Greetings from New Mexico.
 

I've actually been here a few days now, lol, just been resting. 😉 As most of you know, I'm still working on a tour from last year, which never had a very specific end point. I just aimed for Colorado, and found that, and also found the Rocky Mountains. 🙄😁
Getting over them is NOT as easy as you might think, so I'm finally getting around them instead. 😁👍
Anyways, here's Capulin Mountain,(that bump above the bush) as seen from the first rest area on I-25 S. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains are very manageable so far. 😎 https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8db6395ab9.jpg

I do like the sky at elevation. Andy

Beautiful state. I spent 10 years there in summer and spring, mostly riding the ABQ.Santa Fe and Taos area. Mt biking and road. Loved it.

Only thought for you was watch the weather. It's getting near winter, you are at elevation, it gets cold, as you likely know, and can get hit with sudden and intense snow storms that seemingly come out of nowhere. I would hate to see you caught out between Raton and Clayton or some such. Not many places to duck into and hide. So be careful.

Thx for the pix as well.

Appreciate the thought. 🙂 I'm pretty well geared up, and running for I-40, which runs West. That's supposed to be like home base, right? 😉 I'm just a couple few miles from Wagon Mound now, so "probably" fine. 🤔😉 Here's a pic of where I fell off the planet for a bit. Stay tuned for pics of a huge herd of deer, that ran with me a bit this morning. 😁 https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ad7ba78d44.jpg
D'oh, got my finger. 😋

I can't see my phone well enough, in the sun, to crop these better. Here's the real thing though, I'm guessing at least 60-70 mule deer. I came under an overpass this morning, and saw about half of them, and they were startled a bit at first, but decided to run along with me. 😁 After about 1/2 mile or so, we came to the other half of the herd. I was getting pretty weirded out for a minute, but they just joined up, and crossed this valley. And they didn't seem to mind me, grabbing a few pics. 😎
EDIT: Finally adding the other deer pics. I must have posted the worst one before, lol. 🙄😉 https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b4fdf9eec8.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3b826818dc.jpg

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5c0c4f284e.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0dcbdb12ff.jpg
OK, I made it down to Las Vegas, New Mexico. 👍 I knew I was running later in the year, than I wanted to, but folks around here seem to think I'm nutty or something. I had 3 different state troopers "check" on me, to see if I was OK. 🤨Called by concerned citizens, I'm sure, trying to do the right thing.
It's not that big a deal, but I'm glad that stretch of road is done. It WAS pretty chilly , with heavy frost on everything the last 2 nights. Thank goodness for down, wool, & Gore-Tex. 😁

I had planned to rest a bit in Las Vegas, but strangely enough, they were filming a film there, with many trucks & equipment, so I just kept going. 🙄😉
I'm having coffee at the San Jose/ San Juan Exit, mostly heading back North a bit, in the S-curve of I-25.
Last night, I got on the frontage road by mistake. It takes the higher road, compared to the interstate. 😁😉 https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9ad0705ec2.png
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6c48654a0b.jpg

New Mexico, like many western states, allow cycling on the interstates when there's no alternative and adjacent road. For many years heading SE out of Santa Fe, we rode I25 rather than the adjacent Old Las Vegas Hwy., which was a 2 laner with 60 mph traffic and no shoulder. I25 was much safer.

Well, I'm well past Santa Fe now, at the Santo Domingo Pueblo exit. I ran real low on battery power, and I-25 ran out of gas stations & things.
Part of the reason I left Santa Fe so soon, is their McDonald's has all their outlets covered. 😒 They really ought to get over whatever the previous issue was, and get with the times. People need to charge up. They can just raise their prices yet again, & cover the electric bill. 🙄
Anyways, here's a pic from 5:30 on Thanksgiving. I didn't quite hit Santa Fe yet, obviously, but I did get snowed on that night. 😮😁 https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2ac0c70878.jpg

Yep, there's a long section here, with almost 2 lanes worth of room, for bicycles. That's counting the "emergency lane" plus a huge berm. And even in the less busy areas, that berm is normally as wide as a regular traffic lane. 😎

During the time my wife and I spent in SF, there was a very large transient and semi-homeless population. Plus a lot of folks wanting to live there who worked 3 jobs just to make ends meet. Part of this is the reputation of a hippie haven (I've never seen so many beat-to-sh*t Subaru's in my life), as well as lot of artists barely earning a living and well, you get the picture. Thus I can see where places like McDonalds stopped offering bathroom access and free electricity. Sucks for the thru-cyclists no doubt.

