Over the Hill

Yeah, I feel "over the hill" now.  And it's a GREAT feeling.  We made it over the BIG hill today, Emory Pass, all 8.228 feet of it.  And THAT is the last of the big climbs on this tour.

Emory Pass - We Were There!

Yesterday we took yet another rest day, in Silver City.  I really needed it to recuperate from the previous two days of climbing.  It was a good rest day - we walked around town, probably 6 miles total, did laundry and found a great place to hang out for the afternoon -- Wranglers Bar and Grill.  Crashed out early last night, got up at 6 a.m. this morning and headed out.

I have to mention the GRASSHOPPERS out here along the route.  I've never seen anything like these guys before, they are HUGE.  Really pretty too.  We rode by hundreds of smashed ones along the road and saw of lot of them eating another one (they're cannibalistic apparently).  They don't move too fast so I was able to catch one and get a photo...

GRASSHOPPER...

We thought we'd probably stop over in Hillsboro which was just 17 miles past the pass; to but our dismay, there was NOTHING open in Hillsboro today.  Apparently everything closes on Mondays and Tuesdays in eastern New Mexico!!  We were out of water too, and luckily there were some local folks talking a walk through town who offered us water.  That and a dozen chocolate chip cookies purchased this morning at Albertson's in Silver City saved us today.

So, we decided to push onto Caballo State Park, just another 21 miles and mostly downhill.  And our friend, Bob Larson (RL) was camping there.  It was well worth the additional miles getting to the lake, a nice campground, a friendly face, and beer/wine, dinner, and desert compliments of RL.  I LOVE RL!!!!!

So we are once again, safe and sound, and just about ready to snuggle up in our little tent.  The sky is clear tonight and it's a full moon.

This was a great day - a 1+ in my book!

Total miles:  78.1
Time:  7:25
Avg:  10.58 mph