>Subject: Trapped in Taos!!
>Date: Fri, 30 Apr 1999 15:45:51 PDT
>
>Hi everyone
>
>We are still in Taos, New Mexico. I think I mentioned that the weather was
>closing in, well it sure did. We headed off up the Taos Valley after
>finishing in town here the other day, found an idyllic camping spot by a
>lovely wee creek, away from the road. It was a pleasant night, a bit of
>thunder and lightning, not too much. The morning was cool and clear, and
>off we went.
>
>As we began the climb up the valley it got colder, started to rain, got
>really cold, so we thought it would be prudent to stop and find some
>shelter until this passed over. We happened upon a Presbyterian Camp and
>went in to see if there was somewhere we could sit a while. There was a
>wood shed and a porch, and we were going to stop there. We walked around
>for a bit, and Madi found an unlocked dormitory. In we went, it's a strange
>building because there are no windows at all, the only light comes in from
>the solid wooden doors when they are fully open. Anyway, the weather
>deteriorated so we thought we better stay the rest of the day and have the
>day off, even tho we had only done 10km! Got a fire going, and Madi found a
>piece of tin that looked like they made it into a toboggan, so we put that
>over the fire to keep it dry. Along came the hail, then sunshine, then more
>thunder and hail and torrential rain.
>
>We were happy, had a huge dormitory to ourselves, the camp is deserted, so
>we thought. About 7pm a truck pulled in and lights went on in the house
>with the wood shed. We didn't go and see them, and they didn't see us. I
>was glad I had taken a heap of wood already in the afternoon! Today we left
>them a note and said we will come and see them tonight and make a donation
>for the use of the place. Judging by the beer cans around the caretaker's
>house, the donation might be a pack of Bud beer. There are a few birds
>there, and some wee squirrels, and a wild dog that tears around, so there
>is a lot to look at.
>
>This morning dawned with an almighty thunderstorm and heavy snow falling. I
>got the fire going and we had a nice hot cup of tea and watched the snow
>for a while. Decided we might as well come into town and get more groceries
>since we might be there another day, so we went out the front to hitchhike.
>I promptly stood on the wrong side of the road facing the wrong way, until
>Madi put me right. A snow plough came tearing along scattering snow, there
>was hardly any on the road because it had been running up and down all
>morning by the look of it, the driver must have been having fun.
>
>We put out the thumb and eventually a pickup truck stopped and we hopped on
>the open tray on the back and got a lift into Taos. It was fun, and as we
>got further downhill the snow stopped and it is actually quite mild here
>today. We found a bike shop as I wanted to stock up on patches, since I
>have had 5 punctures already. Well, this is the only bike shop that I have
>ever seen with carpet on the floor! It's bike hire really, and a lot of ski
>gear. We heard the radio weather report saying that tomorrow and Sunday are
>still likely to have thunderstorms and showers, so we might be enjoying our
>unplanned rest for a while.
>
>We just went to the Wal Mart and stocked up on some food and I bought a
>cheap camera ($25!!) as I have been using the disposables up till now. In
>the car park we saw the trolley attendant who we talked to yesterday, and
>he remembered us. Asked us the usual stuff, and when we said we had biked
>here from LA he recoiled in surprise, or was it disgust at the way we
>smell!
>
>Taos is at 7600' and we are heading up the Sangre de Christo mountain which
>is part of the Rockies, so we are in the Rocky Mountains. Not as
>spectacular as the Canadian end of it, very pretty all the same. To get
>here we travelled along the Rio Grande, which is interesting scenery,
>changing all the time.
>
>Our mileage to date is just over 1900 km so we are doing quite well. Madi's
>odo is about to tick over to 15000 and mine has just under 300 to go to get
>to 5000 and we have a ceremony that we are going to perform each time we
>get to another 1000. However this is a family show so I won't say what it
>is, except that we drink a lot of water beforehand.
>
>We have found the drivers to be really courteous so far. Most will pull
>over to the other side of the road when they can, or at least give us a
>wide berth when passing. Only a very few have squeezed past, and nobody has
>been very close. Even the big trucks will slow down behind us and wait till
>they can get past.
>
>Most roads have had a good shoulder to ride on, and often there is a
>warning strip along the white line, it is a corrugation about 18" wide to
>warn drivers if they drift off the road, mainly on the long straight roads.
>However, when coming through the Navajo Nation they couldn't decide where
>to put this stip so they mostly put it right down the middle of the
>shoulder, and made it a bit more interesting by weaving it from side to
>side periodically.
>
>So, once the weather improves we will be on our way again. We are on Hwy 64
>and will go over the Palo Flechado Pass which is 9107' and we are at about
>7600'. Apparently it is quite steep towards the top. However, that's going
>to be the highest we will be, so we will enjoy getting there, and there
>better be a sign to show the altitude when we get to the pass so we can
>take a photo! After that we will go to Cimarron, then Hwy 58 to Springer
>and Hwy 56 through to Oklahoma and probably Boise City. Then we start
>heading diagonally towards New York, probably through Kansas, Missouri.
>Lets hope the spring weather settles a bit as we move over there.
>
>Oh well, that's about it for a while. Not sure when there will be another
>internet connection, so bye for a while.
>
>Christine and Madi