We woke up early to get to the 10:00 a.m. Shakespeare Ghost Town tour. Crossing the New Mexico state line would bring us into a different time zone. Going east we would lose an hour.

We made it in time and Dave, the current owner, gave us a group tour. The short story is that a military mail post was placed here because a clean water spring (Mexican Springs) was found.

A stage coach route was established and after the American Civil War the place was referred to as Grant. Yes, it was named to honor Ulysses S Grant.

When silver was discovered nearby it became a mining town called Ralston City, named after financier William Chapman Ralston. The Burro Mines nearby gave up their silver within three years.

The 1872 diamond swindle didn’t help either. People seeded diamonds in them there hills in an effort to fleece people. As the town’s reputation dropped, so did the population. So, in 1879 promoters renamed the town to Shakespeare. The silver bust of 1893 ended the town’s prosperity. A copper boom (1908-1932) helped the town’s reputation. This odd little town never had a church, newspaper nor local law enforcement. Vigilante justice did hang a couple of losers. The town did boast of  having 26 saloons once!

Since 1935 the town has belonged to the Hill family. Dave, our guide, works his best to preserve the town’s legacy and buildings.

For years we’ve wanted to take a close look at the Las Cruces, New Mexico Recycled Roadrunner Statue. We could only see him on a hill on I-10 traveling west. It is only accessible if you are traveling east and today we were.

It’s located at a state rest area. This off-beat landmark was constructed using cast-off materials such as old sneakers, electronics, golf clubs, plastic toys, knives, forks, spoons, automobile head lights, wires, screws, bike parts and many other discarded things.

Atlas Obsura states that “It was designed by local artist Olin Calk in 1993. It first stood at the Las Cruces Foothills Landfill. The purpose was to draw attention to our consumption habits, the power of recycling, and how much we toss away into landfills.” Jorge got a picture of a real bird nesting on this big bird statue.