|
After a breakfast in the hotel cafe, we performed the ritual of wiping windshields and wiping the morning dew off the bikes. We completed loading and were off and on the road by 9:00 or so. The ride into Red River was scenic and even chilly. We made a stop at the Visitors Center before riding on. I made a couple of phone calls and noticed it was 42 degrees. Take note, before the day would end, we would see more than 2x that.
Leaving Red River heading toward Eagles Nest is a very pleasant drive. NM 38 winds thru the valley along side and near Moreno Creek. There is lots of tall grass and shrubbery along the road. I have to interject here that I was passed by a VW vanagon an old one at that. Yep, it happened. I started not to mention it, but I can not lie. Let me say it again, “I was passed by a 60’s VW van.” I probably expressed some frustration to myself at that point about slow speeds, but me being the simple, well mannered, gentle person that I am, consumed some extra oxygen and smiled at the irony. Later, we passed a couple of deer and I nearly had to stop to let them cross. I don’t like forest rats!
We approached Eagles Nest, and turned East onto US 64 heading towards Cimmaron and then NM 58 onward to Springer. A short burst on I25 took us to Springer and we began our long journey to Clayton. It is 82 miles across US 412/56. There was a stop about midway, but I am not sure there were any services. The road was great, but not much to see. But for that matter, if you have driven US 64/57 as many times as I have over the years, there is not much to offer there. However, there is a cafe and fuel at Des Moines, and a rest stop. I just get tired of taking the same path time after time. I should mention that this road is over 350 miles from my home. Perhaps I should travel to a different area!!
We had lunch in Clayton at a really decent Mexican food restaurant. It was getting hot, and shed my jacket for good on this trip. Our next stop was Dumas, Texas for fuel, and we began bucking a 30 mph headwind. My fuel mileage dropped into the 20’s for this part of the trip. I was hot, and really wanted to make a “left turn” back to the cool country. We pressed on, leaving Dalhart, Amarillo, and Claude behind. We approached Clarendon, and made a run thru town looking for hotels. There is only one choice, other than the “It’ll do Hotel”, which was not going to do for me. As luck would have it, we got the last room at the only major chain hotel in town. In fact, luck continued to be with us, for we discovered after dinner, that US 287 was closed ahead of us a few miles and a major detour was made on small FM roads.
There had been numerous accidents on those smaller roads due to the heavy traffic. We avoided that, and since it would have been dark by the time we arrived at that section, the timing was wonderful. Dinner was decent at a local restaurant call the Bar H. We charged our communications headgear for the last time, and discussed briefly our last days ride plans. This trip was over except for a couple hundred miles. It was time to be home! read more...
|
