Now some folks might think that this means I struck Silver!
And in LOTS o ways...I did!
Chloride---this old silver mining town in Sierra County is located on the Geronimo Trail Scenic Byway!
(It's close to the towns of Truth or Consequences and Elephant Butte!)
And let me bark at ya.....this is one treasure find....fer sure! (HA-get that? pretty clever for a bulldog eh?)
I'm not gonna bore you with a lot of history.....NO, I take that bark...er back!
This town is LOADED with some doggone interestin' historee....so listen up
and I'll fill you in on all the de-tails!
I know...because I got the #1 Tour of Chloride by one of the 13 Inhabitants of Chloride, Miss Linda Turner...and a very SAVVY lady she is! Her family is responsible for keepin' Chloride alive and renovating many of the original buildings here! Good goin! We LUV this OLD WEST history....and Chloride is a real Treasure chest of New Mexico History!
(Here's a Jack-Hint...when you go to Chloride...ask for the Top-Dog Tour Guide of Chloride-Miss Linda. She is doggone GOOD...friendly...has LOTS of great old-tyme facts and she is interesting too!....'course it don't hurt that she likes dogs too!)
Me with my Tour Guide Gals
Here I am with my TWO tour guides....Miss Dianne Preisser, the Tourism Director of Sierra County and Miss Linda Turner of Chloride!
YUP-PUP....when I travel I run with the Big Dawgs!
No tippy-toeing around....no sirreee! I want the Top Dog Tour!
But back to Chloride. ....
Here I am in front of the Pye Log Cabin
Now this particular porch I'm a-sittin' on is the porch of the OLDEST building in Chloride-the Pye Cabin. It dates back to 1879....when a certain Mr. Harry Pye built the cabin after his secret discovery of silver. And not just any old silver...but (get ready for another Jack-Fact here) CHLORIDE Silver! Ergo the name of the town! (see....I did learn some good stuff from my tour!)
Well...it so happens that poor Mr. Pye met his end shortly there-after at the hands of some Indians...so he never got to wear any fancy silver jewelry......so sad! BUT folks all around heard about Mr. Harry Py'es silver strike and soon flocked to this site. A town sprung up...and was officially designated a town in 1881!
Me in front of the Monte Cristo Saloon
In this town of thirsty silver miners, there was a Saloon and Dance Hall (well lots really!)--but there was one in pup-ticular called the Monte Cristo Saloon. Today it's a fancy-dancy Gift Shop filled with all sorts of cool things made by local artisans....just ask Jill...she dropped some dollars there!)
And right next door was--and still is--the Pioneer Store...which operated as a general store till 1923. Now listen up! Here's another tasty tidbit of history! The two brothers who operated the Pioneer Store (the James Brothers) locked up the store in 1923...and they left town for good.
It stayed locked up for over 50 years.
In 1977 the store was re-opened and what did they find inside? A REAL life general store from the early 1900's...with canned goods, tools, clothes...even an old-tymie cash register! Why they didn't have to do anything...except hang the sign MUSEUM out front!
Me in front of the Pioneer Store Museum!
And it is one dog-dandy museum too! Now...I must dog-fer here a bit. I stayed outside....no dogs allowed inside because of all these very important historical articles and such! But......never fear....they have this all figured out for the dog-visitor too!
Me in the Outdoor Museum
They gathered up all the old antique equipment....made a too-cool outdoor museum...and fenced it in! I was able to relax in the shade of a big ol' tree while the gals meandered through the museum!
Suited me JUST fine!
I like watchin' the world go by! No better place to do that than in the shade of a mighty tree!
...and speakin' of trees!
Here's ANOTHER Jack-Factoid.
This is none other than Chloride's official HANGING TREE! Goes right through the middle of the road....now how often do you see that eh?
BUT...this is no ordinary hangin' tree...no-siree-doggeee!
WHY?.....you ask.....
Well.....and you heard it from this snoop-dog reporter, Travelin' Jack.....
NO BODY WAS EVER HANGED HERE!
Pretty doggone cool if ya ask me! They just SCARED people to be good....by threatenin' the hangin' tree!
Works for me! I'm not gonna break any Chloride Laws while I'm here!
I don't want to be the 1st dog to be HUNG from the Hangin' Tree.....nope---not ME!
Me by the Chloride Bank BuildingThe Bank never opened...cuz it went BANKRUPT before it opened its doors!
How-dog-ever, that didn't stop the good citizens of Chloride!
Nope...they weren't about to let a good building go to waste....so....it became a 'watering hole' of sorts. You know the kind where you mosey on up to the bar and say "Gimmee a Cold One Barkeep!" or somethin' like that!
And that is the dog-nabbed truth! My tour guide, Miss Linda told me so..that's how I know! Anyway...now they're turning it into Chloride's one-and-only Eatery, soon to open in August 2012!
It will be called the Chloride Bank Cafe!
Now ain't that clever! Wonder how long it took for them to come up with that name!?! (JUST KIDDING Miss Linda---it's a very apro-pup name if ya ask this pup! I can't wait to come back to try it out!)
Me by the Grafton CabinBUT this dawg is ready to call it a day! Yup...the sun is settin' in the Old West!
HOWEVER.......I have saved the BEST tidbit of history to the last! And we're right back where we started this tour...the PYE CABIN.
Me in the Pye CabinSo...with that barked out loud...I'm signing off....with one last JACK-FACT for this day....
If you are smart, you'll pack your car up WITH YOUR DOG...and you'll head out Sierra County way....and make a dog-dandy discovery yourself...in this charming town of yesteryear....CHLORIDE!
Doggie Hugs and Slurpy Kisses!
I stayed in this cabin in October of 2012 and loved it! I would love to go to that area again and stay in the Pye Cabin again.
ReplyDeleteJune....Travelin' Jack here. Dogree 100% with you! Pye Cabin is great! And so is Chloride! One of my favorite secret finds this year! Happy Holidays. HOpe you come back to New Mexico soon!
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