* Ride Report * New Mexico 2010 - the Santa Fe 400 Ride.

[rocker59]

New Mexico is one of my favorite places... The scenery, the art, the roads, the people... The subject and setting of many books and movies, I've always been intrigued by the place... One of the first references to New Mexico I remember as a kid was Marty Robbins' "Ballad of Billy the Kid"... Then there was the 1950s western movie, "The Man From Laramie" starring James Stewart...

I always knew I'd like the place and always wanted to go there... Except for passing through on I-40/US-66 as a kid on the way home from California in 1977, it wasn't until 2005 on another "western adventure" on my Quota that I actually got to spend some time there... I loved it...

Well, this year is Santa Fe's 400th anniversary, making it one of the oldest towns in the USA... It had been two years since I'd been out West ( Ride Report ) and to Santa Fe, so the city's 400th anniversary seemed like as good an excuse as any to head West and spend some time away from the daily rigors of life here in The Hills...

A few weeks ago, I replaced the Shift System Spring in the transmission of my trusty Nero Corsa. I was nervous about getting the bike ready for this trip, but the operation went well... A couple of road tests confirmed that the transmission was shifting like a hot knife through butter... It was ready for the 2,000+ mile adventure...

This would be a different trip. Joining me on pillion would be redridinghood, a great passenger but for a 2,000 mile trip I was unsure how she'd survive the Nero Corsa's accomodations... I'd also be pulling the trailer that I started using in April for campouts... 700 mile weekends was all I'd taken it on, so this trip would triple that mileage. It seemed solid enough, but I'm still new to trailering...

In order to make the Nero Corsa a little more rider/passenger friendly, I added a few things... First, the foam grip covers and Throttle Rocker. These two items are really great on trips where the days exceed 300 miles:

Next, the seating. The stock seat on the Nero Corsa is actually not all that bad. For sporting around, and for days that don't exceed 300 miles, it's perfectly fine. For longer trips, though, the Air Hawk sure is a nice addition. For this trip, I ordered an Air Hawk 2 passenger pad... A surprise for my passenger that would exceed my expectations! She sat comfortably on this seat the entire trip with nary a complaint!

Joining Marcia and I on this trip would be our friend, Peg, who picked up a sweet blue/silver Bassa back at the first of the year:

Also joining us would be another good friend, Gordon from Tulsa, on his red Norge (shown here during the Anderson campout earlier this year):

Here's our basic route for the week: Map Link A little more than 2,000 miles with side trips...


Day 1 - Friday, 24 September 2010:
After much anticipation, the day arrived... We decided to get a head start on the trip, and with Gordon's invitation, we headed over to Tulsa from Fayetteville on Friday afternoon.... Our route would be US-412, about 115 miles door-to-door... Map Link

Marcia and I on the Nero Corsa:

Peg following on her Bassa:

These things never photograph as beautifully as they look, but the approaching sunset had the clouds all lit up:

Sunset in Tulsa:

The ride was pretty uneventful over from Fayetteville, that is until we hit the construction on I-44 on the South Side of Tulsa... The waning light, heavy traffic, and construction zones made for a few white knuckle moments, but we arrived safe and sound at Gordon's place, an oasis in the middle of the city:

...where we were treated to a fine shimp & pasta meal by his beautiful and gracious wife. Here we are well into the meal and enjoying ourselves:

After dinner, we grabbed a few things off the bikes and hit the rack... A 400 mile day to Palo Duro Canyon lay ahead of us on Saturday:

Stay tuned...

 

[rocker59]

Words for the day:

...in the growing collection of magnets for my "fridge on wheels":

Day 2 - Saturday, 25 September 2010:

We awoke ready to attack the 400 miles of slab in front of us. Our host in Tulsa, Gordon, ready by his Norge as we geared up for departure:

Palo Duro Canyon would be our stop tonight. One of our two planned nights of camping on this trip. Palo Duro has an interesting history. It's one of the largest canyons in the country, yet few have heard of it. It was used as a place of refuge by the Comanche Indians until they were removed to Oklahoma in the 1870s. In fact, its location in the northeast of the Llano Estacado kept them well hidden from Texan and American forces. After the Comanche were gone, the cattlemen moved in to exploit the good grass, Charles Goodnight being best known.

