Advertisement
Day 42……12/05/2012 After yesterday’s fine end to a rather damp start, we were more than a little disappointed to see low clouds and mist clinging to the mountains that were definitely visible last night. Today we plan to ride a 275 mile loop around the region, including the Big Bend National Park, and the Rio Grande river road, as with all trips where beautiful scenery is involved the sun is a definite prerequisite, but things did not look good so far. We decided to go with what we had and set off to get fuel in the small town of Marathon some thirty miles away, once there we were more than pleased to see a ribbon of blue over the mountains to the south, exactly the direction in which we were heading. With each mile we travelled the patch of blue sky got larger and larger until we were riding in brilliant sunshine, and all of the beautiful colours of the mountains around us were revealed. We rode along on super smooth rolling roads and on into one of Americas little known but to my mind most stunning National Parks, Big Bend. Now one of the problems when trying to
describe beautiful places or things, is that very soon you run out of adjectives that describe what you see, and believe me I know that we will see some breath taking places during this trip, so please excuse any repetition you may find. We stopped at the ranger station to get a little information on the park, and then on to explore further, we stopped at many beautiful overlooks to take photos, but none could ever do justice to what you see. I did see a tarantula crossing the road in front of me, but I did not hit it thankfully. Once out of the park we rode the river road, a famous bike route that runs alongside the mighty Rio Grande, which separates the US from Mexico here, this is a river of legends, getting more than a mere mention in many a western movie. The river road took us on rollercoaster of a ride, for around fifty miles of undulating, twisting and turning fun, with the odd sharp curve after a steep brow to test the skill of the unwary motorcyclist. A great day’s ride, in glorious sunshine.
Day 43……13/05/2012 Still clear this morning, as we
set off north heading for Carlsbad in New Mexico, a ride of around two hundred miles. The first hundred we rode with darkening skies off to our left, but managed to keep just ahead of any damp stuff. A stop off in a town called Monahans, were I was able to make contact with Danny, a Texan friend that I had made six years ago while travelling then. We were treated to more Texan hospitality in the form of a fine meal at a local restaurant, despite it being very busy, as today was Mother’s Day here. It was great to catch up again with another American friend I had made on my last trip here, albeit too short a reunion. We rode on the last hundred miles towards Carlsbad, into more grey skies, and at one point we had to don our wet weather gear, if only for a mile or so, and then we were back into bright sunshine, and taking it all off again. We arrived in Carlsbad New Mexico, State number 17, just before 5pm, got a motel and settled back to relax for the rest of the evening. That was until the skies turned jet
black to the west, and drowned everything as it passed over us, with thunder and all the trimmings. The forecast on the weather channel did not bode well for tomorrow either, so it looked like another stay put day for us.
Day 44……14/05/2012 Well thank heavens for the weather channel, they were right on the money with yesterday’s forecast, of heavy showers, there was standing water everywhere, with more to come. So today we will catch up with a couple of jobs, one of which has become way overdue, according to Lynne, a haircut, the other and far more important to me, was the oil changes due on both bikes. Well we got it all done except the oil change on my bike, never mind, I was now sporting a sharp haircut, and Lynne was now free of her developing Shirley Temple look. In a car park near to our motel we caught sight of a strange looking armoured truck, it was a rather specialist vehicle with only one purpose, to chase after storms and gather information, and there was me hoping the weather was going to improve, this was definitely not what we wanted to see.
Rio Grande
Mexico across the riverOnce again the TV forecast was spot on, the roads were all but dry this morning as we set off still north for a while, then west over the mountains of New Mexico to Alamogordo. We rode into the high desert that flanked the eastern edge of the Lincoln National Forest, and then up into the mountains where the terrain turned into pine forest that had a real alpine feel to it. The road snaked its way up and up, and the forest got evermore dense, but little Lynne and the beast were still with me. We stopped in the small town of Cloudcroft, and at 8500 feet it was much cooler than the desert behind us. Cloudcroft was a really nice little town, it had small shops and bars all with covered wooden board walks, which gave it a real western feel we liked the place so much we decided to stay here tonight. After unpacking at the small hotel, we took a walk out to explore the town further, one thing that is immediately evident apart from the cool fresh mountain air, is how deep blue the sky is at these higher altitudes, which makes
for a great contrast with the rich green of the forest. We had a fine meal in one of the towns quaint hostelries, then a slow walk back through the empty streets back to our hotel.
