Day 14

Today was all about ‘the climb’. We had a gradual climb to Emory Pass topping out at 8,255ft. Might be the highest point on our trip! The ride was spread over 55 miles.

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Tonight we would be overnighting in two houses located in Hillsboro. One house has two rooms and one four rooms. So . . . we picked numbers to decide who was staying where. Here Tom draws what he thinks is the lucky #1. He drew #5 which meant he had the fifth pic of a bedroom.

I headed out about 8:30am.

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On the outside of town was the Santa Rita mine, a REALLY big one. They are not a pretty site.

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Here was a roadside attraction . . .

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. . . if you look close enough you can see the nun (you might need to squint and use your imagination).

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All roads in town evidently lead to the mine so they actually mention those that do not!!

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When you have 4,580 feet to climb you HATE to see a sign like this right out of town because . . . what goes down, must come back up!

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We’ve seen these signs since we entered New Mexico. Evidently people don’t move around much on weekend’s if it snows!!!

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Here was someone’s dream that did not work out so well . . .

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Once again we entered the Gila National Forest as we began our big climb . . .

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. . . which we would be passing over some where over our left shoulder.

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Soon we were in a canyon that I was not sure how we would get out of. You can see the yellow curve sign in the red circle.

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Our first several thousand feet were through canyons and rocky areas . . .

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. . . and finally we climbed back into the forest. Up and Up we climbed.

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Finally we got to the snow line and the remnants of a 80,000 acre fire, started by lightning, that had burned in 2012.

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Somewhere down below was our home for the night . . . Hillsboro.

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The top of Emory Pass was windy and COLD . . . at 8,253 ft. But what a view!!!

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Once we went over the top it was a LONGGGGGGGG downhill, 16 miles to be exact, to Hillsboro. The red circle marks where to passed over.

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Who knew that the Chattahoochee bridge was located right here in Grant County, NM. There is even a plaque for Billie Jo McAlister (who jumped off the bridge).

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I was the first one into Hillsboro . . . here was downtown.

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The village cannot afford police services so they bought a used county squad, put a CPR mannequin in the drivers seat, and parked it at the main intersection. Its been there for years!!!

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The one store in town . . .

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. . . and some local Hillsboro humor.

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This was the place that was listed on our spreadsheet . . . glad it was a mistake!

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Here was the ‘boys’ house. It is supposedly haunted! We’ll find out.

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The owner, Catherine, does her best here to mimic the American Gothic painting pose.

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Nice sitting area . . . we’ll be using the fireplace tonight. The brand new furnace is not working.

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I had number 3, so claimed the front room . . .

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. . . Dan was number 4, so claimed the back room. Tom claimed the ‘casita’ in the back yard.

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This would be the scene of activity tonight as we prepared our gourmet dinner.

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No cell phone or wi-fi and barely a landline!

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. . . and the place is for sale. It has quite a history!

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The girl’s house was right across the street. Good choice for them we thought it was a little too ‘fussy’ for the guys.

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The front sitting room . . .

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Dining room and kitchen entrance . . .

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. . . everything one need for a good time . . .

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. . . too bad we are only staying one night.

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. . . even a toy box full of puzzles.

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Gina had the number 1 pick this morning, so she chose the front room . . .

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. . . Margie got the back room and Linda got the couch by the fireplace.

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Margie was the first one in the kitchen to start the sweet potatoes . . .

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Snacks in the boy’s house . . .

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Yummy diced ‘tators!

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Chicken tenderloins . . .

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. . . prepared by our Chef du Jour, Two-Hat Tom.

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The dinner was a big hit . . . followed by chocolates around the wood burning fireplace!!