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- Joined
- Oct 19, 2006
- Messages
- 8,250
- Reaction score
- 36
- Location
- Big sky country; Ronan, MT
- First Name
- Bruce
- Last Name
- Taylor
Day 6; NM grassland prairie
It's harder to wake up early from a motel bed but we didn't sleep too late. We got breakfast at our favorite place in Ruidoso, Chef Lupe's Cafe. Across the street the building had dogs on the roof parking at passers by. Funny.
Fueled and fed we left to the north riding by the airport. We could see our next challenge in the distance; Capitan Gap. The notch in this range.
Then we came upon Ft. Stanton which is well known for it's role in the tale of Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County War of the 1800's. Next to the fort was a cemetery dedicated to Merchant Marines which I found a little odd. They had their version of Forest Gump mowing the grass.
Ft Stanton from the road. We visited the museum on a road trip to the area a few years ago.
This was all on pavement since Ruidoso. After a few more miles we were on dirt and closer to the gap.
Once in the gap the trail became more rocky and slower going. With no breeze it soon became rather warm since most of this section was 1st and 2nd gear.
We came to a section that had numerous streams running across and along the road. Our first real section of any kind of mud. Nice for a change.
Then a section that had seen a forest fire. It's always a little surreal riding in these areas.
The trail followed the elevation around the mountain for at least 5 miles then dropped toward the plain. The horizon was calling us to the next part of our adventure.
But first we had to get out. Another gate. This one built from retire rails from the railroad. Sturdy for sure.
On the prairie it was wide open spaces. Rolling hills so the vistas weren't going on for miles but I thought more beautiful than the desert east of El Paso.
These guys were friendly enough. They are there to watch over the sheep.
We mostly traveled well maintained roads interspersed with pieces of roads that used to be. I stayed to the route as much as possible. It took us through some seldom used gates.
This storm was chasing for a while but never caught us.
After riding through the back yard, past the house and down the front entrance we got out of the gate.
A rail crossing in the middle of nowhere, NM.
We rode past Ft. Sumner Reservoir....
and into Ft. Sumner for food and fuel. We at this joint.
I had New Mexican chicken fried steak. That's real steak, cream gravy, green chile, and cheese on top. Oh man let me tell you that was awesome.
Next: to Logan, NM for the night.
It's harder to wake up early from a motel bed but we didn't sleep too late. We got breakfast at our favorite place in Ruidoso, Chef Lupe's Cafe. Across the street the building had dogs on the roof parking at passers by. Funny.
Fueled and fed we left to the north riding by the airport. We could see our next challenge in the distance; Capitan Gap. The notch in this range.
Then we came upon Ft. Stanton which is well known for it's role in the tale of Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County War of the 1800's. Next to the fort was a cemetery dedicated to Merchant Marines which I found a little odd. They had their version of Forest Gump mowing the grass.
Ft Stanton from the road. We visited the museum on a road trip to the area a few years ago.
This was all on pavement since Ruidoso. After a few more miles we were on dirt and closer to the gap.
Once in the gap the trail became more rocky and slower going. With no breeze it soon became rather warm since most of this section was 1st and 2nd gear.
We came to a section that had numerous streams running across and along the road. Our first real section of any kind of mud. Nice for a change.
Then a section that had seen a forest fire. It's always a little surreal riding in these areas.
The trail followed the elevation around the mountain for at least 5 miles then dropped toward the plain. The horizon was calling us to the next part of our adventure.
But first we had to get out. Another gate. This one built from retire rails from the railroad. Sturdy for sure.
On the prairie it was wide open spaces. Rolling hills so the vistas weren't going on for miles but I thought more beautiful than the desert east of El Paso.
These guys were friendly enough. They are there to watch over the sheep.
We mostly traveled well maintained roads interspersed with pieces of roads that used to be. I stayed to the route as much as possible. It took us through some seldom used gates.
This storm was chasing for a while but never caught us.
After riding through the back yard, past the house and down the front entrance we got out of the gate.
A rail crossing in the middle of nowhere, NM.
We rode past Ft. Sumner Reservoir....
and into Ft. Sumner for food and fuel. We at this joint.
I had New Mexican chicken fried steak. That's real steak, cream gravy, green chile, and cheese on top. Oh man let me tell you that was awesome.
Next: to Logan, NM for the night.
Last edited:
His shot...
This induces what is commonly called a low speed tank slapper as the bike flops back and forth between your thighs. Just hang on and try to get a handle on it. Both of us had this fun and managed to keep the bikes upright. After about 10 miles of this fun we began to gain enough altitude that the road was less goopy and more solid. There was an area that had just been subject to a prescribed burn by the forest service. This removes underbrush but doesn't harm the larger trees. It prevents a small ground fire from jumping into the canopy and destroying the larger trees. The smell of wet burnout reminded both of us of the many wild-land fires we had fought together. 
we arrived back at the start point. We had made it. 
