Today was a beautiful and historic day. We got up around 7am and had some delicious French toast with our host Danelle. We loaded up our gear and got back on the road at mile marker 293, right where we finished up yesterday. We walked for twenty minutes or so, trying our best to soak in all the scenery. Words and pictures won't describe the beauty of Hondo Valley, you really have to see it for yourself.
So we got moving at our regular pace at our regular time, with some not so regular scenery. Every where we looked there were huge rolling hills and mountains as far as the eye could see. About 6 miles in Ken and Andy stopped to send out some mail at a mailbox. It was here where we were stopped by our new friend Dottie who hooked us up with some delicious cinnamon rolls. Dottie had read our article in the Roswell newspaper, and figured growing boys could use some sweets. Ken assured Dottie we would give the rolls a good home, and we did.
We took down the first 20 miles pretty quickly and made it to the town of Lincoln. The Hondo Valley, and specifically Lincoln were all part of the stomping ground of Billy The Kid. The town was just lined with historical markers with all sorts of information about the infamous bandit. We met up with some bikers from Houston who were on a trip exploring the country, pretty similar to us. We made quick friends with them and frequently met back up with them as we both explored the town. We stopped in a small cafe where we made even more friends. Everyone was pretty interested in what we were doing. It was here we met up with our new friend Don who was originally from San Diego. He told us all about the city and took care of our lunch. We stayed and talked to Don for a while and eventually got back on the road.
The last 10 miles went by pretty quickly. It was a little tough, as there was no shoulder through some winding roads. We payed extra attention and made it through in one (well 3) piece(s). Just outside of Capitan there was a monument in honor of Smokey the Bear. Smokey is a real bear that was rescued from a forest fire that devastated the Capitan area years ago. None of us knew Smokey was a real bear prior to the trip, but we've all been pretty excited to experience his hometown.
We made it into Capitan around 3:30 and started to explore the town. This place is proud of their little cub. 380 transformed into Smokey Bear Ave., and we could see the king of fire prevention everywhere we looked. Ken and Andy hit up the post office to get some packages as I unsuccessfully tried to find us a place to stay. Andy got especially hooked up at this post office since his birthday is coming up, we now officially have more food than we know what to do with.
We're going to make our way over to a local diner in a bit, as they don't open until five. After that we'll poke around town a little bit more and eventually find a place to rest our heads. None of us are too worried, I'm sure we'll figure something out.
Also I should add we've decided on the first (hopefully of many) NationRun.com Athlete of the Week. This week's winner is Celia Alterio! Celia won the 1500 at The Ospery Invite this past Saturday in a time of 4:59.48. This was Alterio's first collegiate win and we're all very proud of her. For her efforts Celia will be awarded a Texas license plate found somewhere on Route 380. Congratulations!
Remember, only YOU can prevent forest fires,
Durkin!!
No comments:
Post a Comment