Caballo Lake, NM to Las Cruces, NM
You won't believe this! It rained again last night. Forecast said 35% chance of thunderstorms. I gambled, and lost. At about 0200, I started hearing thunder and seeing the lightning flashes, then heard the raindrops hitting the tent. A while later, it was raining inside the tent, again! I quickly put on my pants and rain gear, stuffed my damp sleeping bag into a drysack, and the same with my clean clothes. Everything went into my waterproof panniers, and I tried to go back to sleep, laying on my thermarest pad in my raingear. No sleep was to be had, as the lightning and thunder was SO close! It lasted until about 0430, at which time I went outside. The stars were amazing, and I could see flashes of lightning up in the mountains to the east. Went back in the tent, stripped out of the raingear, unfurled my sleeping bag, and got back in. It was damp, but not drenched. At dawn, I put it back in the dryer, along with a couple articles of clothes that did get wet. I packed my wet tent and the rest of my gear, and we hit the road at 0840.
Flat riding today, with a modest headwind. We followed the Rio Grande south from Caballo Lake to Las Cruces, crossing it several times. We rode through the Mesilla Valley, famous for New Mexico's red chiles. As we started passing the child fields and processing plants, my eyes began to itch and burn. And I kept having to remove my sunglasses and wipe the tears. Hmmm... could it be a reaction to the chiles?Don't know, but I was extremely grateful to be riding with Eileen today, as she let me use her eye drops. One application, and I was good for the rest of the day.
At about mile 28, we entered the village of Hatch, where chiles are sold by the bushel, and more. It was fun seeing the shops, and we stopped at Sparkey's for lunch. I had a "four meat" barbecue plate, pomegranate lemonade, and a pomegranate shake. I haven't had a milkshake in more than 30 years, but I have had two within the last few days!
Oh, my stomach! Lesson: Do not eat such a large meal while on a ride! The next several miles, I could feel the extra pounds.
Eileen and I rode with the ride leader, Ken, for most of the day. On the final leg, we stoped at Fort Seldon, refilled our water, and went through the museum and ruins of this fort that was abandoned only a few years after it was established. It was built shortly after the Civil War to protect American citizens during the period of western expansion into land occupied by Indians and colonized by Mexico. That is a long story!
Finally pulled into the Las Cruces KOA at 1700, a long day, with long breaks. Can't do that too many times! Hung my sleeping bag and tent on the split rail fence to dry, which they did in no time. All is back to normal, but I will be shopping for a new tent in El Paso tomorrow.
Speaking of which, we have now been through three states in three weeks, and we will be in Texas for the next three weeks!
(BTW, I can not add captions to the photos from my iPad, so it will have to wait until my return home)
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