Destination New Mexico! We left Dodge City at 8:15am and continued southwest on US56 West. Temps were upper 70s and sunny skies. Soon we saw our first long train of the trip, it had 105 cars. Michele counts them.
We drove through many farming towns today. One was interestingly called Moscow. The landscapes are so vast in this region. Thousands of acres of grass, grazing land and crops. New power transmission poles were being put up in this long stretch.
We rode two hours through the rest of Kansas then crossed into the panhandle of Oklahoma at the town of Elkhart. About 45 minutes later we took our first stop of the day in Boise City, OK for fuel and a short leg stretcher. Temps were now in the lower 80s and no humidity so it was a comfortable ride. We picked up US412 in Boise City continuing for 40 minutes in a southwest direction toward lunch. We were right next to the corner of Texas and North Mexico but never crossed into Texas.
Rob had a planned lunch stop at the 87 Restaurant on Highway 87 in Clayton, NM with covered outdoor seating and travel-themed decor.
We had a time change once we crossed into NM and got to the restaurant a little before 11am local time. They open early for breakfast and already had plenty of customers eating inside. We were making good time today so we sat at lunch and relaxed for an hour and a half. When we left, a man walked over to say hello. He lives 15 minutes south and does farming irrigation. He said when it gets hot he and his wife take their camper 3 hours north to Colorado, it's a quick drive for them.
After lunch, we took Highway 87 North. We could start to see mesas and mountains in the distance! After 50 miles, we rode past Capulin Volcano that we visited and hiked back in 2017 on our Yosemite trip. It's a really neat drive up. At the top you can walk around the top edge of the caldera as well as hike down into the bottom of the crater.
About 30 more miles northwest, we stopped in Raton, NM for a fuel stop and leg stretcher. Temps got up to about 88 in the afternoon, but it didn't feel too hot. The wind was out of the south and gusty, but was slightly cool.
After Raton, we got on US64 South towards Cimarron. We traveled through the Cimarron Canyon State Park. It had several RV camp grounds and hiking trail heads. There were some really neat looking rock formations there as well.
We briefly stopped at a gas station so Rob could check the radar since the skies looked really dark. This town's motto is "Where the Rockies meet the Plains." It looked like a really cool place with wild west history that we'd like to go back to visit. Rob said we'd likely escape the rain so we pushed onward. We passed through Eagle Nest, which also looked like a cool western town that we'll add to our list.
At this point we headed north on 38 towards Red River. We gained elevation quickly and the temperatures dropped. The scenery and sky was so dramatic!
We arrived in Red River around 4pm. It took a bit of finesse to get the bike parked out front in the gravel in a safe place. Michele noticed the apartments (on VRBO - Mountain View Lodge) had a hummingbird feeder and one buzzed her and squeaked!
Upon arriving, we heard dogs barking in the room next to ours every time we walked up the steps and to our room. First sign of trouble! Second was the power went out 10 minutes after we arrived. We left a voicemail for the host and in the meantime both looked at each other as the dogs barked through the walls and said "Let's find another place ASAP!"
Michele jumped on Expedia and everything in Red River was sold out for the night, as she suspected since this room was one of the last she found 2 months ago when she made the reservation. She found a nice place in Taos just 25 minutes away so we booked it and hauled all our bags back to the trailer.
By this time it was about 4:45pm. The host called Michele back and she said she would speak to the people with the dogs as that's not allowed to just leave them in the room. We said thanks but no, they could wake us up in the night and we can't be driving in the dark if there's a problem. She wanted to make it right but we didn't feel confident that the dog issue would stop, unless she kicked those people out which they wouldn't do. As for the electricity, it came back on right at we were packing up, and had been out in the entire town. Michele will try talking to VRBO later or get a travel insurance refund through the credit card. So lesson learned, make reservations further in advance to get better options and avoid small hotels that allow dogs in every room. Had the dogs not been barking it might have been fine for just the one night, albeit small and a bit noisy right on the street.
Enough about that drama. We arrived in Taos around 5:15pm and as a bonus it was noticeably warmer than in Red River since we dropped 1,500 feet in elevation (Red River sits at 8,500 feet while Taos is at 7,000). The hotel, El Pueblo Lodge, is on the edge of town and has a community vibe to it.
More of a motel but in pueblo style. There are a few folks here with classic cars in really good condition. Our room is gigantic and the check in lady said their included breakfast is not to be missed in the morning as it gets rave reviews.
As Rob was wiping the bike down a kind older gent asked if we rode all the way from Virginia. Yes! He said he's from Texarkana but lives in Las Cruces, NM. He and his wife were meeting her cousin and staying a few days at the hotel. He couldn't believe we rode all that way. We talked a bit about east coast humidity and the lack of it here in NM. He wished us safe travels. We walked across the street to a quirky burger place and ordered takeout to eat in our room.
Rob says the plus to our unexpected hotel and city change is that we are further into tomorrow's route so we can leave an hour later. With the lower elevation, instead of being in the low 50's tomorrow morning, it should be in the upper 60s. Here's a look at the skies as we rode into Taos, and looked behind us to Red River that looked like Mordor. Although very threatening, we only had a few rain drops fall on us.
We started the day at 2,500 feet in elevation, topped at 9800 at Bobcat Pass as we approached Red River, and finished at 7,000 feet here in Taos. Michele said she always wanted to stay in Taos so here we are! Next visit she wants to stay closer to the Historic area or maybe in one of those houses that are partially underground.
Tomorrow we head for Durango, CO!
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