Earache

Our first day in Santa Fe was an off the bikers day. Hired a truck to get around in and went to Chimayo, NM to see the old church there...

There's a reason for that. Riding blows there. We didn't see any the whole time we were there.

Made it into Santa Fe in time for some fine New Mexican dining..

Got up before the sun on Thursday for the 8 hour slog north to Santa Fe. Warm when we left but the weather turned to shit once we got into New Mexico, Temps dropped and the winds got fierce again....

Have been there on previous trips - it's not worth a shit , either.

Don't go to Texas!

Still a trip though and it beats working!

Ankle deep river

Weather back home is bad so we're going to stay here for 3 days and wait for the snow to melt a bit. Dave and Debbie head back Friday morning. Going to rent a car to get around here for a few days as the weather is gonna be a bit iffy. More pics later.........

Made to Santa Fe , some 425 miles later, in time for dinner. Food was beyond fantastic, so it was worth the hardship of getting here....

Moral of the story; Don't go to Texas on a motorcycle; just not worth it. Come to think of it - we didn't see any other bikes. So, we headed north on Thursday bound for New Mexico - started the day in 90F heat and ended it in rain and 45F. Winds were again about 40 mph and difficult to ride in - but it had to be done. Left Texas before sunrise...

Best feature of the Park was this wall of rock cliff thing. But it's actually in Mexico and not even in the Park . Can't even hike to it if you wanted to ....

How would like to have this as your Ranger Station? No Thanks.... Some machinery from mining operations years ago sits in the sun and decays....

I suppose the Park is better if you wanna walk on the hot assed caliche for miles, but there really isn't all that much to see....

Lots of riding in the park to get to the other side - about 50 miles one way - and not a lot there , really....

Stopped at an overlook - that's Mexico across the Rio Grande River. Some Mexicans had set up a display of crafts they made for sale. Somehow they heard that the Border Patrol was coming and they jumped up and ran towards Mexico - leaving all of their stuff behind. As we drove pout, 3 Border Patrol trucks were pulling in. Funny. You can see some of the crafts in the background of the pics.

Wednesday and we're off to the big Bend National Park in far southern Texas. The drive to get there is about 60 miles - not the greatest 60 miles I ever rode, either. Stopped to look at the plants on the way....

Glad they were dropped off. Now maybe they can be recycled into something useful like a umbrella stand.

Nope - retractable claws

Dave's on his GS is even better - will get a good shot for you.

Headed to Big Bend today, pics as they happen ....

There's not shit in this town; the hotel and a few small tiendas, not even a fuel station. Might be a problem later....

A few pics of the grounds....

Rooms definitely have the old west feel to them. And old cowboy chaps on the wall...

Always have the feeling I'm being watched here though ....