Before I start talking about today I want to quickly recap our first time camping in over a month! Now I use the term camping very loosely because although we were technically in our tents with sleeping bags we were no means out in the woods roughing it.
While eating dinner we were discussing what to do for the night and where we might stay. It looked grim for us at the time and I felt Ken's previous blog might have been the end to our good luck. As we arrived in town we came up empty with the local police, the town hall and our string of contacts ran dry. With only 20 miles to travel we discussed staying in town and possible getting a room at the Smokey Bear Motel across the street. Ken and I put a price cap of $40. Anything above this and we would be passing. We found out renting a room for 3 people would cost $69, 2 people would be $57 and 1 person...well she didn't give us a price for that - as Ken and I were both standing at the counter. I guess she didn't believe we needed a room for only one person. At least we tried.
We headed back to the Horseman Grill where we just ate dinner and in a moment of desperation Durkin asked if we could set up our tent in the patio area behind the restaurant. It was completely fenced in and had a stage and dance floor in the center. The owner of this fine establishment said she didn't mind and we were in business. This area was perfect for us. Not only was it fenced in but the stage made a perfect platform to set up the tent.
Ken and Matt walked to the local grocery store for Gatorade as I struggled to put up the tent. After not using the thing for so long I forgot how to set it up (I'm just kidding). The weather was perfect and we all got to bed around 10. It was a very comfortable sleep and the temperature didn't drop below 50 all night. I know this because the clock that we use has a thermometer on it. We usually play a game we like to call "Who wants to play...guess the temperature?" It's a big hit with all of us and so far only Durkin has won. 78 degree on day 22.
Now on to today...
We slept in a bit and woke up around 7:30. I think we would have slept longer if it wasn't for the two dogs that were barking (kind of) and walking around our tent. I say they were kind of barking because it wasn't really a dog bark but more like a rooster cock-a-doodle-dooing. It was one of the weirdest sounds I have heard coming out of a dog.
These dogs were circling the tent for about ten minutes before Ken decided to unzip the tent and let them in. We packed up our gear but no one was really moving very fast as we knew we only had 20 miles to cover. We all expected it to be an easy day on the road. However, we were mistaken. During the process of packing up one of the dogs grabbed Natie from the jogger. We almost lost the little guy but after chasing around the dog for a few minutes we were able to wrestle him back. Natie can't wait to get to the Pacific, just like us, even if he is riding shot gun all the way across.
We decided to get breakfast across the street and enjoy the morning a bit more. Just before we were about to leave I noticed one of the wheels on the red jogger was flat. I think it has a slow leak in it because we filled that wheel yesterday afternoon. As we were eating breakfast I was sitting on the floor of the cafe repairing our tire causing a scene like usual. Also at this time, Matt was doing a live on air interview with the radio station KBUY Radio. They emailed us a few days ago and wanted to hear our story. We gladly accepted this offer.
After breakfast we finally got on our way a little after 9. The road out of town was uphill for about 3 miles on curvy roads around many mountains. The view was amazing and even more so later in the day. About 5 miles into our day a truck pulled up next to us. Jerry and Tutsie Monroe said they heard us on the radio this morning and had some food and Gatorade for us. We thanked them and passed around the gallon of Gatorade for the rest of the day.
We battled the wind all day but up until this point it was nothing that major. However, just after mile marker 81* we headed down a huge hill that lasted for about 5 miles. The road was literally on the edge of a cliff the entire way down and you could see the road in front of you for miles. You could see the next turn and how far down the mountain you would be traveling. It was incredible except for the wind. At this point in the day the wind picked up. It was blowing hard through the canyon and directly into our face. It was actually a struggle running downhill and once we got back on flat ground it was even harder.
All total we dropped over 1,000 feet in elevation in the day. Capitan was just around 6,500 in elevation and when we made it into town the sign read elevation 5,500 for Carrizozo.
With 10 miles left in the day we came across a man in his pick up truck with a flat tire. His back wheel was completely torn off. Probably the worse I have ever seen. He was having trouble finding the jack and we offered to give him a hand. After much searching we all came up empty. Before leaving him we called a local tow truck to help him out.
We battled the wind for the next ten miles before finally reaching the edge of town. Everyone was pretty beat up and exhausted from the day even though it was only 20 miles. I don't think anyone said anything for at least 30 minutes when suddenly out of no where Ken started quoting a line from the movie Tommy Boy. It was the part that Tommy and David Spade are trying to sell brake pads to one of their clients. Tommy does a terrible job and ends up smashing a few of the clients model cars on his desk. It ends with this client yelling at them to get out. Anyways, Ken quoted that part of the movie almost word for word. I was so amazed how much of it he actually remembered but more amazed that he was quoting it. It literally came out of know where. It lifted our spirits and made us all laugh once again as we headed into town searching for our contact for the night.
It didn't take long before we met up with Welda Grider and Barbara Bradly our host for the night. Their names were given to us as we exited Plains, TX. After making our introductions we walked down the road to a local cafe for a quick meal before being brought over to Barbara's church to get washed up. It was good getting a shower again and feeling somewhat clean. We will also be spending the night in this church and made ourselves at home. Welda loaned us her VW Bug, our second this week, to drive around town and see what was going on. Durkin commented that all Bugs smell like crayons and after getting into this one, I agreed with him. I was skeptical at first but this second experience with a bug confirmed it for me.
We are currently in Welda's office using their computers to type this up. Tonight we are going to be enjoying a delicious meal with the church and talking with the youth afterwards. We are all pretty excited about this and it seems like we are getting to talk to a lot more groups lately. Thanks Seth!
Tomorrow we have 35 miles to Bingham and the forecast calls for more wind. Hopefully we can get on the road early and beat some of it. We recently found out that Bingham is not really a town but consist of two lone houses. Luck for us Welda knows the women who lives in one of these houses and she is expected us tomorrow night. I guess our good luck is back, at least for a few more nights.
Thanks for everything...we love you all.
-Andy
*After today we only have 65 miles left on Route 380. We have been traveling this road for more than 3 weeks and close to 600 miles. She has treated us well with her large shoulder and spectacular views and I know that all three of us will be sad to say goodbye.
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