Day 46……16/05/2012 All packed up and an early start away down off the mountain, as we headed for the town of Alamogordo. The road descended quickly, as it twisted its way out of the woodlands and into the rocky mountain passes that produced spectacular views away to the west, of Alamogordo and the pure white sands that lay beyond, this was the White sands national monument, and missile test area. The first order of the day when we got to the city, was an oil change for Christine, I bought the oil from a local Honda dealership, borrowed a pan and she got her fresh oil there and then in the car park. Job done we set of for the White sands National monument, which was also home to a huge Air force base and missile test facility, which according to the sign would order the complete closure of the only road through for hours on end during the firings, there were
to be none today, but I was not taking any chances, it would be women and Harley’s first as we made our way passed the silo’s. The cooler unsettled weather was now well and truly behind us, as we made our way west, clear blue skies, and a sharp rise in temperature was to be the norm from here for the foreseeable future. Our night stop was, again by chance at a motel 6 in Deming, a place that I had stayed at before, this would put us within 150 miles of tomorrow’s destination, Tombstone Arizona.
Day 47……17/05/2012 Due to the increased temperatures that we are now experiencing we have decided to leave a little earlier this morning to avoid riding in what today has been forecast as a scorcher, and also to give us more time in one of almost every little boys dream towns, Tombstone Arizona, State number 18. By around noon we rode into town, now doesn’t that statement just make the hairs on yer neck stand on end, no, ok I’ll get me coat. Well it did mine, this town is the real deal the stuff of legends, people would kill to come here
now, instead of the fact that they used to kill when they came here. As a six year old gun totin cowbow, I would not rest until all the baddies lay dead in my street, or at least until my caps ran out, so you can understand that this town is my Mecca, my Lourdes, well anyway it’s just special,…. like me. The town is just about as unspoilt an attraction as you will find anywhere, the authorities that control any planning or development have done a really good job restricting the usual appearance of a McDonalds “M” towering over the skyline, or other such nonsense that would completely ruin the atmosphere here. We walked up and down Main St, taking in the sights, the tastefully presented gift shops, and equally tasteful saloons, one of which was called “Big Nose Kate’s”. Horse drawn stage coaches, and mail carriages rattled up and down the street, which was clear of any modern vehicles, and there were many dressed in period clothing, which all helped to make the place fell very real, “the Marshalls coming to town there’s gonna be trouble” they would mutter, “there’s gonna be killin”, well we had better take
cover then Lynne, oi Big Nose two beers please. As the sun set away to the west at the end of Main Street we made our way back along the covered boardwalks to our two-bit hotel.
Day 48……18/05/2012 After a final look around the town this morning, and then stopping off at the Boothill cemetery to visit some of the towns previous resident’s, we made our way out of Tombstone. Our ride today would take us through some very pretty countryside and onto Tucson around a hundred miles away. The morning was very hot, and I would say that by lunchtime it was around 95 degrees, we stopped several times to get water, and to catch some shade. While riding it is very easy to be fooled by how hot it really is, when even quite a hot breeze masks the real strength of the sun. Today we will visit Lynne’s cousin Sophie, who she has not seen for thirteen years. A heavily pregnant Sophie and her American husband Brian live in Tucson, and we will stop over there for a day or two and chill.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.217s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 12; qc: 53; dbt: 0.0834s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Kathy Taylor
non-member comment
Arizona!
I would love to be in Arizona...anyhoo....have to tell you Steve how much I enjoy your writing...keep it up...keep safe and keep slapping on the sun-cream.