Well, that's where we'll end up, but what's ahead of us is 400 miles of open country. About 7am we departed Tulsa after fueling at the neighborhood Quick Trip on South Peoria, then we hopped on I-44 and headed southwest towards Oklahoma City... The morning was cool, in the 50s. Fog in the valleys... Beautiful, really...

A couple hours later we enter OK City and intend to stay on I-44 through town to intersect with I-40... Well, traffic wasn't "bad", but it was bad enough to separate us. The section between I-35 and I-40 wasn't well marked, and caused a few mis-steps... Probably should've just taken I-35 South to I-40... Marcia and I got way ahead of Gordon and Peg at a confusing exit/merge/cluster F*@%... Luckily, we had discussed our fuel stop, and it wasn't long before we met up at the Conoco at exit 125 in El Reno... It's good to have a plan!

I had emailed SantaFeRider (Marcelo) to see if he'd be home this week... He told me he'd be travelling I-40 to Tennessee on Saturday, staying in Elk City on Friday Night... As luck would have it, Marcia and I passed him in Yukon. He travelling East, we travelling West... That was pretty cool...

After fueling in El Reno, we continued westward on I-40 towards our next fuel stop, Shamrock Texas which would include lunch and a little Route-66 fun...

I-40 Westbound:

A sign along I-40 at the edge of a milo field... It reads: "We elected an America Hater. The Democrats won't stop him. Vote 'em out!"... Gotta love Roadside America!

A farming operation along the interstate.

Wind turbines along the interstate at Weatherford, Oklahoma:

Soon enough, we arrived at the exit for Shamrock, Texas and pulled into some classic Route-66 history.

Shade, but no gas at the Conoco in Shamrock:

Interesting story...

Sadly, the U-Drop-Inn Cafe is a static display. The Federal money used to restore it restricted its use as an actual cafe...

After checking the place out, we were directed by the nice lady at the visitors center across town to Mitchell's Family Restaurant for lunch... Good eating, if ever you find yourself in Shamrock! After lunch, we fueled and continued West on I-40...

35 miles West of Shamrock is a rest area where I'd always wanted to stop.

Interesting history displays inside, as well as great scenery outside...

260 miles into the day and 380 miles into the trip, and I have a smiling passenger... Can't ask for much more than that...

Next stop, Palo Duro Canyon just South of Amarillo.

The day's route: Map Link

more to come...

 

[rocker59]

I-40 is actually quite interesting for history buffs. Between El Reno and Tucumcari, it was laid between US-66 and the Rock Island Railroad's Choctaw Route. At many places, one can see both abandoned railbed, and associated buildings, AND remnants of US-66 and its related buildings...

Here are some vintage grain elevators along the way:

Groom Texas is known for a couple of things these days... The Britten Water Tower:

...and the 190 foot tall cross:

Route-66 kitsch!!!

Living here in The Hills, I do enjoy spending time in wide open spaces sometimes... We're now on the Llano Estacado...

Marcia couldn't resist snapping a photo of this place outside Amarillo:

Amarillo is a big railroad town... BNSF runs a lot of trains through this yard:

In Amarillo, we turn South for a short distance on I-27. Soon, we arrive at our exit...

and in another few minutes, we're at our day's destination. Palo Duro Canyon State Park.

After checking in, we head down into the canyon to find our campsite...

Woo, Hoo!

Wow!

Nice!

I chose "Hackberry Campground" for its central location. It's got a nice layout. We rolled in and located "Hackberry 19", our home for the night...

So, we made a plan to get set up ASAP, then tour the canyon a bit, ending up back up on the rim for sunset...

Not a bad view at Hackberry 19...

One of our neighbors in the campground:

After setting up camp, we rode up to the "trading post" to grab some supplies. Water, snacks, etc. to get us through the night... Look at that big smile, and after knocking out her first 400 mile day!

Marcia is still smiling, too, even after riding pillion for 400 miles on the Nero Corsa:

Me? I'm just pretty thirsty... :BEER:

Another "biker" hanging out at the campground...

OK! Now, lets go exploring...

There are a couple sets of cabins at Palo Duro. This is one of the "Cow Camp" cabins...

