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Published: August 9th 2014
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Budders the border collie
Coffee stop at cafe with no name, at intersection of 80 and 9 just into New Mexico I'm sitting here listening to Songza and struggling with what to write about a 30 degree day where the only scenery consisted of mountain valleys, plains, desert, cows and patrol vehicles and a fly-by through the entire width of New Mexico without staying anywhere. The excitement peaked with Ian sustaining a wasp sting up his sleeve on his forearm and opening up the first aid kit for the first time. While I don't wish a sting on anyone, I'm relieved it flew up his sleeve and not mine which would have been disastrous. The trip would have come to a screeching halt for a few days as I'm severely allergic to the little buggers. We were each on the receiving end via the intercoms of Ow!, Bloody hell that hurt! Ouch! as large bugs, crickets, and beetles ricocheted off our legs and arms throughout the ride. I learned that bug splats on the arms penetrate through the mesh onto bare skin. Just don't think about it, I told myself repeatedly!
What else exciting happened today? Well there's Budders the border collie who sat watch in his master's semi cab while he ate lunch with us at a cafe with no
name just across the New Mexico state border at the intersection of route 80 and 9 heading east. We played cat and mouse with him and his oversized load a few times, with us stopping to take stretch breaks and being caught, only to pass him again several miles later. What a friendly guy and dog!
What else ... I could talk about the disastrous breakfast we had at the Lookout Lodge where the not-the-sharpest-crayon-in-the-box helper/cook/waitstaff/dishwasher/poolguy told us the pancake batter was made yesterday and they put too much water in it but the cook was going to try to use it this morning but he couldn't guarantee they would be any good and the cook couldn't fix it because the courier guy didn't bring any flour yet (yes, all his exact words). He got that part right as Ian discovered shortly thereafter. I just smiled when I got a second serving of an English muffin because he forgot he had just toasted me one three minutes ago, and I prayed that my immune system could cope with the possibility that my milk had been in someone else's glass before mine - I wanted skim milk, so he took
back my glass and poured it back into the milk container. My mum, an RN/Midwife would have had a fit with the contamination possibilities! She was big on that! My oatmeal looked and tasted like yesterday's too, with big globby grey glutinous lumps throughout. Honestly, my tummy was not happy most of today. Oh well, things by which to remember Tombstone!
What else ... desert is desert, plains are plains, ranges are ranges. And big they are, as you realize that those specks on the dry sandy landscape are actually cows. We were threatened by a very large rain cloud on route 9 which was emptying out over a little Mexican town just across the border alongside us. We managed to dodge it, only to be greeted by its colleague 5 miles further along. This one threw out hard rain pellets, which stung through a mesh jacket! It was over almost as soon as it started and we were dry again within a few minutes.
What else .... at times it felt like we were on the Loneliest Road in America again, with long long long long stretches of perfectly straight road on route 9 east. There is
definitely a tendency to zone out and forget you are on a bike. Fortunately (as odd as that sounds), you're brought back to your senses by either a patrol vehicle overtaking you at lightning speed, or patrol ATVs zipping past you along the fence, or on one occasion a fighter jet pulling a steep left bank at an altitude of what appeared to be no more than a few hundred feet directly in front of you. That gets your attention in a hurry! No green decals on him! What a random place for him to appear though.
Hmmm .... riding into El Paso was an unforgettable introduction to our first time in Texas. With interstates disabled on the GPSs, it looked like we were going to skirt the city and come into the airport area via the perimeter of town. One minute you're riding on an empty two lane road, the city in the foreground, and small houses nestled along the route, and then wham out of nowhere, that damn 10 foot metal wall slaps you in the face once again, the opulent architecture of downtown El Paso unreflected by a very dilapidated, rough looking shanty town on the
other side. It really is a bizarre sight. A couple of miles along the great iron wall and we did indeed enter into downtown El Paso and Friday's market, buzzing with shoppers with velvet-eyed children in tow. We didn't detour into the downtown area as we'd been on the road for 7 hours and faced with further delays over the next 10 miles due to roadworks. Tired and hungry, we pull into the Wyndham Suites at the airport, strategically reserved for an easy exit tomorrow morning as well as its amenities such as a pool, laundry and breakfast. Poor Ian hasn't gotten lucky much today. We desperately wanted to swim and cool off so changed and headed straight down for a dip, only to be turned off by a body of water covered with floating pigeon poop (yes, it floats), feathers, down and other unidentifiable avian matter. You go first, no, you go first. Needless to say, no swim tonight. Ian decides then to do laundry while I work on the blog. He comes back to the room about twenty minutes later and I say wow, you got it in the dryer already? He rolls his eyes, shakes his head
and is ready to give up on the day. He dismally explains that he had to ask the lobby clerk where the laundry was and was told the second floor by the elevator. He can't find it, returns to the lobby, is told the same thing by a different guy, goes back to the second floor, can't find it, returns to the lobby again. Same guy now tells him, after he waits in line behind 5 guests ahead of him, that it's actually behind room door #219 and that he needs a code for the door, oh and we don't have any laundry soap.
What else ... oh, I was ID'd at dinner tonight. I actually didn't have my purselet because we just walked over from the hotel, so the server just asked me how old I was. I told her xxx (come on now, you didn't really expect me to blurt out the answer did you?). And besides, I lied to her.
.... Not much else to report. Sorry folks, hopefully tomorrow will bring a little more excitement. This is Texas afterall!
P.S. Ian WILL be getting lucky if I can help it before the rest
of his somewhat disastrous day is over! Too much information?
P.P.S. To our oldest daughter EMMA: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LOVE! Enjoy your 23rd!
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Storms
Love watching the storms roll in.