Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Back home

After an uneventful day's riding we made it back home.

Great trip, great camaraderie and beautiful sights.

And one more thing, not a drop of rain !

Monday, March 24, 2014

Spending the night in Stanton, TX

We are now going East, on the way back home.

Tonight after traveling about 2 hours in the dark and getting pushed around by winds and large trucks we decided to stop about 3.5 hours away from home and spend the night in Stanton, TX.

Prices in any hotel between Abilene and El Paso are ridiculously expensive. It seems that there are many crews working on the railroad and also oil fields.

We stopped at a Love's in Pecos, TX for dinner and when I looked, I realized how many trucks were actually parked for dinner and filling up with gas. Texas is truck country ...

Tonight is our 6th night on the road and this has been our trip so far ...

I am specially proud that we visited Mexico and can now get a new country sticker !

Posted with Blogsy

The wanderers

While we were in the visitor centre in Guadalupe Mountains National Park we met mother and son, Irina and Alexander.

They live in Arizona now but have travelled extensively in the US. They seem to sleep in their car (they told us interesting stories with border patrol not liking that they do this), never travel more than 60 miles a day and they are very thin so they do not eat a lot or they walk a lot or maybe both.

True wanderers of the earth they had many stories to tell.

Mom was the talkative one and she spent a good part of 30-45 minutes talking to Paula. Alexander was much more reserved and introspective in his answers. He seemed to have a special attraction for being in the middle of the sea. He said he was sailor once and loved to see sea storms.

We were running a bit late so we bid them farewell. They left as we got ready to ride. Last time we saw them, they were walking (actually Irina was skipping) on the 62/180 and waved a strong felt goodbye.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park

The Guadalupe Mountains National Park contains Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas at 8,749 feet.

We were able to ride McKittrick Canyon road and see the canyon from a distance.

We then rode to the visitors center and took some more pictures.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Today we spent some time underground to see one of the most well known caves in the world.

The actual cavern is inside a park about 8 miles in from the main road. The approach is beautiful as the road winds itself in between hills.

It is a no touch area but they have a small rock before you enter the cave that you can touch to get a feel.

We entered through the natural entrance and did the one mile self guiding tour and descended 750 feet into the earth.

We followed steep and narrow trails and saw the Bat Cave, Devil's Springs, Green Lake Overlook and the Boneyard. We also saw the Iceberg Rock, a single 200,000 ton boulder that fell from the cave ceiling thousand of years ago.

We then took the big elevator up to the surface and had lunch in the restaurant. I had beef tacos and Paula had a tortilla crusted tilapia which she enjoyed a lot.

A must do specially if you have never been in caves.

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Laundry time

Best Western Pecos Inn in Artesia, NM is where we will rest for the night.

And before taking well deserved rest, one more chore ... laundry !

On the 82 to Cloudcroft, NM

Rising up from Alamogordo, NM is the 82. Winding and with beautiful sights the 17 miles to Cloudcroft are worth the trip.

Snow was still present and riding around corners with plenty warnings about icy conditions was interesting.

Interesting sight as we were arriving in Cloudcroft.

Like no place else on earth

Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin is one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert, creating the world's largest gypsum dunefield.

We stopped and marveled at it all.

Lunch in New Mexico

Mexican on the menu today ...

La Posta in Old Mesilla is the restaurant we chose today.

Cannot beat a Mexican patio in a beautiful sunny day listening to mariachis on the background.

Chips and salsa, anyone ?

Wandering about in Mesilla, NM

Great little historic plaza that looks like you are somewhere in Mexico.

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Ciudad Juarez

Earlier than planned (as we were supposed to cross tomorrow only), we went to Juarez.

Paula went with friends (Adan, his brother Eduardo and Eduardo's wife Carmen) on a jeep and I followed on Storm (my 2011 GSA).

Crossing into Mexico was a breeze, pay $3 and just ride through.

We then drive around the city and took lots of pictures.

Here are some of the sights:

In front of municipal court

Plaza X

Monument Benito Juarez

My little red horse had some company ...

Arrived in El Paso

After wrestling some herculean winds we finally made it to El Paso.

Weather is sunny and hot ...

Why windshields are important (images not suitable for children or the squeamish)

On way back from the Big Bend National Park on the 118 going towards Alpine, at about 8pm when the sun was disappearing on the horizon, I just saw this black shape coming towards me.

Then I heard the impact and got sprayed with blood ...

Lucky I had the Touratech windshield extender, otherwise I would have it inside my helmet as I was enjoying the breeze with my visor down.