April 25th
Mile 3057 to 3472, 415 miles
We broke 3,000 miles yesterday and still have about 2,000 to go! We went to bed early and slept till 7. I drank broth and collagen protein yesterday and woke up feeling so much better after resting my guts! I need to be more careful about my food choices and rest my guts more often. Jay offered to fly me home yesterday. But like the saying goes in backpacking “never quit on a bad day!”It’s warm and humid and clouds are low and dark with the threat of rain. We decided to start with rain gear as a precaution.The country has been rolling mixed with flat wide open spaces. We didn’t realize how much we had climbed from sea level until Jay said that his GPS puts us 2,300 feet today. We also saw our first sign mentioning the Colorado Rockies!
We stopped in Amarillo, I listened to the famous song about a sad rodeo cowboy who lost everything.
Jay got some Frogg Toggs and a long sleeve shirt, it’s getting cooler.
Leaving Amarillo we turned a corner and suddenly the world was different. It was dry and warm. The green gave way to sage, scrub brush, cacti and rust colored dirt. We were above 3,000 feet and climbing along with the temperature. It was windy and we were riding fast. It hit 81°! I cried out we have to stop, I’m sweating!!! And we both stripped off multiple layers and snuck in a quick pee on the side of the road.This day has been rough for wind. We’re both head bobbing, and getting our heads snapped by the wind. This is decidedly worse than north eastern Nevada, and Jay is my Silver Knight, unwavering and powering through it. We’re riding this BMW like a crotch rocket tucking in behind the windshield doing motorcycle crunches for hours! My neck and Jays arms are sore. Jay reports this is the worst, most intense wind he’s ever been in! We finally stopped for meal just after 3. We’ve climbed above 6,000 feet and we can see mountains in the distance. Exciting!
We road and continued to climb through mountain canyons and along a creek. It feels like the Eastern Nevada near home. The clouds closed in on us and the temperature kept dropping and drops of rain fell sporadically. We summited at 9,100 feet and rain drops became snow flurries. We laughed at our new level of extremes.
We dropped down into Toas just below 7,000 feet. The wind finally died, it wasn’t raining and we enjoyed a very hot hot tub before walking around town. We found a Big 5 and I bought warm gloves and polar fleece gater.I love this area! We’re in an historic adobe town and the theme runs through the entire area, all the decor, the buildings, the landscape, the colors. Our hotel room is also just as cute with stamped silver framed mirrors and switch plates, talavera tiles and indian blankets and tapestries. I want to take it all home with me!