152, I quickly delighted in the remarkable variety of one-of-a-kind restaurants and funky boutiques along downtown’s colorful commercial drag, Bullard Street.

Entranced by the slowgoing drive through the Black Range along breathtakingly circuitous N.M. I fell hard for Silver City the first time I visited, about 15 years ago.

Many who live in this sunny hilltop town of about 10,000 on the fringes of the Gila Wilderness still work in the mining industry, but Silver City and surrounding Grant County also claim a sizable number of artists, entrepreneurs, retirees, educators, students, and outdoorsy individualists who love it here precisely because it’s unlike any other place in the Southwest-or the world, for that matter. Silver City was founded 150 years ago, on the heels of a silver-mining boom. From Albuquerque to Zuni, no town is quite like any other. But one thing that makes New Mexico special is the diversity and singularity of its communities. “Too far from the interstate,” he added.ĭon’t get me wrong-I love my former home city of Santa Fe. “It never happened.” Her husband nodded in agreement. “Twenty years ago they were calling this town the next Santa Fe,” said a woman who looked to be in her mid-fifties. WHILE EATING BREAKFAST at downtown Silver City’s Tre Rosat Cafe, I overheard a couple chatting at a nearby table. Above: Boston Hill's summit is a handy vantage point for getting the lay of the

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