Silver City, part 1

One of the first questions people ask when we say Silver City is..."Why there?"  It's really a two-fold question.  First is the city itself.  Second is way we see ourselves there.  For this post, I'll focus on the first part.

When I lived in Albuquerque in '02-'03 and then again in '06-'07, I would have likely heard of Silver City, but I had never visited.  When my thoughts and dreams started drifting back to New Mexico, I pulled out my trusty Google map of New Mexico.  I had been to much of the northern part of the state, had lived in the central area, and had spent some time in the southeast.  But the southwest part of the state I only knew from reading about the ghost towns which remain today.

Except Silver City.  They still had a dot on the map that seemed slightly larger than all the others in the area.  And the word "City" was attached...

So, then came the wiki article that briefly introduced me to the area.  I was intrigued, and tucked the place in the back of my mind.

Several months later, I picked up a copy of Mother Earth News.  In this particular issue, they listed something like the 10 best towns in America to live in.  Lo and behold, Silver City was listed!  The blurb, if I remember correctly, mentioned the art scene, the public university (Western New Mexico U), and the general movement towards becoming a sustainable town.  And so it cemented in my head that this is a place I needed to check out on my next trip to New Mexico.

Upon our arrival in "Silver", I was extremely skeptical.  Just previous to arriving in New Mexico (on Justin and my NM RoadTrip Deluxxe 3000 this May), I had watched a video called "Blue Gold: World Water Wars," which delved into the current and impending water issues.  New Mexico, especially along the Rio Grande, has a long road ahead of them in terms of how they will sustain themselves on the water which is present...without making the New Mexican extinct.  This issue has and will continue to be a delicate topic to discuss.

But aside from my skepticism when driving into Silver City, we were able to have conversations with persons who live in the area who seem optimistic that the water crisis is less impending than that of the Albuquerque/Santa Fe area.  Silver City doesn't rely on the Rio Grande for water (but rather on two other smaller rivers coming from the northwest of town.)  That said, it is still a desert, and the discussion remains, "Can we create a sustainable life in the desert?  If so, how?"

I realise I'm practically writing a novel...So I'll stop here for part one. 

In brief, why Silver City?  Because aside from the very real discussion of water rights and availability, the town is vibrant and inviting of wanderers in search of a spiritual oasis.