Hltoppr
El Gringo Spectacular!
Batopilas Mine Ruins & Relaxation!
By this time, Dave and I are in need of some down time. We've been driving every day for five days; much of it rough dirt tracks. The good thing about Batopilas is that to get here...you really have to want to be here.
The route we came consists of 10-12 hours of dirt; through canyons, rivers and high pass ledges; while the other "main" route into town is thirty miles of pavement from the town of Creel at 7000 feet, then hitting dirt and dropping down though the second largest canyon in the Copper Canyon system, Batopilas Canyon. Imagine a dirt road cutting down 5000' into a canyon the size of the Grand Canyon in Arizona...truly, it is one of the "must do" overland route in North America. Breathtaking to say the least, and doable in a high clearance 2wd. Either way, it's not a town you just bump into...you've got to want it!
Batopilas itself was founded in the 1600s when silver was discovered along the Batopilas river, which flows through town. Through the years, silver has come and gone; as have several incarnations of the mines. Now, the chief export is rumored to be marijuana, like much of the area. That being said, I've never had any security issues, and would take my wife and daughter there in a heartbeat!
FYI...No Smoking....for the gabachos who really don't know any Spanish...and lack common sense!
(A note on security. Recently, there was a bit of a gunfight between police and a wanted individual in the town. This appears to have been an isolated incident....I'm serious when I say I don't really have security concerns here...but here is a pic of the bullet riddled wall....)
In 1880, a former governor of Washington, D.C., Alexander Shepherd, purchased the San Miguel mine in Batopilas. Although the financial history of Shepherd's operation is questionable, the buildings of the home he built for his family, and the main mining complex are still here, and offer an amazing glimpse into the extravagance and ingenuity of Mr. Shepherd. Batopilas, in the late 1800s had hydroelectric power and aqueduct systems! These can still be seen today; and the power plant, although updated, remains in use!
Walking through the Shepherd ruins is almost like being transported to ruins of Jordan or North Africa, with the sandstone glowing in the sun. Fireplaces and flues built into the solid walls rise three stories, and the stonework seen on the retaining walls would amaze any modern day mason with its craftmanship. Remains of smelters and boilers litter the site, and strangler figs both invade and stabilize many walls. A tour of the local museum helps to put things in their place, with photos of how the complex was in its glory days, and is another must do attraction across from the square.
-H-
By this time, Dave and I are in need of some down time. We've been driving every day for five days; much of it rough dirt tracks. The good thing about Batopilas is that to get here...you really have to want to be here.
The route we came consists of 10-12 hours of dirt; through canyons, rivers and high pass ledges; while the other "main" route into town is thirty miles of pavement from the town of Creel at 7000 feet, then hitting dirt and dropping down though the second largest canyon in the Copper Canyon system, Batopilas Canyon. Imagine a dirt road cutting down 5000' into a canyon the size of the Grand Canyon in Arizona...truly, it is one of the "must do" overland route in North America. Breathtaking to say the least, and doable in a high clearance 2wd. Either way, it's not a town you just bump into...you've got to want it!
Batopilas itself was founded in the 1600s when silver was discovered along the Batopilas river, which flows through town. Through the years, silver has come and gone; as have several incarnations of the mines. Now, the chief export is rumored to be marijuana, like much of the area. That being said, I've never had any security issues, and would take my wife and daughter there in a heartbeat!
FYI...No Smoking....for the gabachos who really don't know any Spanish...and lack common sense!
(A note on security. Recently, there was a bit of a gunfight between police and a wanted individual in the town. This appears to have been an isolated incident....I'm serious when I say I don't really have security concerns here...but here is a pic of the bullet riddled wall....)
In 1880, a former governor of Washington, D.C., Alexander Shepherd, purchased the San Miguel mine in Batopilas. Although the financial history of Shepherd's operation is questionable, the buildings of the home he built for his family, and the main mining complex are still here, and offer an amazing glimpse into the extravagance and ingenuity of Mr. Shepherd. Batopilas, in the late 1800s had hydroelectric power and aqueduct systems! These can still be seen today; and the power plant, although updated, remains in use!
Walking through the Shepherd ruins is almost like being transported to ruins of Jordan or North Africa, with the sandstone glowing in the sun. Fireplaces and flues built into the solid walls rise three stories, and the stonework seen on the retaining walls would amaze any modern day mason with its craftmanship. Remains of smelters and boilers litter the site, and strangler figs both invade and stabilize many walls. A tour of the local museum helps to put things in their place, with photos of how the complex was in its glory days, and is another must do attraction across from the square.
-H-
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