Our last night in Arizona turned dark with clouds and soon after going to bed the rain and wind started. I lay awake a while wishing I had staked my tent more carefully.
The morning brought a 2500 foot climb up to a pass at a little over 6000 foot elevation. As we crested the ecology completely changed. Now we were out of the desert, cactus and red rock landscapes of Arizona and into stands of large pines and expansive grassland meadows of New Mexico. This is beef country.
The descent was slow and gradual, beautiful cruising at 5500 feet, the vistas out over plains below spectacular. Big rollers made crossing the plains harder work than it had looked from above and the winds were strong and variable, so a group of us got together and drafted the last 9 miles into Buckhorn.
The RV park in Buckhorn had no redeeming features (save a lack of loud domestic incidents that had kept some of the group awake in 3 Way) so we were all happy to hit the road this morning and head for Silver City. Today was also dominated by cool temperatures, dark clouds and a 6200 foot pass. Whereas yesterday we cranked to the 2500 foot ascent in a little over 10 miles, today was much more gradual, taking over 30 miles for the ascent and concluding with the a crossing of the Continental Divide. The Silver City RV park is a very pleasant and well kept establishment (in stark contrast to last night).
Tomorrow: a rest day and visit to the Gila (pron. He-la) Cliff Dwellings - by car
Sent From Handheld