27 September 2011 I survived the night in the Village Plaza Motel in Hatch, the pepper capitol of the world. For the first time in days I was wearing layers on a brisk morning as I headed west through central New Mexico.
West on 26 we passed by a large commercial installation of photovoltaic panels and headed into more and more rural New Mexico. North on 27 it got even more rural, heading through open range country and having to watch for cattle on the road. In Kingston I headed west on 180, climbing up to 8000 feet and Emory Pass. It was great to be putting a bit of wear on the very expensive sides of my tires after a long time in the flatlands.
180 continued west to Silver City, where I had a great lunch, then turns northwest to Eagar, Arizona, climbing over Bear Mountain and providing some more cool weather and nice twisties for the tires.
It was getting late in the afternoon when I got to Eagar and after consulting the map I decided to press on to Petrified Forest National Park. It was a race to take in as much of the park as possible before 6PM when the park closes. One is allowed to be in the park right up until closing time and isn't officially considered overstaying as long as your vehicle is moving toward an exit. It was full dark when I left the park and rode to Holbrook and got a room for the night.
Americana for the day: The Grand Slam breakfast at Dennys
Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/108481211284683809830/USA20113?authkey=Gv1sRgCInJ3fTt3fO0Mg
No comments:
Post a Comment