Day 23-3/25/19 —1200 miles total—Marfa, TX—A great little arts hub in west Texas, and a wonderful place to land on a layover day. The Judd foundation is here in old military hangers. Plus cousin Wally tells us our uncle helped direct GIANT here with Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean, and Rock Hudson. We spring for the only available hotel, St. George, which is 5-star based on the bookstore alone. The light and clouds are outstanding. We are out of the mountains! The last two days were 70+ milers, and I no longer know if any pain is unique or just normal for riding. Here’s this biker’s view of our week:
Day 16-3/18 to Mimbres, NM—A short day cycling beside huge, active copper and silver mines. We climb up and hold on tightly as we head down to small towns. Our campsite is a dried grass, windy RV campground that has a good cactus gardener and resident miners. Big ranches on both sides of the road. Tonight it is 29 degrees with everyone putting on all layers and sleeping bags. We are at 5880 ft. Elev.
Day 17-3/19 to Caballo State Park, NM- It is Insanely cold in my tent with frost on everything. I dress in bathroom and leader Tom encourages us to ride to “Living Harvest” a restaurant run by local LDS church for the best breakfast I’ve had in my life: Coffee, eggs, homemade breads, cinnamon rolls, sausage, bacon and all you can eat for $6.50! We are headed up to Emory Pass, elev 8200 ft. Due to hip I ride up in van but get out and ride once over the top, down into a restored mining town, Hillsboro, The weather is bright and perfect for pictures. I ride through the desert till I reach the state park. We camp in the “overflow” campground which is eerily below a huge dam and lake holding back the Rio Grande River.
Day 18- 3/20/19-to Las Cruses, NM-Las Cruces is 63 miles away and we’re still going downhill! I use Ibuprofen and short stops every 10 miles! All is well and Paul is tolerant. We ride with farm tractors and pickup trucks...through the town of Hatch, known for chilis, and on thru fields of Pecan trees and cotton. We eat lunch outside an abandoned bar in Radium Springs (also abandoned). The head and side winds are stiff at 15-25 mph. Finally, we reach a good KOA campground overlooking the city of 200,000. Everyone is settling in and coughs, aches and gear problems seem on the decline, or maybe it is just better weather.
Day 19- 3/21/19-to El Paso, TX - Our group of five riders: 2 x-marines, Glen (navigator), Dave (valet & kindness), then Paul, me, and David (accounting professor and realist). We head out on a 20 mile “shortcut” through pecan and cotton fields. Our first stop is a small Mexican market in San Miguel, owned by a kind lady, who gave me a tour of her attached, immaculate house, with a stove from 1930, just her size, and her coffee and magazine set on a 1950s stainless kitchen table. It makes my day. She sells homemade burritos for the farmers and carries all essentials (see pic). We ride beside the dry Rio Grande, until we reached the outskirts of the big City. There are big hills and lots of traffic for 20 miles and we ride in a determined single file line. The “wall” extends through the whole city and we ride under a huge overpass, which is also the port of entry for Mexico, lined with trucks. We stay in a hotel and eat out at an impressive shopping center.
Day 20-24–3/22-25/19-to Ft.Hancock, Van Horn and Marfa,TX—Three more days of 50-75 mile rides and one more day pecan and cotton fields, before we hit miles and miles of desert. In Ft. Hancock we stay inside a concrete block community church sanctuary and use the high school bathrooms. The church leaves us oranges, apples, muffins, and chocolate cake, plus we have a great meal cooked by Kimo and Glenn in the church kitchen. Our stop in Van Horn is a dusty camp out, leaving a film on everything AFTER riding 70 miles on I-10. We are thankful for our 75- mile ride with slight tailwind and 1% incline on hwy 90 to Marfa and the St. George Hotel!
