After getting to bed late, I was woken up at 6am when a local reporter came by camp to interview the Seals.
Marty and Chris (the one that passed us yesterday while we were riding) offered me breakfast, and I hung out in the camper with them for a little while after the Seals left.
As Marty and Chris were taking off, one of the "residents" of the RV park, Chuck (formerly a part of the Marine Corps), came over and was talking to us. After they left, Chuck took me on a great tour of Silver City and the surrounding area. We drove around for probably close to 3 hours while he took me to the Santa Rita Copper mine
and up to the top of Emory Pass (the pass I am supposed to ride after our day off).
He gave me tons of information about the area, and I had a great time! Silver City used to be a mining town, and until about 5 years ago there were 2 live copper mines. At the same time, it became an artsy town as many aspiring artists from the Santa Fe area moved here to sell their work. As the price of copper fell about 5 years ago, one of the mines closed. There is some uncertainity of the future of the town and people wonder how long the town can survive if one of the supporting industires collaspes. In the mean time, there is a growing cycling community and the Tour of the Gila brings people from all over as well as many professional cyclists.
We were both pretty hungry by this time, and he took me to lunch at a little cafe called Kumquats
where I had a delicious sandwich (he wouldn't let me pay). We talked about a little of everything from the area, to work (he's also a former police officer in Peoria, IL), to school, and cycling (he rode the Trans am about 5 years ago), and I really had a nice afternoon.
Once we were back, I began shedding as much weight as possible from my trailer. I went from "comfort" to "minimal", and I sent most of what I got rid of to Eric in case I want him to bring it to me in Austin (he bought a ticket!!!).
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