuation in tax revenues from the mining community.
The historic downtown is very nice, but a lot of the rest is more rough and tumble, not as much as Lordsburg, but you seem to have gotten the idea.
Ruidoso is wonderful, but very touristy and prone to some big spring snows. If it were me I'd maybe spend a little time in Alamogordo, or even head over east to Alpine Texas.
Deming is price point and more of a working class ag town - plenty of RV parks though. And some of the newer ones are quite nice.
Let Woodalls be your guide as you go!
I did see two weeks ago when we went to Ruidoso, a lot to Texas plates, and too many tee shirt shops, ya it's touristy too bad! . I say that, but thinking .......I remember Key West was even worse, but still worth the visit as there was a lot of what we liked.......( very high RV park rent, most require full payment one year in advance, too rich for me for more than once ) I am wishing the Ruidoso area will have enough other things we like to offset the strip, at lest in part ?
I did see two weeks ago when we went to Ruidoso, a lot to Texas plates, and too many tee shirt shops, ya it's touristy too bad!
I would guess that fully 75 percent of the homes in Ruidoso are "second homes" (vacation homes?). And the majority of those second homes are owned by people with Texas residence.
Ruidoso once advertised itself as "The Playground of the Southwest." I don't know why it no longer uses that slogan. "Tourism" to the village began in the early 20th century as a summer getaway spot for people living in the hotter nearby locales. Until the current ski area was built about 1960, there were but a few hardy souls who lived in Ruidoso year around. In summary, Ruidoso began as a "tourist" getaway and has never deviated from that reason for existing.
Luckily for people like me, who chose it for my retirement full-time residence, developments in American living conditions now allow me to live here comfortably with access to those things essential to aging citizens.
PS How odd...when I type in "Playground of the Southwest" I get all sorts of references to the Gulf Coast city of GALVESTON!!!
PS How odd...when I type in "Playground of the Southwest" I get all sorts of references to the Gulf Coast city of GALVESTON!!!
Galveston has been called the “Playground of the Southwest” since at least 1911, A 1918 newspaper explained the nickname: “An excellent beach, fishing, hunting, motoring and boating have earned for Galveston the title of ‘The Playground of the Southwest.’” The Big Apple: Playground of the Southwest (Galveston nickname)
For some reason having grown up in Florida, I knew that (before I had been to Texas).
yea the attraction of Silver City is the Gila, not so much the town. But the town does grow on you a bit, at least the downtown. But I never take the opinions of writers or other people very seriously when it comes to such things, because I have different tastes. If you go somewhere with expectations based on someone else's opinion its bound to be a letdown. When I travel I try to go with an open mind and no expectations. It works out much better that way
I would guess that fully 75 percent of the homes in Ruidoso are "second homes" (vacation homes?). And the majority of those second homes are owned by people with Texas residence.
Ruidoso once advertised itself as "The Playground of the Southwest." I don't know why it no longer uses that slogan. "Tourism" to the village began in the early 20th century as a summer getaway spot for people living in the hotter nearby locales. Until the current ski area was built about 1960, there were but a few hardy souls who lived in Ruidoso year around. In summary, Ruidoso began as a "tourist" getaway and has never deviated from that reason for existing.
Luckily for people like me, who chose it for my retirement full-time residence, developments in American living conditions now allow me to live here comfortably with access to those things essential to aging citizens.
PS How odd...when I type in "Playground of the Southwest" I get all sorts of references to the Gulf Coast city of GALVESTON!!!
Well , I see then that it's working for you, no reason it won't work for me, even though I am only around in winter or part thereof, but I would like to find the place that sticks in my mind and can't get rid of it. That happened to me fifty years ago every time I drove thru Chicago......then one day I stopped and made it my home and business, best thing I ever did in my life. Considering all this may work for us I will be in the need of choosing the right RV park?
yea the attraction of Silver City is the Gila, not so much the town. But the town does grow on you a bit, at least the downtown. But I never take the opinions of writers or other people very seriously when it comes to such things, because I have different tastes. If you go somewhere with expectations based on someone else's opinion its bound to be a letdown. When I travel I try to go with an open mind and no expectations. It works out much better that way
Sure does, but some knowledge, as provided by City Data must be a first step, time is too valuable to wonder with no destination in mind.
PS How odd...when I type in "Playground of the Southwest" I get all sorts of references to the Gulf Coast city of GALVESTON!!!
What's odd about Galveston using that slogan is that I don't think of it as being anywhere near the southwest USA. I have to wonder what reference they use for "southwest???"
As for Ruidoso, I also see that there are still plenty of references - at least in online web ads - like these:
Hotels in Ruidoso, New Mexico The Year-Round-Playground of the Southwest, Ruidoso, is nestled near the junction of the Sierra Blanca Mountains and the Sacramento Mountains in southern New Mexico.
The Ruidoso Valley Chamber of Commerce welcomes you to experience the ultimate Playground of the Southwest.
The Playground of the Southwest: Ruidoso claims the name of playground of the Southwest. By 1954 The Hwy. from El Paso to Alamogordo was completely paved visits to the national forest increased from 178,000 in 1952 914,000 in 1959. In the 1930s Ruidoso adopted the slogan "Playground of the Southwest".
What's odd about Galveston using that slogan [Playground of the Southwest] is that I don't think of it as being anywhere near the southwest USA. I have to wonder what reference they use for "southwest???"
Consider that at the same time period 'Playground of the Southwest' was coined for Galveston, Illinois was still called the Northwest. In 1911, New Mexico was not even a U.S. state yet.
Anyway, I find it funny that people are so disappointed by Silver City, which in my quarter century in New Mexico has never been regarded as any particular tourist destination outside of being proximal to the Gila, i.e. a good place to buy beef jerky and bait before your hike.
Unrealistic expectations are bound to be dashed.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
