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We had a good meal that night in Raton, and awoke the next morning ready to head back to Texas. We would be staying in Fritch with my cousin, then on to the house the next day. I have mentioned before that the ride/drive from Raton to Clayton, NM is boring... I have done everything imaginable to find a better way, but it is the most direct path to where I need to go. There is a rode outside of Raton that climbs up on the mesa and parallels 64. I have taken it several times in good weather, and usually come out near Capulan Mountain after turning at Folsom. But, I have always wondered about the road after Folsom. It turns left as you come to a Tee.. and I usually turn right. So, after consulting the maps, and GPS, I decided  to turn left. The highway was good for about 30 miles or so.. but then we had a shock... dirt road! My maps and GPS show it as a NM state highway... go figure! My thoughts on technology are mixed as usual, sometimes a good old map would probably be best!
Well, I was determined to go a state park on the New Mexico, Oklahoma border that was going go be well out of the way if I returned besides...we were pretty much committed as far as I was concerned. But I wasn’t happy. My bike is not an offroad bike, but the road was dry, and for the most part not terribly rough... we met one or two cars over the next 20 miles before we came back onto pavement. I should also mention that the bridges are paved and striped like state highway, but as soon as you cross them, you are back on dirt road again! This area, is remote, and impassible for a bike and some cars with any moisture on it I would surmise. I can only imagine what the locals thought when we went by on a full dress bike about 40 miles an hour! We did manage to capture the idea of what we road through...but it was dusty, and dry...the bike and us, was coated in a fine silt. 
We did make it to Black Mesa State park, and I have to admit, I was disappointed. There really wasn’t anything there but a decent camp ground. I had thought there would be Indian ruins to look at or something, but I found nothing and there was no one there to help out. There was a decent restroom... so we did have a good pit stop. We headed toward Boise City, and hoped for fuel and lunch. We did find fuel, but struck out on lunch, maybe we are too picky. By the way, did you know that Boise City was air bombed during WWII? Check it out on the web, it was a mistake, and they didn’t explode, but I bet they caused quite a stir! 
Our ride on to Fritch was really uneventful, except for really bad headwinds once we entered the Texas panhandle... no surprise there. But all in all, it was a good day’s riding. We were glad to be off the bike again. A few brewskys and relaxing time with a cigar with good conversation always interest me! read more...
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