This place really exceeded my expectations! It's a must-do if ever travelling through the Texas Panhandle...

At the South end of the park, we were foiled by water over the bridge... Remnants of a tropical storm had passed through here a few days before and water was still high in places... I thought about "going for it" for a couple seconds, then thought about how slick the mud on the bottom must be... I gave in to common sense and turned around...

But that was OK, because I'd seen an interesting point of interest a mile, or so, back up the road... A reconstruction/replica of Charles Goodnight's dugout house he built when he first came to the canyon...

Soon after arriving here, he helped form the JA Ranch. The construction of this little shelter is very interesting...

The inside doesn't look "all bad"...

Yeah... I could live there...

Peg thought I was "full of it"

The sun was getting low, so from Charles Goodnight's dugout house, we headed back up the canyon to find a good spot to watch the sun set...

At the top of the canyon, they had a paddock set aside for some of these critters...

Prickly Pear Cactus was in abundance at Palo Duro:

A view from the CCC lodge... Stunning scenery!

A plaque commemorating the Civilian Conservation Corps. They built many parks around the country, and are responsible for making the canyon accessible for people like us Guzzi Touristas:

It was a long, but satisfying day... The canyon was nice and peaceful... A nice place to watch the sun set...

After the setting of the sun, we rode back down to our campsite and settled in for the evening... A few coyotes off in the distance... An owl "hooting" out in the brush... A few deer grazing through our campsite... Millions of stars in the sky... What a great place to camp! I'll return to Palo Duro again sometime...



to be continued...

 

[Dah-Dit]

A nice report there with good pics. Thanks for posting it, I enjoyed reading it.

 

[steveford]

Thanks for sharing your report and pics. Looks like a great ride, and beautiful scenery.

 

[rocker59]

Day Three - Sunday, 26 September:

Beautiful night of camping at Palo Duro... Hated to leave so soon, but New Mexico beckons...

Packing up:

Once packed, we headed up out of the canyon and into Canyon (the town) for fuel and a snack. It was mid-morning, so we decided to skip breakfast and hold out 'til Fort Sumner, 160 miles distant.... We didn't take the time for it, but if ever you're passing through Canyon Texas, be sure and stop at The Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum if you're into history at all !!!

The first half of our route today would be on US-60 West across the plains and through big-time cattle country. Towns like Hereford and Bovina, and thier related cattle feed lots...

Trains is another thing this place has a lot of. We probably met a train every ten minutes on US-60... The highway runs along BNSF's Belen Cutoff, thier mainline between L.A. and Chicago... Lots of intermodal... Really quite impressive...

Just inside the New Mexico line, we stopped at a really nice information center... Not hard to tell, now, that we had entered New Mexico!

Clovis is a pretty big town for the area. Cattle and Railroad money, along with Cannon Airforce Base drive the economy here...

After a coffee break at the very nice vistor information center, we continued West on US-60 across the Llano Estacado towards Fort Sumner...

A rare sighting of civilization. A ranch house complex along the highway...

This is big, open country out here. As I watched the miles roll by, I thought about the early settlers who lived out here. I'm travelling farther in an hour than they could in a day on a good horse... I've read stories about the ranchers and the explorers riding here and there... The distances are quite large, and even today very sparsely populated... A person would either feel empowered or very lonely, or both...

A lone windmill on the plain...

Soon enough we arrived at our lunch stop, Fort Sumner and were reminded of beef by one of the first buildings we passed...

Not much was going on in Fort Sumner at lunchtime on Sunday, but we found one place open... As luck would have it, lunch at Sadie's turned out great and I enjoyed my first meal with green chilis of the trip... Highly recommended if you find yourself here!!!

After a good lunch and a fuel stop, we went to check out the main reason for stopping in this town... Any Old West buff knows Fort Sumner is where Pat Garrett gunned down William Bonney at Pete Maxwell's house at the old fort...

Old Fort Sumner is also known for another reason... Bosque Redondo and The Long Walk... A sad chapter in American History...

Once the US Government allowed the Navajos back to thier homeland, there was no need for the fort. It was sold to a prominent land owner in the territory, Lucien Maxwell who moved his family here from Rayado.

