Last Day -- RAIN!

The original plan today for our last day was to shuttle to Los Alamos, then ride to Bandelier National Monument, have picnic lunch there, then shuttle back to Santa Fe. Since it hasn't stopped raining and a not a very safe thing to do, we just shuttled straight to Santa Fe. It was hard to say our goodbyes but we all had a wonderful time. Hopefully we will meet again on another trip.
Ojo Caliente to Abiquiu -- 30 miles

Thursday, Sept. 12th - Ojo Caliente to Abiquiu
Rain clouds loomed overhead but we all rode into Hotel Abiquiu just in time before it started to come down. After lunch we took a tour of Georgia Okeeffe's home. I enjoyed the tour and learned a lot. The view from her home was spectacular! Wish I could have taken photos but photos were not allowed.








View from my room at Hotel Abiquiu

Taos to Ojo Caliente -- 45 miles

It rained all night and many of us were not sure if we're going to ride today but the sun came out and stayed out all day. Hopefully it will be blue skies the next two days of our tour. About 13.5 miles out we crossed the Rio Grande Gorge.
The rest of the ride was mostly quiet country roads with very little traffic until we reached US 285. Then more traffic with lots of big trucks. Arriving at the Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Spa and Resort was fabulous. I could spend a few days here. If you want a place to relax, this is the place to be.














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Day in Taos

After breakfast we all shuttled in the van to Taos Pueblo "The Place of the Red Willows." In 1992 this place was inscribed onto the World Heritage list by UNESCO as The First Living World Heritage.
The buildings are made entirely of adobe and well over 1000 years old. The San Geronimo Church built in 1850 is one of the youngest buildings in the village.
The afternoon was spent sightseeing and shopping in the town of Taos.
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High Road to Taos -- 49 miles

I decided to SAG today because there were to many steep climbs for me. The first climb was an eight mile climb and parts of it was 10-12% grade! We past the town of Truchas were the movie "Milagro Beanfield War" was filmed. We also rode past "Church of San Jose de Garcia" a beautiful adobe building built in 1751 located in the town called Las Trampas.
The final climb of the day was over 8000+ feet! The scenery was absolutely beautiful. Then a long descent into the town of Taos. We will be here two nights at the lovely Taos Inn.












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Santa Fe to Chimayo -- 32.5 miles

On the road by 8:30am. It was a very hot day and the elevation is a killer. At mile 28 we stopped at the Santuario de Chimayo. People flock there from miles around for it's healing powers.
Tonight we stay at the Casa Escondida B & B. it is very peaceful and quiet here. Love it. Great place to relax.










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Albuquerque to Santa Fe

First and only stop was a little town called Madrid. A lady at the AAA office told me about. It is located on highway 14 or better known as the Historic Turquoise Trail. Madrid was a coal mining town in the mid 1800's. Today it is an artist's community since the 1970's. Now it is better know as the place
where the movie "Wild Hogs" was filmed.














In the photo with the Harleys...this was a group from Norway that rented bikes out of Chicago. They were on their way to Santa Monica and riding the Route 66.

Then on to Santa Fe to meet my riding group. There are 12 in the group, plus 2 guides. Of the 12, 5 are from California, 2 from Washington, 2 from Oregon, and the rest are from New York, Illinois, and Kentucky.
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Flagstaff to Albuquerque

The first stop on this day was Winslow, AZ. I didn't find a corner to stand on but I did find a nice coffee and smoothie place.




The second stop of the day was at Geronimo's, an Indian trading post. They claimed to have the largest petrified tree in the world. It sure was big! Nine feet of it was still in the ground. The stuff surrounding it were parts of that tree. Don't ask me how old it is because I do not have a clue as to how old a tree has to be before it turns to rock.








Stop three was at the Continental Divide sign off of I-40 near Thoreau, NM




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