New Mexico road trip!

What's a road trip to New Mexico without Mexican food? South of the Border in Willcox, AZ, was on the way home and was a delicious way to cap off a five-day getaway.

The idea was to escape Tucson's string of 105-110 days by going to a friend's place in the cooler pine mountains of southern New Mexico, but even there it was unseasonably warm. This is the thermometer on my friend's deck outside of Silver City, and it got up to 96.

But the scenery was spectacular and a big change from the desert. Ponderosa pines, junipers and oak predominated. That's the Gila Wilderness on the horizon, where I used to backpack in my 20s.

 

This is a ruin we came across, and deer came right up to the house.

There were some cacti, like this blooming cholla, but no saguaros. The stained glass on my friend's deck gave another splash of bright color.

Here's some color from the day we wandered through Silver City, which is a laid back old hippie town with lots of art galleries and coffee shops. I think the heat had everyone moving in slow motion or staying home with air conditioning.

The Grant County Art Guild has a wonderful gallery on the main street, above. But my favorite stop was the Tranquilbuzz Coffee Shop.

From its entrance ...

... to its ceiling ...

... it definitely gave off calm vibes.

We also stopped at Western New Mexico University's history museum, above, which had a huge collection of prehistoric Mimbres pottery. Their air conditioning was out, so we didn't linger too long.

We stopped at another museum on the way home, the Amerind Museum. Its beautiful sprawling pink Spanish-style building houses a large collection of pots, jewelry and other artifacts of Native people from throughout the Americas. It's also known for its research, education and conservation in this area. No photos were allowed inside, but here are a few photos from the brochure:

The Amerind Museum is in the Dragoon Mountains of southeast Arizona, almost to the New Mexico border. It's noted for its spectacular smooth sculpted granitic rock formations, which appear suddenly as you drive along I-10. Then it was back to Tucson. Great trip!

Have a colorful day