Ride Report #1
I’ve put 2,250 miles on the motorcycle traveling across Texas and New Mexico. The direct distance from my starting point to Big Bend to Gallup, NM is 1,116 miles. At that rate my 15,000 mile estimate for the trip may end up being more like 18,000. I still think 15k may be close since there won’t be as many places to wander to up north. Read more
Lesser Visited Ruins in New Mexico
Traveling by motorcycle south to north through New Mexico took me through Native American ruin sites in the opposite order of when they flourished. The first I saw and newest of them was the Salinas Pueblo Missions, a bit older was Bandelier National Monument, and finally Chaco Canyon. This is the same way an archeologist would encounter them as they excavate from top to bottom. Read more
Win A Travel Book #2
I have to admit the response to the first round of my win one of Brian’s travel books was underwhelming with only 6 entries. Still all it takes is one entry to get two winners – me and the lucky commenter. I selected the first winner today as I haven’t had access to internet, phone, showers (again) for the last couple of days while I was in Chaco Culture National Historical Park. It turns out there really were two winners as the my parents next door neighbor won so I save on shipping 
Breaking Boundaries Has Rewards
So often life in the US is lived within a bubble. Lines are followed without being aware that they are there. New boundaries are accepted with little fuss. Stay behind the yellow line, take off your shoes for the x-ray machine, buy a new water after security. Sorry for the inconvience, here’s some antibacterial hand gel? How did we get along before all of these things?
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Getting Sandy in White Sands NM
Getting Sandy In White Sands NM
7:48 PM – Sunset in White Sands National Monument. It says so right here on the permit for my backcountry camp site. All visitors have to be out of the park at 9pm. You’re the only person camping tonight. The largest gypsum sand dunes in the world all to yourself. Ok, I’m in! Let’s see this sunset and maybe even a few critters coming out to do their thing later on. Read more
Touring Carlsbad Caverns
Impressive and enormous the Carlsbad Caverns are located just across the Texas border and a little south of the city of Carlsbad, New Mexico. I’ve visited caves in many states and countries, but none topped these.
Various tours are available ranging in prices, length, and difficulty. I did the two most common of them; the Big Room and the Natural Entrance. My tour was spread over a couple different days as I holed up in Carlsbad for two nights due to strong winds and to resupply. Read more
The Other Side of Big Bend NP
You saw a bit of what I did in my Overview of Big Bend. That post didn’t get down to the nitty gritty of where I went and how I got there though. It all started innocently enough. Pulled into Panther Junction, got an Annual National Park Pass for $80, talked to the ranger about what to see, and settled on one day middle, one east, and one west. Read more