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By Root 728 0

good-for-humanity shopping trip begins in Magdalena, 27 miles west of Socorro. It’s hard to believe Magdalena, now a sleepy colony of artists and society drop-out types, was the region’s commercial hub for 50 years after its 1884 founding. About 30 artists work out of Pepper’s Gallery, each with a unique personality that is expressed in the varied creations on display – you’ll find everything from decorative gourds to Navajo rugs. Mosey down the street to Magdalena Arts Gallery when you are finished. You can grab a latte from the attached coffee shop and check out the collection of baskets, drums, wall art and other one-of-a-kind pieces for all budgets.

Located 120 miles southwest, the ghost town of Chloride is the next stop on this artsy adventure. A random collection of rotting wooden shacks, it went bust just 20 years after booming in 1879. Check out the 200-year-old “hanging tree” on Wall St in the center of town, used to hang criminals in the 19th century. Then visit the Monte Cristo Gift Shop & Gallery. Today the roomy two-room adobe with a false Western front is an artist’s cooperative selling paintings and Southwestern arts and crafts. But back in 1880, it was the most popular saloon and dance hall in town.

You will be tired after a full day of shopping and winding mountain roads, so bed down in quirky Truth or Consequences, 40 miles to the southeast. Have dinner at Los Arcos, known for its sumptuous steaks, before hitting the healing waters, and then your bed, at the swanky Sierra Grande Lodge & Spa. On your way out of T or C, pay a visit to Celestial Creations. Food has always been a form of art in New Mexico, and at Celestial they showcase it as such – check out the salsas and spices made from local green and red chiles. The gallery features art from across the state, including beautiful Native American made–kachina dolls and dreamcatchers.

South of T or C take Hwy 152 west into silver country, pausing in Hillsboro, New Mexico’s hottest up-and-coming ghost town. The charming little place was revived by local agriculture after mining went bust, and today it’s known for a Labor Day Apple Festival. Pause for a sandwich and coffee at the Barbershop Café before continuing west. Here the road winds up, up, up to the 8220ft summit of Emory Pass (pull off and check out the stupendous views) before descending into Silver City, our favorite New Mexican Wild West town. The streets are dressed with a lovely mish-mash of old brick and cast-iron Victorians and thick-walled blood-red adobes, and the place still emits a frenetic frontier vibe. Billy the Kid spent some of his childhood here, and a few of his old haunts are mixed in with modern coffee shops and quirky galleries. The Common Thread is home to the Southwest Women’s Fiber Arts Collective, a nonprofit cooperative devoted specifically to connecting, and promoting the work of, female fiber artists. You can buy their imaginative creations at the gallery. Grab a beer and grub at Silver City Brewing Company after purchasing the last baskets, blankets, rugs and pottery of the trip. The microbrewery serves a rotating selection of ales and lagers, made on site, and good hot wings. Spend your last night at Silver City’s most venerable lodging house, the gracefully aging Palace Hotel.

Becca Blond

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FINDING YOUR WAY ON THE FIBER ARTS TRAIL

The concept of the New Mexico Fiber Arts Trails is to cultivate interest and awareness of the state’s rich and unique fiber arts heritage, as well as bring opportunities for artists to prosper without having to leave their home community. The state has put a lot of money into the initiative, and has created a fabulous glossy New Mexico Fiber Arts Trails Guide.

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TRIP INFORMATION

GETTING THERE

From Albuquerque take I-25 south to Socorro, then head west on Hwy 60, 27 miles to Magdalena.

DO

The Common Thread

The gallery features the work of the Southwest Women’s Fiber Arts Cooperative. 575-558-5733; www.fiberartscollective.org; 107 W Broadway St, Silver