A Brief Detour

  I apologize for not writing in such a long time. That has been the case with all of my blogs, though. I will try to rectify that situation.
  Since I have a trip to New Mexico planned for next month, I will temporarily suspend my series about the Carlsbad area, so I can write about that area from a fresher perspective.  
  Meanwile, I want to "drift" over into western New Mexico. One of my favorite towns anywhere is Silver City, which is located in southwestern New Mexico. Silver City has about 10,500 people and the population has hovered in the 10,000 range for quite some time.
  The whole area in which Silver City resides was settled due to the opening of numerous mines and today mining  still plays a significant part if the region's economy, but mining is not the dominant force it once was. The economy today is heavily based on tourism. There are ample recreational opportunities in this area ranging from hiking and camping in the nearby mountains, ancient Indian ruins, ghost towns and a fascinating state park that contains very weird, grotesque and otherworldy rock formations. In addition, Silver City is the home of
Western New Mexico University, which has about 3,500 students and it was established in 1893, when New Mexico was still a territory. It was founded as a teacher's college. The university occupies a prominent, hilltop location on the west side of Silver City. The university is a large source of employment in the area.
  There are 12 towns located in close proximity to each other in this area, in the central part of Grant County. They are: Silver City, Santa Clara, Bayard, North Hurley, Hurley, Vanadium, Turnerville, Hanover, Arenas Valley, Little Walnut Village, Pinos Altos and Tyrone. Silver City is the biggest of these towns and the county seat of Grant County. In addition, there are several housing developments and rural, residential neighborhoods, which makes this a well settled area.