After leaving Magdalena, it’s just a short run down the hill (Magdalena is up in what passes for mountains around this part of New Mexico) to Socorro. As I’m coming into town, I notice a RV park on my right which has a ‘Free WiFi’ notice on their sign. Initially, I pass the place because I don’t recognise the name of the park from my guide books. Not being one to miss an opportunity, I whip a U turn and park along the road. The office looks deserted but while I’m picking up a brouchure the owner walks in. Wishing to wash the bad taste of the poor WiFi I’d had to contend with at the last RV park out of my mouth, the first question I have for him is, “Do you have free WiFi, and does it cover the park”? He laughs and tells me, “Yeah, it is a very strong signal all through the park, and very fast equipment, too”. Then when he told me it was only $175 per month for full hook ups, I was, pardon the pun, hooked. That was less expensive then the crappy park I’d just left. I moved my rig right in, tried to level it, then happily hooked up to electric. In 10 minutes I was on line.
The next day, I removed the bike from the carrier and rattled around town a bit. I’d had several problems with the bike up in Magdalena so I was kinda looking for a new bike and happened to find a bike shop which had some used bikes on consignment. Didn’t hurt that the bike shop was right next to a nice bar, so over the next 2-3 weeks I visited the shop several times. I also went to the local Wal-Mart store and gathered a few names and prices. I kept coming back to the bike shop though, since they had a really nice ‘Giant’ brand uni-sex bike. The price on it was $175 and I didn’t want to pay that much soI finally asked the shop owner what he would take for it. Since it was on consignment, he just handed me the bike owners phone number and when I called them I offered $125 for it. They took it, I got the bike, and we were all happy. Except for the bike shop owner. He got nothing except goodwill. When I had looked up the bike on line, I found that the MSRP was $500 originally, back in 2002. It still looked brand new and I found that the woman that owned it just never rode it. Her husband had gotten it for her when he had purchased his. I hoped that it’s looking somewhat like a girls bike might help keep it from being stolen, since most bike are stolen by guys.
I rode all over Socorro with my new bike and had a great time. Visiting the old church, the artist galleries, the nice little bar downtown, etc. Now here in Socorro there were several galleries I visited. Very large, with lots of high quality artwork. Took my time and visited all I could. Which is why I ended staying there a month. Oh, the weather was very nice too. Short sleeves, but carry a jacket weather.
Looking back towards the mountains where Magdalena is, from the RV park I'm staying at.
The old church. Built the first time in the 1500's.
A neat spiral staircase.
The altar.
Some of the statuary.
The plack.
This was one of the places where the Indians, that were being brutalized by the Spanish, ‘For God’, rose up and killed the missionaries. Wasn’t for another 50 years that the Spanish came back, murdered thousands of the now peaceful Indians, and forced them to become Catholic. If you didn’t believe, you died. One of the main reasons I dislike religion in all it’s forms.
The atom bomb plack in downtown Socorro.
One piece of nuclear blast damaged wreakage.
This is a tiny city park. Right across the street from my favorite bar.
This is 'Veterans' street. This is all there is. It's not being kept up very well.
And here is the bar where I hung out. The Capital. Very old, lots of wood.
After a month here in Socorro, there wasn’t much left to see, so it was time to head south again, closer to Mexico.
Hi, I enjoyed your posts about Magdalena, my hometown, and Socorro. The Capitol has always been a great bar. We always have internet and cell phone problems in Magdalena. I think it is the mountains. You should have driven on the old highway with the switchbacks on Sedillo Hill, it was a 45 minuted drive in those days,some 15 mph curves. 🙂 Nice photos. Guess you didn’t make it into Pepper’s Gallery, she has some beautiful Navajo original art. I’ll check your blog again. Enjoy your time going south. Later, Jo
Hi, Jo, glad you liked the photos. The problem at the RV park was the bad equipment setup the owner had. I would have helped him but he was suspicious of my motives for some reason. My guess was that he’d been talked to by someone who told him all the neat things a hacker can do but usually doesn’t. I was going to improve his systems coverage if he’d have let me…so I could have stayed on longer.
I would not have enjoyed driving the old highway, my rig is 37′.
I don’t know ‘Pepper’s but I went to a large gallery right in old downtown Socorro and spent a couple hours looking at all the really good art there and then talking to the gal that owns the place. She had some beautiful work. And the gallery was a working art shop with a couple easels set up with works in progress right there. Very interesting indeed.
I’m trying to enjoy myself, but for some reason, this trip is growing lonely.