Cheyenne, Wyoming to Raton, New Mexico
We got a relatively early (for us) start from Cheyenne this morning and followed I-25 south to the Colorado state line
And then down to Denver, taking the by-pass toll road around by the airport and down to Castle Rock, where we stopped to refuel and get a drink from the ice chest, only to find that the ice chest wasn't where it was supposed to be; we had left it in the room in Cheyenne.
Our trip continued down I-25 to southern Colorado Springs (traffic was even worse than I remembered from the last time we drove through there, and I didn't recognize much from when I lived in Colorado Springs...of course, that was from 1986-1989, so I guess I shouldn't expect to see much that I used to know.
The highlight of this day was meeting Barbara's former, 1983 Wheelock student (Lubbock, TX) in Colorado Springs. Chad Miller treated us to a meal at Chili's where we were able to meet most of his family. Amazingly, when Barbara and I visit with former students, the years seem to fade away and conversations flow. It was fun to watch Barbara and Chad as they talked about school days at Wheelock and the students they both knew.
After lunch, we took some photos and then climbed aboard Taz for the next leg of the trip which took us through Pueblo and down to Walsenburg and Trinidad, where we had a short break at the I-25 Rest Area and got a view of the iconic El Moro Peak.
From there, we continued over Raton Pass, crossed over into New Mexico, and made a short trip to Raton, where we stopped and spent the night. We had originally thought of staying in Trinidad and getting out very early tomorrow morning, but after negotiating all the road construction and closed lanes through Raton Pass, we were very glad we decided to tough it out and make the extra miles today.
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Thursday, September 27
Raton to Roswell, New Mexico
The ride from Raton to Roswell New Mexico, is filled with miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles of wide open country.
We stopped in Las Vegas for fuel and got a couple of Subway sandwiches for a lunch down the road. After about 45 minutes, we found a safe and scenic cutout where we could safely park Taz and enjoy our meal while we communed with nature.
When we got to I-40, we took a new road (for us) N.M. Highway 119, the Mesa Lands Scenic Byway, a "shortcut" to get us to Vaughn. Unfortunately, we rode right into a major windstorm and were battered all the way to Vaughn. Because of the conditions, Barbara wasn't able to get shots of some really beautiful scenery...we'll just have to try that road another time.
After a fuel stop in Vaughn (the winds weren't helping our fuel mileage any today) we rode the final 100 miles to Roswell, checked in at the hotel, and prepared for an evening of visiting with Barbara's sister Carol...fun and games and lots of talk!!!
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Friday, September 28
Roswell to Artesia
After Carol left for work, we packed the trailer and headed out in search of a car wash for Taz. It has been a long, dusty, muddy trip, and Taz deserved to look her best for our trip to hometown Artesia.
When Taz was shined up like new, we climbed back on and drove out West Second Street to Champion Motor Sports, Roswell's foremost store and shop for all things motorcycle. I didn't find what I wanted in the parts department, but when I came back, I found Barbara visiting with one of the local aliens. We didn't know they frequented motorcycle shops, but it IS Roswell, after all...
With our business in Roswell completed, it was time to ride south to Artesia for a Terpening Family fix. Everyone was at work when we got to Artesia, so we rode to one of our favorite restaurants, Chaos, to get some lunch.
After eating, we rode back out to Jerry and Nancy's place to unpack and settle in for a few days. When we got to the front door, we saw what we thought was a really unique owl statue...until it turned its head and blinked at us. Jerry told us later that it had evidently taken up temporary residence.
When Jerry and Nancy got home from work, we enjoyed a great meal and a full evening of family fun and fellowship...just like the old days when we began our retirement by living on their property in Big V.
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Saturday, September 29After lounging around a little this morning, we rode with Jerry and Nancy, and met Becky at Chaos for our Saturday morning breakfast. The servings were Texas-sized and everything was delicious, so none of us walked out hungry.
One of Carol's grandchildren was having a birthday celebration at Faith Baptist church this afternoon, so we rode Taz to town and joined Carol and her family for some cake and ice cream before giving everyone rides on Taz. Except for Carol's turn, the rides were short, slow, and easy. However, if you ask Carol, she'll probably tell you I was driving at least 100 miles per hour while doing figure 8's. The main thing is that a good time was had by all (except maybe by Carol).
This evening was more family fun with games, laughter, and lots of family stories.
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Sunday, September 30
Jerry, Nancy, and Becky are very involved in activities at First Methodist Church, so we let them get ready and on their way before we were to leave around 10:00 for the 10:30 service. We were dressed and ready to go when we discovered we couldn't find the key for Taz. I knew I had had it in my hot little hand (at least I THOUGHT I had it), but we tore our room, the suitcases, the trailer, and everything we could find apart looking for the key. It's a specialized key, and the only other one we have was back in Mineola (we'll rethink that next time we take a trip).
After letting Jerry and Nancy know by text what was going on, we searched some more and around 11:15 I found it. I did have it in my hand earlier, but when I took some things out to the trailer, it slipped out of my hand and landed under the garage door opener. Praise the Lord, the lost was found!!!
We made it to First Methodist just in time for the meet and greet session following the service. To celebrate we went to a new (for us) Mexican restaurant for their Sunday buffet. Good friends and good eats...we are truly blessed!!!
Tonight we did some visiting, but most of the evening was about packing everything and loading it into the trailer and the saddlebags so we could get an early start tomorrow morning. These days were great fun, but it was time for Jerry and Nancy to get their house back, and for us to start toward ours.
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Monday, October 1
We were up and out of the house around 5:45 this morning. It was pitch black out, but we broke our "dark riding" rule with the hopes of possibly getting all the way to Mineola by evening.
Our ride took us to Carlsbad and then toward Hobbs, where we would pick up our normal route home. But, we had heard of a shortcut through the oilfields that would save us some time getting to Big Spring and I-20.
Well, the shortcut didn't save time. It turns out that the heavy oilfield truck traffic has wrecked miles upon miles of our chosen road. And, we had to wait nearly 45 minutes before we could get our turn on a one-way stretch of highway.
We finally got to Big Springs a little after noon, fueled up, and then went in search of a good local restaurant. We found one that looked as if it might double as a tire and transmission shop when the kitchen was closed, but man-oh-man, was the food delicious...far better than any chain brand in town!!!
By the time we had made the stretch of I-20 from Big Spring to Abilene, we gave up on trying to make it home today. Barbara located a hotel and we checked in while on the road, then she texted our "adopted" niece and nephew, Zeke and Amanda, to ask them to have supper with us at Firehouse Sub; but they invited us to their house for some awesome leftover ribs. It's always a joy to visit with them!
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Tuesday, October 2
We didn't get away from Abilene as early as we did from Artesia yesterday, but we were on I-20 shortly after sun-up and on the last leg of our Fall Taz Trip. Fortunately, it was mostly uneventful, the winds didn't get up as bad as they sometimes do, and traffic was relatively kind to motorcyclists.
We did decide to pamper ourselves with breakfast at The Smokestack, an iconic West Texas restaurant between Abilene and Weatherford. The food was plentiful and delicious, and we had an ongoing conversation with a couple of deputies from another county who were in the area serving warrants. We had been so blessed by so many during the trip that we paid our good fortune early by paying the cashier our check and their check before slipping out to begin the last stretch (except for a short fuel stop) toward home.
And then...Here we were, Back home in Mineola, Texas, after 19 days, 9 states, 3,529.5 miles, two tired butts, and countless memories. Thank you, God, for your many blessings!!!
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Resting and relaxing in Mineola, Texas,
Jim/Dad/Gramps and Barbara/Mom/Grams/Gramsie
