Loma Parda (Ghost Town), NM - Sin City

Seven miles southwest of Fort Union National Monument, the Mora River makes a U-shaped bend, encircling a few hundred acres of soft, fertile soil. Down the middle of this once verdant spot runs a single street, bordered east and west by almost forgotten ruins.

This is Loma Parda - sleeping; blowing away bit by bit in the dry summer winds; crumbling inch by inch as rain, snow, and gravity tug at each visible remnant.

Some chroniclers reminisce about family ties and loved ones buried in the now-neglected graveyards while others paint its past with scarlet words calling it the "Sodom on the Mora".

Before the fort existed, the Loma Pardans loved dancing and gambling, as is evidenced by the remnants of saloons and dance halls. Soldiers from Fort Union were its frequent customers.

The closure of Fort Union in 1891 did not kill Loma Parda ... "modern age" of railroads and paved highways beckoned the young folks with brighter lights, better wages, and wider horizons. World War II was the "coup de grace".