New Mexico Tour, Day 4
[FIRST DRAFT]
Palo Duro State Park is a mountain biking mecca and the site of the USA Cycling mountain bike national championships. Similar to Caprock Canyons, Palo Duro Canyon lies just below the Caprock Escarpment and features miles of single track. On my arrival, I hiked the Lighthouse Trail to get a lay of the land. The trails looked really nice.
I was unable to reserve a campsite within the park, so I settled for the Canyon Rim RV Park just outside the entrance. The RV park allows tent campers can set up anywhere on the grass. I chose a spot with a nice view of the rim. After dinner I took a shower in their ridiculous shower stalls. The lighting was so poor I left the door ajar -- hey, when your my age you don't really care if anyone peeks in.
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| Overlooking Palo Duro Canyon |
On the canyon rim, the temperature got quite chilly in the wee hours. Even wearing my long johns and a 20-degree bag, I was very cold.
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| Turkeys looking for breakfast |
In the morning, a thousand feet down from the rim, the weather was perfect for riding. I started biking where I hiked the previous evening, the Lighthouse Trail.
This familiarity led me to be careless as I dropped down into a dry wash. Instead of smooth transition, the trail dropped sharply causing me to hit the bottom leaning heavily on the front wheel. On any of my other bikes, this would have resulted in a nasty crash -- an endo with a face plant. But I was riding my new full-suspension Specialized Stump Jumper. Bracing for the worst, I was surprised when the bike's suspension absorbed the poor landing with ease. A quick couple of pedal strokes and I was up the other side of the dry wash like nothing had happened.
Back in February, Mona had balked at the price of a new bike ($1,900 cash at the Chicagoland Bike Swap). I probably just saved a couple thousand in medical bills by avoiding a crash so the bike just paid for itself.
My next destination was near Angel Fire, New Mexico where the elevation would be 9,000 ft., a mile higher than Texas. Freezing on the canyon rim last night was on my mind, so I stopped in Amarillo and bought a big bulky rectangular sleeping bag to use as an extra layer. Packed, the thing was the size of a beer keg, but only $19. "I'm not sleeping cold tonight!"
Palo Duro State Park single track was spectacular. It even has a trail for bikes only!
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| "Share your thoughts" |
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| "Once the trip starts, everything's bully" Richard Frisbie, RIP |
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| Geology on the GSL Trail |
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| Megalith near Cadillac Ranch |
A few miles west of Amarillo is the famous roadside attraction, the Cadillac Ranch -- a sculpture consisting of ten Cadillacs buried nose-down in the ranchland. The public are welcome and encouraged to add spray paint graffiti to the artwork.
Access to the ranch was off the frontage road and a little confusing. As I approached, I suddenly convinced myself that I was actually driving the wrong way on the exit ramp to I-40. I quickly pulled a 3-point turn and drove to the gas station to consult a map. My panic was contagious as two women behind me with Wisconsin plates also turned around.
The confusion didn't end there. After visiting the sculpture, as I drove west on the frontage road to the next I-40 entrance ramp, a large truck turned left into my lane and nearly drove into me head-on. It was only my quick move to the shoulder that avoided a crash.
New Mexico was only an hour away, but I was slightly apprehensive as New Mexico had closed it's borders to anyone without a recent negative COVID test. At the time, tests were hard to come by, so I had mocked up a fake test result and hoped I wouldn't need to show it to the authorities. I crossed the border without incident and headed north to Angel Fire and the Carson National Forest.
| State: | Texas |
| Date: | 2020-09-28 |
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Route:
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Juniper/Riverside, Sunflower Trail, Rojo Grande, Lighthouse Trail, Little Fox Trail, GSL Trail, Paseo del Rio Trail and back |
| Distance: | 12 miles |
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