After celebrating Bauer's birthday in the Gila Cliff Dwellings and Hot Springs, my new buddy Jake Nodar, a horse trainer from Maryland, a Discovery Channel TV show participant (Out of the Wild), and just a really good guy and I went back to Silver City, picked up Regina who hosted me on the night of the 21st and our bicycles while we were gone and went to dinner. We ate some really amazing New Mexican cuisine enjoyed each other's company and then Jake and I made our way to William's guest house for an amazing night's sleep.
William, a former Colorado state employee, moved to Silver City approximately 8 years ago. He bought a house with an oversized garage that is now used as a community garden with huge volumes of edible greenery including kale, Swiss chard, spinach, peas and broccoli. There are significant garden plots on the property where William grows tomatoes, squash and other seasonal items. Both Jake and I were shown the growing facility and were amazed at the volumes of food there.
After an obligatory photograph of the three of us, Jake rode west and I headed east.
Taking photos along the way, I intended to really get on the road by 10:00. It wasn't until 12:30 that I started my trek again. I had to make multiple stops to pick up supplies and change my brake pads for the remainder of the journey, especially considering the long descent ahead.
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| Historic Downtown Silver City |
After some big ascents and descents (where I attained 42 MPH with all my packs), I came to a spot where I thought I'd camp for the night. I found multiple prickly pear cacti fruits and made an amazing snack of them. This time I only got one prickle in my lip! Not bad for peeling them as a non-native prickly pear eater I think.
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| Open pit copper mine |
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| Awesome descent. |
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| Good morning oatmeal. |
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| That's where I stayed last night...Straight ahead and down in the culvert next to the road. |
In an effort to keep critters at bay during the night, I put my food outside my tent including the empty can and lid of soup. Approximately 9:00 PM, I heard some rustling outside the tent. It had to be a small critter who was excited about the soup. In the AM, I initially couldn't find the lid. However, I ultimately did and it was licked clean along with the can, but only to a certain point. The snout couldn't make it any further.
I arose at 6:15, shook the dew off my lily, and watched the sun rising and the moon setting. I went back to my tent and snuggled up and finally really woke at 9:30, but very achy. I waddled out of my tent, ate breakfast and decided to read for the first part of my day instead of ride. I also found another nice patch of prickly pear "tuna" for a mid-day snack and energy boost.
Until tomorrow my friends...
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