Skip to main content

Day 15 Mimbres

 Against all odds it was dry-ish when we woke this morning. We had an option today: a scenic 58 mile ride over a mountain or a quick 18 mile ride on a more direct route. Given the cool temps and iffy forecast most of us chose the shorter route. Terri and Sue opted for the longer route, declared wild, and then talked about forwarding flooded roads. I think I made the right decision on the short route.

I headed out ahead of the pack, a bit annoyed at the ripping I had to take for my rain pants. They are large, generic, and bright yellow. Probably about three sizes too big, so they poke out in every direction. 

Luckily, the road was good and while there was a lot of climbing (1500 feet over 18 miles) there was a lot to look at. Of most interest was the Santa Rita Copper mine. At one point in time, 6,000,000 tons of copper was moved each year by mule train. Now there are trucks that can scoop 60 tons out of whack. The mine is over a mile in length. It’s a little hard to fathom the scope of it.



Once I climbed past the mine there was a 3 mile downhill that dumped us into the Mimbres Valley. 


I hung out at the RV park till everyone arrived. We then took a walk to a local restaurant with a jail out front for pics. The waitress was from New Jersey and I engaged her in conversation just to hear her talk!



I’m now in the 10 after enjoying a bright full moon and a nighttime rainbow. It’s raining — shocker — let’s hope the tent doesn’t let me down.

Things I learned today:

  • A slow solo roll works well to buff the days rough edges
  • Not all roads are plowed when it snows.

  • A night rainbow is called a moon bow. Of cours

    e!

Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 12, 2022 at 5:23 AM

    Girl, you rock those yellow rain pants. Haters gonna hate..haha. I have never seen a moon bow and I never even knew they existed. I am learning a lot on this adventure that Ii get to take from my comfy chair. Happy riding. Debbie

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 53- Perry FL

 We had a very windy night which made for a great sleeping. I set an alarm for 1:00 AM so I could see the Artemis unmanned moon rocket launch, but when I got up I found it had been pushed back and well, 70 miles, so I chose sleep over history. It was gray when we got up, and gray as we headed out. And chilly! I wished I’d opted for leggings over my shorts but was happy to have gloves. Small victories.The temp said it was almost 60 – my body threw the BS flag. I was cold all day. Not much to say about this ride. We had a 20 mile bike path that took us off route 98 for a while. We met another Bike traveler named Tony who had been on the road since June 26.  He started in Connecticut and rode to Indianapolis, then back towards Pittsburgh where he rode the trails to DC. He then went to Key West and is now on his way to New Orleans. We asked questions about his gear (there wasn’t much!) and traded a few stories and wished each other well. We got off the trail and crossed the St Mar...
3 comments
Read more

Day 58- St.Augustine FL

 To our utter surprise we woke up to dry skies with the sun peeking through the clouds. No rain in the forecast — what a gift! We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at the hotel and set off around 9 o’clock. Family and friends had been given an arrival time between 1130 and 12 so the pace was leisurely.  We rode mainly bike paths. No spectacular scenery, just quiet miles with lots of introspection. As we neared Saint Augustine I started to feel the excitement grow. I was ready for the ride to be done, to see Greg and Gemma and the rest that would be there to join me. It wasn’t quite time to stop paying attention, however, because our route took us right through downtown Saint Augustine’s narrow streets and traffic was both heavy and unforgiving. It wasn’t till I turned into the state park that I got a little emotional. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the realization that this adventure is truly over. I rode in and spotted Greg’s truck right away - and next saw Sarah and Walt and Gemma...
5 comments
Read more

Day 46- Gautier MS

It was a perfect day for an 80 mile ride. We got up really early, planning to get on the road quickly since it was going to be dark by five and we had so far to go. This was no mean feet for me as sleep was hard to come by last night. My bladder woke me at one and four, at which time I was treated to Matt singing the song of his people. And I didn’t need my alarm because the water dripping from the condensation On my tent onto my face was hard to sleep through. Kelly and Adam were on the road by 615. We followed far behind, rolling out an hour later. The roads were awesome right from the beginning. Great pavement and low traffic throughout. Mississippi offered up some treats and some oddities. The first was as we headed into McHenry. On a one and a half mile stretch of road, I counted eight old fire hydrants. And hardly any houses. This roused my curiosity. I passed a man walking a dog and asked him about it. He looked exactly like I expected a rural Mississippian to look, except the d...
1 comment
Read more