The ranger’s advice turned out to be excellent, and after stopping at the UFO museum in Roswell (which I found fascinating), we took a road west to a town called Carrizozo. This particular route turned out to be one of my favorites on the trip thus far. It was curvy, scenic, and free of traffic. We could go as fast as we wanted and did to beat the afternoon thunderstorms that spotted the otherwise sunny, blue sky. The storm clouds were like giant, gray jellyfish dragging their rainy tentacles throughout the vast blue ocean sky.
Just east of Carrizozo we realized that the storm we could see brewing in the distance was headed strait for our destination. I felt a bit like a storm chaser as Alex and I raced towards the dark clouds and bright flashes of lightning trying to reach shelter before we were consumed in the downpour.
We rolled into town just moments before the beast unleashed its watery fury and we found refuge under the awning of a local diner/restaurant. We went inside and left the bikes to endure the nearly horizontal rain that didn’t seem to mind the awning above. We ordered a basket of ships and salsa and sat down at the diner bar to relax and write a bit. The lady who was running the show from behind the counter was a riot, telling us that everything we ordered cost $92.50.
After the storm had passed and we had had our fill of chips, we got back on the road and headed north to Santa Fe were we hoped to camp in the national forest. As we rode, we realized the fortune of our route and timing which took us right between two storms that were sweeping across from the southwest. We rode the tail of the lead storm and eluded the trailer staying dry until we entered sunshine to the north.
At the crossroads between Albuquerque and Santa Fe we stopped at a gas station to fill up. With clouds spotted across the sky to the north, we realized that pressing on to SFNF meant a strong risk for a wet night of camping so we began to explore other options. Alex began collecting the names and contact information of Taylor alum living in the area from the alumni directory while I tried, unsuccessfully, to reach a friend that lived in Albuquerque.
Alex started by calling the most recent grads on the list and had no luck with the first few. Finally, on the third or fourth try he got a person.
While the family didn’t feel comfortable hosting strangers in their house, they did graciously offer to put us up for the night at LifeWay Glorieta Conference Center near Santa Fe. We thankfully accepted, put on all of our jackets, and headed off to a hot shower and a good night’s sleep. The swing in temperature during on day’s travel in New Mexico was unbelievable. Now at 7000ft and approaching sunset, the air was very cool. We arrived in Santa Fe after dark with the trip odometer reading 4741 miles.
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