2 August 2010

The day started as yesterday ended, on roads I like--sweeping vistas, curvy elevation changes, two-lane pavement in mostly good repair, little traffic and high speed limits. I love Texas roads! And although it was a bit warm, it was still early enough that it wasn't oppressive.

As we'd filled up with gas before we left, there was no reason to stop before Fritch. Well, except for the tiny bit of road construction--there was a sign noting "One lane road ahead" and almost before we had a chance to react, bam! there it was! Good brakes prevented a disaster, but I need to remember that rural Texas road construction doesn't fool around with lots of warnings; if they say it's coming, you'd best be slowing down immediately!

At the combination Alibates Flint Quarry / Lake Meredith NRA center in Fritch, the ranger avowed that the visitor center at the quarry was manned, so I just got the Lake Meredith stamp, and we headed down a few miles of backroad into the site.



Sure enough, the sign said "Open" and the lonely ranger plied us with tales of tool production, showed off his garden (corn, sunflowers, and gourds to make rattles) and offered a couple of videos to entice us to stay. 



But we had miles to go, so off we went, down to Amarillo and I-40.

Even that wasn't as bad as it's been; either the altitude or a cold front had moderated the temperatures to a point where parts of the drone were almost pleasant. We only stopped for gas, and a rest about halfway through each tank; that got us to Albuquerque and a semi-rush hour which the gps dragged us through to the Petroglyph National Monument and the final stamp of the day.

 

We'd picked a motel nearby as our day's destination, but after a missed turn and a long detour to get back to it, the one we were looking for apparently didn't exist. There was a motel there, and the desk clerk confirmed that the name had changed just three weeks earlier. Unfortunately, their rooms didn't have refrigerators (which have become pretty much a requirement in this weather). There were a number of chain motels across busy Coors Blvd, but it required more than a mile of driving to get to them!

A Days Inn was our choice (refrigerator, but no microwave); there are no grocery stores within walking distance, and we're always reluctant to get suited up and back on the bikes once we've stopped, so gas station convenience store fare for supper once again.

States: Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico

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