Lakewood, NM\u00a0 (SE New Mexico between Carlsbad & Artesia) Tuesday, June 7, 2011<\/p>\n
OK, I have a vivid imagination, another fall-out of spending so much time alone.\u00a0 So Saturday night, as I laid down to sleep in the motel in Boerne, Tx that was certainly NOT the Hilton, I thought, \u201cMan, I hope they don\u2019t have bed bugs!\u201d\u00a0 And then I spend the next several hours convinced that bedbugs were crawling all over me.\u00a0 Finally, I got to sleep, to wake at 6 am exhausted.\u00a0 I dragged out of bed & was slightly uncomfortable about making multiple trips to my bike to load my gear because of the vacant parking lot and non-Hilton neighborhood. Then a police officer in a marked vehicle pulled up.\u00a0 I thought, \u201cWow.\u00a0 This was not a good place for me, but at least I have armed supervision while I repack.\u201d\u00a0 Then a second, third, and fourth marked unit arrived, quietly, without lights.\u00a0 They sat together in a huddle at the far end of the parking lot, and I stowed my gear on the bike.\u00a0 As I was finishing up, all four cars emptied and the guys followed the owner who had just unlocked the door of the restaurant 20 yards from my bike.\u00a0 An officer looked at me and smiled; I asked, \u201cDo they serve breakfast?\u201d \u2013 \u201cYes, ma\u2019am. \u201c\u00a0 So I left my bike, locked the motel room behind me, and enjoyed Machaca for breakfast (spicy dried beef & green chilies in scrambled eggs, tortillas & refried beans) and great coffee.\u00a0 When I pulled out of Boerne it was so cool I gave fleeting thought to putting the liner in my jacket, but I knew what was coming down the road and instead enjoyed being too cool.<\/p>\n
Much of the Interstate west of Boerne has a speed limit of 80 MPH, so I was making good time.\u00a0 Soon the trees were growing in splotches, with long stretches of mesquite, creosote, and cacti.\u00a0 Miles later the trees went from \u201cnot stout\u201d to down right scrawny; further down the road there were no trees, except those bushes (mesquite and creosote) that the locals call \u201ctrees.\u201d\u00a0 Most of the riverbeds were dry, lined with rocks and sand.\u00a0 I stopped at a KFC and of course ate inside in the AC.\u00a0 On the tables sat plastic bottles of catsup and a second bottle, filled with green salsa.\u00a0 Green chilies and salsa are as common in the desert as is hot sauce for turnips in the South.\u00a0 Around 3 pm on Saturday, a cloud passed over the sun for 30 to 45 seconds \u2013 I mention that because it was the only cloud I saw all day.\u00a0\u00a0 On Sunday afternoon, one lonely cloud covered the sun to create a shade about as wide as an over-pass.\u00a0 Then the wind blew it away.<\/p>\n
Sunday, I stopped at an exit in Ft. Stockton, TX, just before taking SR 285 north towards Carlsbad, and saw a young man standing by his Harley. It seems that whenever I get a bit cocky and begin to think I\u2019m DOING something, I meet someone who has something to teach me.\u00a0 This time, it would be Shaun.\u00a0 It was clear he was NOT just riding to the Sonic or a bar.\u00a0 He was in good physical shape and appeared to be either military or law enforcement; his bike was obviously well equipped for long-distance riding.\u00a0 So of course we began talking. \u00a0He\u2019s in training for a motorcycle marathon \u2013 10,000 miles as a timed event.\u00a0 He\u2019d left Miami, Fl, on Saturday!!\u00a0 Rode 1,300 miles on Saturday, so he explained, \u201cI only have to ride 1,000 today.\u201d<\/p>\n
As I headed north on SR 285, the world dried up, and there were few vestiges of green.\u00a0 I\u2019m trying to learn a new trick, one JoeJoe from the Sandies has down to a science \u2013 how to take pictures while riding, without looking at or through the camera.\u00a0 It is not exactly as crazy as it sounds; I wear the point & shoot camera around my neck, lift it up, point & push the button.\u00a0 Then when I get access to a computer, I go through and hopefully have one or two I can share.\u00a0 As hot as it is, I\u2019m NOT interested in pulling over for a photo op, and often there is no safe place to stop anyway.\u00a0 I stopped at Wal-Mart in Carlsbad, NM, to replenish my stash of protein bars and to grab a quick sandwich at SubWay.\u00a0 On their choice of options for your sandwich \u2013 green chilies.\u00a0 Welcome back to the West!<\/p>\n
Sunday afternoon I rode into the Ranch, an RV park north of Carlsbad where I have leased an RV lot for several years.\u00a0 Of course, this time I don\u2019t have my RV with me, so I\u2019ve been staying in Chris\u2019 shed\/casita (which is air conditioned).\u00a0 Sleeping on the floor, I\u2019ve \u201csampled\u201d a couple of air mattresses; one leaked down, the other seems fit to travel the 4 corners.<\/p>\n
I \u201cplanned\u201d to be here only Sunday night, but I had to deal with some unanticipated personal business Monday and Tuesday.\u00a0 From the Ranch, I had \u201cplanned\u201d to go north to Ghost Ranch, NW from Santa Fe; however, the smoke from the fires cancelled those plans this afternoon.\u00a0 Today, I was in Roswell, NM, at 2pm it was 105 degrees with a humidity of 7 % and the smoky haze was obvious; tonight I have a sore throat and cough. \u00a0So, now I find myself plotting a route to dodge as much smoke as possible as I head to California.\u00a0 Looks like I\u2019m going to have to cross the Arizona deserts low and on the Interstates \u2013 not at all what I had in mind.\u00a0 But all the pretty, cool (i.e., not hot) routes to the north are burning, & I have significant upper respiratory problems.\u00a0 Part of me hates it when discretion wins out!\u00a0 But breathing is a good thing, so I\u2019ll act like a grown-up and head due west in the morning.\u00a0 It\u2019s something over 1,000 miles from here to San Ysidro, Ca.; I\u2019ll probably be there Friday.\u00a0 Unless my \u201cplans\u201d are altered.<\/p>\n
For those of you who don\u2019t know me \u2013 I\u2019m not known for long range planning or my organizational skills.\u00a0 I\u2019m a bit dyslexic & don\u2019t \u201cdo\u201d numbers very well.\u00a0 That being said, I\u2019ve ridden about 1,400 miles from Pensacola, Fl.\u00a0 I\u2019d be more precise, but I can\u2019t find the tablet on which I\u2019ve written all those details.<\/p>\n
Tomorrow (Wednesday) , I look forward to the ride across the mountains, through Cloudcroft, down to Alamogordo, and over to Las Cruces.\u00a0 If the winds are up (today, we had gusts of 40 MPH) and the haze is down, I\u2019ll stop short for the night (about 200 miles).\u00a0 Otherwise, I\u2019ll head further west, to get beyond the smoke.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lakewood, NM\u00a0 (SE New Mexico between Carlsbad & Artesia) Tuesday, June 7, 2011 OK, I have a vivid imagination, another fall-out of spending so much time alone.\u00a0 So Saturday night, as I laid down to sleep in the motel in … Continue reading