The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: February fifteenth, searching for gold in Silver City.

In the 16th-century, the King of Spain sent a monk, Marcos de Niza, to explore the dry Pinos Altos mountains of what's now New Mexico's southwest corner. He was to find the Seven Cities of Cibola, a series of ancient cave dwellings where gold beyond measure was said to lay. According to legend, the monk found what he sought but lost both his way and his life, leaving behind only mysterious petroglyphs to mark the directions.

People have been prospecting for treasure there every since. But rather than gold, it was silver that sparked a rush to the area. It was found in the early 1870's, and almost overnight a rough and ready boomtown sprouted at the south entrance to this range to service the thousands of miners who flocked here.

Situated at 6000 feet elevation, Silver City's heyday was bright but brief. Most of the mines petered out, and tsunami-size floods scoured away the city's center. But, unlike so many other towns in these mountains, Silver City didn't die. For decades, it survived as a health spa offering a cool respite from the sweltering desert below.

More recently, it's developed a surprisingly sophisticated, low-key cafe society, with a population of artists, writers, sculptors and poets. The old walls along Bullard Street have been reborn, replete with museums, movies, art galleries, bookstores, and more than a dozen restaurants and cafes. But the area's real treasures are still hidden in the mountains, and finding them involves a bit of personal exploration. That's what we'll do tomorrow.

FMI For Silver City info call Grant County Chamber of Commerce at 800-548-9378 or www.silvercity.org

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