November 2-8, 2008:SW NEW MEXICO: SILVER MOUNTAINS, GHOST TOWNS, and the LANDS of the APACHE
Stretching northward from deep in Mexico, the upper reaches of the Chihuahuan Desert lays claim to southwest New Mexico. It might, to the unknowing, seem a hard land of cactus and rocks and jackrabbits and rattlesnakes.
Of barren looking mountains and even more barren looking plains. But within the mountains, cooling streams pass through lush canyons, and hidden within the seeming emptiness of the plains are peaceful streams and cottonwood groves and valleys of wonderful rock formations.
It was the land
of the Apache. Then riches were discovered and a well known cycle began again. Today, once lively but now ghostly towns that appeared near discoveries of rich veins of silver cause us to pause and reflect. Geronomo, Chochise, Billy the Kid, Judge Roy Bean, Kit Carson, Butch Cassidy. The Chirichahuas, San Pedro, Mimbres, Gila, Bear Creek, the San Vicente, the Burro Mountains. Pinos Altos, Mogollon, Shakespeare, Silver City. These names are on the land, and they follow you through this rugged country like a vague memory, adding a richness of natural and historical beauty to your wanderings, and giving you a sense-of-place, 
of connection.
As with much of New Mexico, the “Land of Enchantment”, there is plenty of enchantment here for those who become absorbed with photographing everything from bottles faded with age in cob-web shrouded windows to the drama of evening light sweeping over the “City of Rocks”. “Americana” is
everywhere.
We’ll check out the Buffalo Bar, photograph some of the old cowboys shooting pool in the dim and moody Buckhorn Saloon, and enjoy the evening melodrama in the ghost town of Pinos Altos. This is a trip with a plan but no real goals other than to have fun as we let ourselves slip into a slower pace that matches that of our surroundings.
Click here to view images of this trip:
Dates: November 2-8, 2008
Cost: $1,385/Single Supplement: $250
Please fill out the tour application and payment options below.
Tour Application: click here
Registration and Payment: To Reserve a space (50% deposit or full payment) with your credit card /Pay Pal account (click here) or send a check to: Branson Reynolds, POB 3471, Durango,Co 81301
Arrival/Departure Point: Silver City, New Mexico
Nearest Large Airport: Albuquerque or Tucson
Frequently Asked Questions: click here