I love that part of the country and have it on my bucket list to tour there at some point. Enjoy, and please keep posting pics.

I'm still not sure if I'm actually in Albaquerque yet, or just the suburbs, but I definitely found the Rio Grande. 😎 This was at 10:00 last night, when I was just ready to be done, and get some sleep. You can't just ignore a major milestone though, no matter how tired. 🤔😉 https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fde469b265.jpg

Depends on where you were near ABQ. You can cross at Bernallio on US 550, that's north of ABQ.

I'm pretty sure that's where I crossed, the first time. 🙂 I rode to the far East end of Central Ave, by that Air Force base, just to see it, I guess. I'm back on the Western edge again now, pondering my next move. 🤔😎

South to US 60, then west. Takes you thru the VLA complex - Very Large Array (Think the movie Contact). Than continue thru NM to AZ and the Show-Low area, north rim of the Mogollon Plateau.

I'll definitely look again, thanks. I just recently decided on going South, and was aiming for route 10, also called 70, and possibly called 60 as well. 🤔😉
I actually went 30 miles West, on I-40, but changed my mind. The name 9-mile Hill should have warned me, just getting out of town, lol. That and the cold weather, convinced me to re-think things. 😉 There's a pretty cool truck stop and casino out there, at the other end of this big valley. This is around 15 miles, from one end of this valley to the other. 😲 https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...788e887e4f.jpg

I also found the Unser racing museum, but didn't go inside (yet). There's also an Unser Boulevard, and there's a neighborhood called Unser Village, still being built now, right by old Route 66. 🙂
I can remember watching Al Unser racing, back in the 60s & 70s, as a kid, and my dad & uncle getting excited about him. 😎 Bobby was alright, too, I guess. 😁😉 https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e8643507f8.jpg

It looks like this thread could never be complete, without at least one hot air balloon. This one came right over me, as I took a break at a bus stop, on Coors Blvd. I didn't expect they flew, in December cold, but I expected wrong, I guess. 😉😎
Also cool, I scored an old Eddie Bauer goose down parka, in excellent shape and with the hood, for cheap, and found the 24-hour laundromat. So of course, it never snowed here, like they called for. 🙄😉 https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...054d14c41f.jpg

Well, I'm in San Acacia now, just South of San Geronimo a bit, on the map. San Geronimo isn't clearly marked on the road, but I think it's this rest area, where I grabbed a pic. I hope youse can read that marker. 🙂 I'll hit Socorro later tonight or tomorrow, where I hit I-60, but I'm planning to hunker down a day or so. There's a wicked looking snow storm called for here. 😟
Completely on topic, I found another ring, with that cool emerald green turquoise. It's called Manassa turquoise, which was only ever mined in Southern Colorado. I'll edit in a pic of that after I take one, lol. 😉😁 EDIT: I don't mean I "found" a ring, like on the road, lol, I meant I bought it, in an antique store. 😋😉
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...80fb8538d5.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...76b6b037de.jpg

Found a sign for it. Sounds very cool to me, especially with a forum name like mine. 😎 😉
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...56b56bd4ba.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...449832ad78.jpg
That scary snow storm has been changed to a semi-scary wind storm now. I guess if they can keep Accuweather guessing, you just have to play it by ear. 🤔

Later that same year, lol, I passed that VLA thingy-do. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1b4813bb58.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a210439a09.jpg

And this morning around 9:15 AM, I crossed into Arizona. 😎 No more steenking time zones for me. 😋 😁 I have other pics, that I might add later, but this puts me firmly in Springerville, AZ. 😎 https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bda7437a96.jpg