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www. FavoriteRidesAndDestinations. com | ridermagazine. com
FALL 2016 ISSUE 02 / VOL. 01
Left and right top, middle: El Morro National Monument and Inscription Rock. Right bottom: Wide open spaces make New Mexico a rider ' s paradise.
Mexico University. The downtown area is funky and authentic. I stayed at the Palace Hotel, which opened in 1882 as a bank. Silver prices plummeted in 1893, and the bank closed only to reopen again as a hotel in 1900. The place is a real trip back in time and has very reasonable room rates. Next to the hotel is the Buffalo Bar, known to riders everywhere in this region. Good rides from here are 20 miles north to the old gold-mining town of Pinos Altos for the sights and some tasty chow at the 1880s Buckhorn restaurant, and 40 miles north to the Gila Cliff Dwellings, where pueblo structures built into a cliff by the Mogollon people date back to the 1300s.
On the way home, I decided to head west at Quemado on State Route 36 to State Route 53 East through the sleepy town of Ramah on the south side of my favorite mountains, the Zunis. Forty miles south of Grants is the El Morro National Monument and Inscription Rock, where a cliff formed of Jurassic Zuni Sandstone has a perpetual small pond at its base that enabled tired and thisty Spanish explorers and members of the U. S. Cavalry to rest and water up. While relaxing, they carved their names and some journals on the cliff face. On top of the mesa, the trail takes hikers to the large Atsinna pueblo site, built by Zuni Indians in the late 1200s. Only a small portion has been excavated but it is impressive.
All in all, this ride is a real gem, and I’ m looking forward to doing it again when I return to the Silver City area for the annual Gem and Mineral Show later in the summer.