NM, TX, LA: rolling through - Trip Home

The weather has been decent if a bit on the cool side in the mornings. We left Las Cruces NM and headed to our next stop in Kerrville, TX. Beautiful country, decent hotel and a good night's sleep and it was on to Carthage, TX. On our way, after surviving a trip through Austin traffic, we had a nice lunch at the Cafe 290 in Manor, TX where Stu got to chat with some firefighters from McAllen TX. Nice guys...we arrived and left at the same time.



Here is a pic of my windshield - the tiny bugs looked like little hairs growing out when viewing from the side. Needless to say, the photo doesn't really show that. LOL!



Why Carthage? Still avoiding the worst weather - rain and coldest temps. Things held for us and we had another decent hotel and a good night's sleep before moving onward to Monroe, LA. That's when things fell apart a little bit... We were about 70 miles out of Monroe when we stopped for a break. I went to get something out of my left saddlebag....





The back bolt holding it on was completely sheared off. Stu attempted a roadside fix but we finally opted to remove it and strap it on top of the trailer until we got to the hotel. Oh, did I mention the fact that the roads in Louisiana ARE THE WORST EVER? No? Well, they are...and not just judging from this trip. LOL!







By the time we got to the hotel we agreed that if the room was nice, we were staying an extra day. It was and we did. We headed out to Logan's Roadhouse for a late lunch/early dinner.



Then we took in a movie, "Carrie". Not as good as the original but good enough to bring the story of bullying (albeit a fictional story) to a new generation. Tomorrow we head out again, taking back roads and avoiding the interstate. Weather is cooling but looks to stay dry. We can layer up but we both HATE riding in the rain. We should be home by Friday!

PS, Stu got the saddle bags bolted back on with Stage 8 bolts. That ought to hold them.

Las Cruces NM - Trip Home

Just a quick note and a few photos. We enjoyed our stay in Las Cruces, NM so much we extended a second night (not really, we were just trying to avoid the rain in Texas). Seriously, the hotel was gorgeous! Built in the mid 1940's, it was full of the old Southwest feeling with stenciled walls, tile decorations and handmade furniture.

We took the extra day to take in a movie. Last week we saw "Rush", which we really enjoyed, so this time we tried "We're the Millers" and weren't disappointed. We were the only ones in the theater which was nice because we were both laughing out loud. When we left, my stomach hurt and I still had tears in my eyes. (NOTE: if bad language offends you, don't go!)

From there we moved across the parking lot to have some beer and a late lunch/early dinner at De La Vega's Pecan Grill and Brewery. As we pulled up we saw this interesting custom bike.

We had to try the samplers - nothing really stood out but we found a few we thought were "ok". Dinner was great, seafood taco for Stu and Mediterranean salad for me.

Oh, almost forgot...before we arrived at the hotel we stopped at Barnett's Harley-Davidson and browsed around. Nice store and I snagged a great t-shirt. This is the back...

So we continue our way easterly, dodging rain, layering up for cooler temps and still enjoying the ride!

Back on the road in New Mexico - Rt 66

Gorgeous but cool weather greeted us in Albuquerque this morning. We took our time loading up, as you can see by this photo showing Stu chatting with his buddy Do-wop (back in Maryland).

We jumped on I-40 to roll out of town before getting directed back to the old Route 66. Once outside of town the scenery did nothing but get better! Here is just a taste of our views today....

We noticed a Class A motorhome heading in the same direction as us, a rental from El Monte RV. We commented because we are used to seeing their Class C rentals, never a Class A before. At one point we stopped in the road to get a photo of the painted Rt 66 symbol. The motorhome came chugging through and we thought nothing more about it. About 20 minutes later we pulled into a gas station for a pit stop and noticed the motorhome was parked there. Before we had our gear off, a lady walked over and asked Stu if he remembered her.

Turns out the motorhome is the traveling vehicle for some folks from the UK that we met while at the Blue Swallow. They wanted to see our bikes. Now it turned out they had been snapping photos of us as we passed and doing a video of us as we rode through the "twisty bits". If I'd had my head on straight, I'd gotten a photo of us all. We gave her our card with contact information - they'll be home in October sometime. After hearing their itinerary, we realized we may cross paths again (and then I'll get a photo). Great fun!

Stu pulled in so I could snap a photo of him by the sign marking the Continental Divide. As we pulled out we noticed...the motorhome from El Monte so we tooted and waved. As we turned back onto I-40 for another 30 or so miles, I grabbed a shot of the DEAD END sign for Route 66. LOL!

Tomorrow we've going to ship a box back home of stuff that we've discovered we don't need as well as most of the mugs, signs, pins, etc that we've picked up. ;) Going to be really cool in the morning, upper 30's, but when we end the day in Holbrook, it should be close to 85. We'll spend a little time riding through the Painted Desert/Petrified Forest on our way through the area.

Oh, before I forget...just took several days worth of photos off Stu's phone. Here's a great shot of Kevin *& Nancy Mueller, owner operators of the Blue Swallow Hotel and their resident guard dog who LOVES her job.

As always, you can see more photos in our SmugMug album and be sure to click any image above for a larger view.

Madrid NM, home of the "Wild Hogs" - off Rt 66

Today was a "day off" meaning we were going to rest and recuperate. Well, in theory anyway. Last night when we got settled into our room, Donna remembered she wanted to ride to Madrid, NM and see "Maggies Diner" of Wild Hogs (the movie) fame. So after breakfast we hopped on Big Red and rode 2 up to Madrid.

Madrid was a coal mining town in the late 1800s and survived as such until 1950 when the coal played out and Madrid became a ghost town. Since then various artisans and craftsmen have opened up studios and brought the town back to life. You can read the complete history here.

The outside of Maggies is just like the in the movie, inside it was just another touristy gift shop. We passed on buying anything. However, the ride getting there was spectacular. I made a route on HD Ride Planner, downloaded it to BIBY (our Garmin Zumo 660 has a name - Bitch in a Box, the "Y" because the big BIB is in Freddie the freightliner). We liked the ride so much we rode it right back to Albuquerque.

This route follows the Turquoise Trail up the mountain and into Madrid, linking Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The drive is approximately 50 miles along Highway 14, traveling through the mining towns of Golden, Madrid, and Cerrillos NM.

The ride was full of scenic vistas, modern adobe houses juxtaposed by some relics of a bygone era when mining was king.

Next stop was for some lunch, we had hoped to find some nice little diner but opted for Denny's for coffee and a sandwich. Next we had to do some shopping and replenish our dwindling supplies. I dropped Donna off at the hotel and headed to a car wash to get the first layer of bugs and road crap off the bike. Donna will get hers clean when we get it serviced sometime in the next week or so.

All in all it was a great day and very restful for both me and Donna. Tonight we plan to see a movie. Found a theater showing "World War Z". So off we go for a dinner of popcorn and who knows what else. Tomorrow, it's back on the route heading West. Where? not sure but we'll know when we get there.

Stu

DONNA'S UPDATE: The winds brought in a front and lots of rain...movie cancelled. We splurged and ordered Domino's pizza. Stu's been hankering for one the last few days. As to tomorrow, we made reservations in Gallup, NM. Looks to be a nice riding day!