Riding south from the Grand Canyon to Flagstaff, AZ, was a windy experience. Higher the sun climbed into the sky, the hotter it got! Imagine that?! Before I rolled into town, I pulled into Sunset Crater National Monument. What a strange place?.. Trees growing right out of the dead black soil.
A quick stop in Flagstaff and I’m off. Take the Mary Lake Road south, and you soon find yourself out of the desert and heat, and into the forest and cooler air. I wish I could tell you more in detail what I saw, but at this point the places and experiences are starting to blur together. Made it to Silver City, NM, for the night -- somewhere around 640 miles for the day.
Waking up I saw this place for the first time, high desert with surrounding mountains. I made my way to Las Cruces and the San Andres Mountains. 100°!..Ahhh, but it's a dry heat. Whatever, I live in Alaska and this shit just might kill me! I promise never to whine about the cold again…I Swear!!!
I rode over the mountains and dropped into another valley with Alamogordo, NM, and the Sacramento Mountains in the distance. (Funny thing, Flagstaff, AZ, sits at the base of the San Francisco Mountains. I think NM and AZ must really love California because they named their mountain ranges after its cities. Hmmm?..Maybe not.)
I rode the bike into White Sands National Monument and had a look around. It’s quite a contrast from the black volcanic rocks of Sunset Crater that I visited yesterday. After I soaked my shirt and drank my weight in Gatorade, it was time to ride up the Sacramento's and out of this fire-pit. Climbing up the air became cooler and cooler, and by the time I made it to Cloudcroft I was thinking, "Hell! I could live here."
The San Andres with lava formations in the foreground and cinder cones in the background.The road that connects Cloudcroft to Ruidoso is awesome; beautiful forests and green pastures, and super sweet twisties go right through the middle of it all! This is Apache country, and they have some of New Mexico’s most scenic land.
The road was so fun, that I almost turned around just to ride it again.
Getting closer to Ruidoso, I was surprised to feel the temps climbing again, yep about 97 or so, in Ruidoso? Time to soak the shirt again. Down to Hondo, and soak! Then to Roswell, and soak! I'm red as a lobster and not thinking clearly. Can't wait ‘til the sun goes down.
Mostly every small town I passed through West Texas tonight was broiling, long after the relief of night came -- the towns were still cooking on high! Made it safely here at my Dad's place in Midland, TX. Eureka! Over 1200 miles in 36 hours!! Think I'll sleep in… G’nite!
