Seen for what it is -- an elegant combination of hydraulics and design -- the Catwalk at Graham is comparable to Egypt's Great Pyramids. Though built for different reasons, both places are miracles of engineering, adding as much to the landscape as they take from it, and posessing a beauty that flows naturally from their functional design.

• COUNTY:  Catron
• LOCATION:  4 miles north of Pleasanton
• POST OFFICE:   1895-1904
• NAME ORIGIN:  Named for John T. Graham, who built the Graham mill

      I'm not sure the makers of the Catwalk were thinking long-term about what they were doing. I doubt they discussed over lunch how people would come just to see the pipes they laid through the gorge, pipes intended to catch the water and redirect it into their town, Graham. Those pipes, though, have become their legacy.

      Were it not for the Catwalk, not many people would know about Graham at all. The town is gone now. It's bookmarked only by the remains of the mining operation on the hillside. But people still know about it, because they come to see the Catwalk, and learn why it was built. Ironically, the pipes that brought life-giving water to Graham continue to keep the town alive, even after it has gone. Whoever said "water is life" wasn't kidding.