Borderland – somewhere in the heart of Cowboy Country

Canelo – Bisbee – Hillsboro
After several days of hovering just close to the Mexican Border, like the Humming Birds that seems to be everywhere around here, we set off to travel further north, but not before travelling for miles and miles parallel and sometimes within sight of the border. This border is only around 100 years old, and it made me think much about what borders mean, – had the inhabitants of these areas ‘lucked out’? Perhaps there had been many far deeper issues it had raised – the splitting of families, the changes of identity, of nation.

Right up against the tall border, it produced a kind of fear in me. It brought up feelings of unfairness, arbitrariness of geographical borders. Who decided where it should go? Why do we have to have them? There was the opportunity to cross the border – I could, and return. But that felt too gratuitous an abuse of my incredibly fortunate position. Who’s eyes would be watching me, playing with my privileges, for a few minutes souvenir shopping? Mexico is a place I’ve always wanted to go, and I still hope to, but for longer.

On the roads near the border are so many US Border patrol vehicles. All white, chunky, easy to spot. Marlies and I stop frequently to photograph the border, signs or the land near it. On tiny tracks through the mountains signs tell you there are likely to be illegal immigrants in the area, and not to pick up hitch-hikers.

Bisbee, like something out of a Wild Western movie, was home to an interesting bunch of people, and brief supper stop for us. The road immediately after this town led slap bang through a huge mine, so huge I found it overwhelming. We stopped and took photos. The colour of the ‘water’ at the bottom of the mine, an alarming burnt yellow colour. I could be wrong, but this could have been a toxic chemical concoction left after ‘leaching the tailings‘, a process whereby the rock material that has been discarded after removing the main bulk of mineral is reprocessed with substances such as Cyanide. I bumped into a Hydrologist who works with the EPA  (Environmental protection Agency) and he clarified that the remediation – i.e the clean up was a huge problem, which affects aquifers – underground water.

So to Hillsboro. A place fallen upon by accident, and a place hard to leave. On the way to Kingsboro, the home of Satomi and Tom Lander, (friends of Bill and Athena Steen’s) who are creating Landerland a fabulous space in which to learn eco building and plastering; http://www.landerland.com. I stopped for a days master class from Satomi, which covered many aspects of the high art of earth plastering. She has learn from a Japanese master plasterer, herself.

Hillsboro is a unashamedly sleepy old mining town and home to many artists and creative people. Its deep in the heart of Cowboy land near the Continental Divide and still really south in the state of New Mexico.

 

Once we had arrived in Hillsboro, we couldnt tear ourselves away. We camped in the art school the first night, literally- our tent not being waterproof. David, the art teacher felt sorry for us, and offered the floor space, because there was rain and thunder rolling around. We slept in the tent indoors it to avoid the mosquitos and the creepy crawlies that were hiding in the un dusty corners. (note, id already seen a deadly poisonous Black Widow Spider outside in the loo!) It was really like being in my mums studio, – glorious smells of linseed and oil paint, interesting objects, art books, easels with half finished paintings but much much hotter!

The next two nights were had in the back yard of the art schools immediate neighbour Jim, a wonderful man, who grows Cacti and succulents – desert plants, loves bugs, looks after the village museum and was dead interesting. He makes the most impressively realistic plastic rocks, by collecting real rocks, taking casts,then painting them – these are planters for his superb plant nursery. I’m a proud owner of several small and as yet empty ones.

Jim’s been adopted by a praying mantis who lives on a bush outside his trailer. It was crawling on my hand, yesterday morning – such a beautiful critter. It really seemed to stare at me.

There are loads of humming birds around here, which dont so much hum as ring, in my ears. They are a wonder to see.

On our last morning in Hillsboro we met another interesting character. A miner called Embree, (aka Sonny Hale) who owns a old silver mine, but actually spends his time walking the hills looking for Native American Petroglyphs. http://www.rotationfilms.com/documentary/inplaceoutoftime He photographs the ancient rock carvings and has exhibitions in big cities in America. Many Petroglyphs are stolen and sold to collectors. This is his way of  recording their disappearing heritage.

“Sonny Hale hunts New Mexico’s petroglyphs and pictographs with his camera. With 4,300 down, he’s got about 345,700 to go.”http://www.desertexposure.com/201003/201003_sonny_hale.php

The night skies here have been awesome (not a word I use lightly!) Sometimes when i get up in the middle of the night, they feel so much nearer than when i went to bed. They are so, so bright. The milky way is so incredibly clear. Richard Branson is building a Space Port nearby to a town called Truth or Consequences, where the scheduled Space Shuttle he intends to run to the moon and back will take off.