New Mexico

Flat dry scrub land.

The beginning of 'cowboy' country.

Me and my buddy.

Who's more interested in who?

Storm brewing in the desert!

Small town New Mexico.

White Sands National Park entrance.

White sand, blue sky and dramatic clouds.

A soaptree yucca

Saturday, July 2nd.

Today was a very interesting and busy day. It was not as hot today and much more comfortable for riding. I left Oklahoma and drove west to New Mexico. The first thing I saw was a military tank on a flatbed truck... As I rode along the dead flat grassland of Texas gave way to scrub land and gently rolling hills and then some signs of things to come, small flat topped mountains called mesas. I passed several bicyclists obviously from the same group. They were in pairs but pretty spread out. When I got to the New Mexico Welcome Centre I met a couple more of the group and their support team. They are called 'Bike and Build' and they ride in support of affordable housing. There were 25 of them from 20 different states, including one Canadian, and they are riding from Florida to California! It takes months and they stop periodically to build housing. Very interesting and inspiring. Check them out here: https://bikeandbuild.org/

At the Welcome Centre I asked about national parks in New Mexico and the woman gave me a map and I found one that really interested me. So I set the GPS for White Sands National Park. Eventually it took me off the interstate, straight south, and for the first time along a small highway. I rode about 50 km without seeing another car, just some cattle and sheep. But the weather was changing with some clouds and then I could see rain falling in the distance. As I rode the clouds closed in more and more. I actually rode through three short sun showers which made me damp, but I dried off a few minutes after it stopped. Then it got really windy. I felt that I was going to be blown off the highway and I was riding into more rain storms. There was one on the left and one on the right, but thankfully the road led through the narrowing gap. Eventually I made it to White Sands NP. It is right beside Halloman Air Force Base and the White Sands Missile Range! (Apparently the park and the highway are closed for a couple of hours per week for missile range tests!) This is a unique area of pure white sand dunes. When an ancient sea dried up it left deep deposits of gypsum, which later were raised up in mountain building. For thousands of years the wind and rain have eroded particles which have been deposited here. Now the wind blows them into shifting sand dunes. I rode the eight mile loop of hard packed sand. Unfortunately the clouds dimmed the bright white and the light showers put a damper on it. So I decided that since my admittance was good for a few days, I'd come back tomorrow. So I rode back to the town of Alamogordo and booked a Days Inn. I went for dinner at Appleby's where I met a couple from Tucson who explained to me that it is monsoon season. In the desert? They told me that at this time of year the winds flip 180 degrees and come from the Gulf instead of California. As a result the air is humid and when the temperature gets up into the 90's they often have strong winds and showers. That explains it. I'm now two hours behind Toronto time after riding 689 kms today.