Little Red School House

Ok, I have to say I have been gone a few days. I went out of town, but I got lots of great blog pictures! This is once again at Three Rivers. This old school house is just behind the old trading post/bar. It used to accomodate the children from the ranchers in the area. At one point in the 1970's a couple of guys thought it would be a good idea to haul the trunk of a mature (dead) cottonwood into the building. It is still there. So in the small one room of the schoolhouse you walk around the massive tree... It sold recently, I have no idea of the current owners plans. I will do some research and see what I can find out about the history.

Luckily, the building itself is not in bad shape and has been painted over the years. I think it is so cute. Long gone are the days of the one room school.

This building sits behind the old school house and if you look closely, it says Jail with an arrow on the left, and Church with and arrow on the right. Who knows what it was originally.

Three Rivers

Once you leave the highway it is several miles up to the camping areas and to the water. It is a beautiful drive with quiet all around.

Adobe ruins of an old home along the way.

Beginning to get some altitude, and out of the mesquite into the pinon.

And then into the Juniper. New Mexico has 6 out of the 7 climate zones.

Off to the side, hidden from the road are the streams. It is generously called 3 Rivers, who knows maybe they once were. They have the run off from Sierra Blanca and are icy cold all summer. Perfect for storing watermelon while camping.

The rocks in the stream make alligator skin patterns in the water...mesmerizing to watch.

Santo Nino de Atocha

I had mentioned that there is a small church back in Three rivers-Santo Nino de Atocha

You leave the highway and start up the road and the terrain changes. It looks wintery, but it wasn't.

About halfway up, you come across the cemetery first. It quietly beautiful.

My friend Tara trying to get the branches out of the way so I could get a shot of the sign. Santo Nino is a depection the Christ child. The first of this was in the 13th century in Spain in the town of Atocha. The prisoners were denyed food unless brought by a child under 12. The childless prisoners had no-one to feed them. The Blessed Virgin was prayed to and asked to send her son to help. Stories started about a child bringing food to them. They went back to the Blessed Virgin to thank her and noticed that the shoes and clothing on the Christ child are worn out. They replaced them and it happened again. They saw this as a sign of her intervention.

My sister-in-law got married in this church in the 70's. The reception was at the old trading post .

It is quite small and literally covered with milagros and pleadings for intersessions.

It is where you go to ask for help with problems with children, getting pregnant, healing them, bringing them home, keeping them safe.

You can see all of the baby shoes to the right of Tara. We lit our candles, said our prayers and left on our way.

Three Rivers Trading Post

This is the old trading post at Three Rivers. Three Rivers sits north of Tularosa on the way to Carrizozo. It looks like just a building-but what a history! It sits at the mouth of the road back up to the petroglyphs, the "river", the church, a ranch or two and beautiful camping areas.
Three Rivers was important during the Lincoln County War with the ranchers such as Susan McSween, Albert Fall and John Chisum. In a more current past, it was a bar in the 1970's and has been various retail stores. Well worth a day or weekend camping trip to scout out the area.

Old ranch house that sits on the West side of the Three Rivers trading post.