 
Thursday, October 18, 2001 - Over the Continental Divide
37 Miles. Buckhorn, NM to Copper Manor Motel, Silver City, NM
The alarm went off, but it was cold (45*) and we knew
we didn't have a lot of miles to cover, so we stayed in the tent a bit longer
than usual. We also had the time change to one hour ahead when we crossed
into NM, we finally hit the road around 8:00. We rode for about 8 miles
into Cliff and stopped at a little cafe for our second breakfast.
Today's ride was all on US 180 into Silver City.
The vegetation changed drastically when we entered NM. Today we passed
largely through grassland with large numbers of Joshua trees throughout the
rangeland. The mountains always in the distance, with views of 10 to 20 miles.
The road turned away from our intermittent companion of the last few days, the
Gila River, climbing for a few miles and then presented us with a
panoramic view of a vast short grass prairie climbing to the horizon with small
Joshua Trees dotting it. It was easy to imagine bison, antelope and
prairie dogs grazing contentedly. The climb was 2000 feet up to the Continental
Divide just before Silver City.
In Silver City, we checked into the motel and then went
right to the hot tub, what a great way to relax those tired muscles.
Tomorrow is a rest day in Silver City.
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