Wednesday April 1, 2015

We left Hatch at about 8:30 and headed out towards Hillsboro. It was a good, fast ride until we made our left turn on to Hwy 152, then we were going into a gentle cross wind. At around the 40 km mark (before we made the left turn) I was thinking that we might even be able to get over the Pass today. The wind was at our back, the legs were feeling good, however, all good things must come to an end. We made the left turn and the road started to rise, gently at first and then more pronounced, the wind changed from a gentle cross-wind to a full on head wind.

The first part of the ride was primarily farmland, not sure what they are growing here. Later we passed one of the largest veal producers I have ever seen. At least, I presume they are veal calves. Little sheds with calf after calf cooped up in it, some of them looked only a few weeks old.

My original route plan was to stop at Lake Caballo, but it was only 36 kms from Hatch, we revised our plan last night to get to Hillsboro, which would leave us a 26 km climb to Emory Pass and then mostly downhill to Silver City.

After we made our left turn on to Hwy 152 the scenery changed to rugged hills.

The hills have been mined in the past for gold and silver. In the 1950’s copper exploration began. In 1982 the Quintana Minerals Corporation established an open pit copper mine, known as the Copper Flat. Over a three month period 7.4 million pounds of copper, 2,306 ounces of gold and 55,955 ounces of silver had been recovered. Rumour has it that the Copper Flat Mine will be reopened next year.

When we arrived in Hillsboro at about 12:30 we spotted the Municipal Campsite. It has a long drop toilet, and a tap. It is free. We cycled to the motel and to the B&B. The motel was $65.00 and the B&B was $90.00. This is an expensive little town. We decided to camp but went to the café for lunch first. We had a nice veggie burger and swiss burger with one portion of fries for lunch and an iced tea each, $20.00 for lunch!

As we were heading back to the municipal campsite we decided we needed a good nights rest due to tomorrows hard ride and opted for the motel!

I asked for a discount for cash, but they said no, they still have to clean the room and put clean sheets etc. We are the only ones in the motel, there is one channel on the TV and no wi-fi. However, we do have a kitchenette and a good shower and it is clean. I chatted with the owners for a while. They cannot find anyone to help them run the motel so have basically given up on it. They do not care if people stay here or not, there is no phone number to call for anyone else who might want to stay the night. The owner told us that Hillsboro County has the highest suicide rate from prescription and non-prescription drugs.

They have closed the adjoining café, barber shop and antique store. I think they would like to sell all of it, but there is no market here. Unless the Copper Flat Mine comes back into operation, which is what everyone is hoping for. They are waiting for the results of an Environmental Assessment, but it is taking its time, as Ted Turner owns a ranch next to the proposed mine.

There is nothing in Hillsboro, no grocery store, no convenience store, lots of other stores that are not open or are for sale. Hillsboro used to be the County Seat back in 1939, with a court house and jail, they are both in ruins.

Now Hillsboro is a pass through town. It’s almost ghost like. I think it could be so much more with the right marketing angle.

After we had settled in, Ralf and I went for a walk around the Town. There are the ruins of the old jail and courthouse, a library and a post office.

We went into the post office to ask about their General Delivery service, as we need to get some maps sent to us in San Diego. Unfortunately, there was no-one working in the post office but the inside was really nice.

The other odd thing about Hillsboro is there is an empty police car sitting at the entrance to the Town. Obviously this is to prevent vehicles speeding through the Town.

The forecast for tomorrow is windy with gusts of up to 45 kph. There is a weather watch in place, which means with the high winds, if there is a fire it will spread quickly. I think if we get started really early, we may be able to get over the Pass before the really strong winds start. Our plan is to get to Silver City a distance of about 90 kms – it is going to be a long hard day.