I find it interesting that "Billy the Kid" was friends with one of the biggest land-holding families in New Mexico, and was buried in their family cemetary not far from Lucien. History has made him out to be a rogue, an outlaw, etc... Unfortunately I think much of the truth has been clouded by history and Hollywood. The Kid seems to have had lots of political and influential connections that aren't widely known or discussed these days...

All the historic buildings are gone, swept away by a couple of flash floods on the Pecos River, but there is a museum and gift shop next to the old cemetary that has lots of interesting artifacts...

 

[rocker59]

The Kid's grave...It's been armored to thwart vandals and thieves...

We hung out in the cemetary for awhile, taking pictures and reading grave markers...

After soaking in that bit of history, we were back to racing trains on US-60. Westbound across the plain...

I know most people don't "get it", but this country has a real allure for me...

We didn't stop there, but the first "town" we came to west out of Fort Sumner was a ghost town. Yesso New Mexico was a bit of a boomtown. I found out later that it was founded along the Santa Fe Railroad and was intended to serve the farming community... Well, that didn't really work out, as ranching is what it's all about out here... The town has dwindled to just a few inhabitants.... Lots of cool pictures to take in this place... I'll be sure and stop next time I'm passing through...

We pass Vaughn at the intersection of US-60, US-54, and US-285... It's also an intersection of the Southern Pacific rail line and the Santa Fe rail line. That made it a relatively important little place... Today you will find some cool old Americana in the form of motels and cafes, ala Route-66...

At Encino, we turn North on US-285... And wonder when we'll ever escape these plains we've been traversing for the past two days...

After glancing a few teasing mountains on the horizon for an hour or more, we finally arrive at our next fuel stop. Clines Corners New Mexico...

At the intersection of US-285 and I-40, this is Route-66 kitsch in living color! It was pretty fun doing a little "people watching" and browsing all the great trinkets and junk in the large gift shop...

After all the fun we could handle, it was back on the road for the remaining 50 miles to Santa Fe...

Wow! A curve AND a hill! How 'bout that!?!?

Ah! Sangre de Cristos on the horizon!

Suburban Santa Fe rolling into sight...

After a short hop in I-25, we got back onto US-285 through town and finally to our destination and home for the next three nights, Villas de Santa Fe. It would prove to be a great place to stay! Hotwire really did me right on this one!

Our route from Canyon to Santa Fe: Map Link

320 miles for the day... I was happy to find that my passenger and my other two travelling companions were doing so well after over 800 miles distance on the bikes since leaving Fayetteville! Everyone agreed we should celebrate with dinner downtown... After a recommendation from the desk clerk at the Villas, we walked down to Milagro's for a fabulous late dinner and a recap of our trip, so far...

;-T

More to come... I hope you're clicking some of the hotlinks I've embedded in the report... Lots of great additional info for those who are interested!!!

:BEER:

 

[GTM®]

Enjoying it immensely Mike. Keep it coming... thanks for posting.

 

[rocker59]

Before starting the next episode, I'd like to note that the photos seen here are a cooperative effort. Many of the riding photos were taken by Marcia. Many other photos were taken by Gordon, who graciously allowed me to use them here. Others were taken by yours truly, both digital and film... Thanks go out to my friends for thier part in making this report possible!



Day Four - Monday, 27 September:

Santa Fe is a very walkable city. Well, at least the "old town" area that surrounds the plaza... Today would be dedicated to walking and exploring, shopping and eating!

At 0830 or 0900, we all met down in the very nice lobby of the hotel, drank coffee and tossed around ideas on what we'd like to do. Peg needed to pick up a charger for her camera, so she and Gordon took off on that mission while Marcia and I meandered towards "The Railyard District", where we'd meet back up with our friends...

Here are a couple of houses that caught my eye along the way:

The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe:

A mural along Guadalupe Street:

A bit further along and we arive in The Rail Yard District:

...where we caught a glimpse of the commuter train waiting to depart for Albuquerque. New Mexico Rail Runner Express:

Marcia and I drop into the coffee shop in what looks like the old freight house next to the depot and wait for Peg and Gordon to catch up... They soon arrived and we enjoyed (more) coffee and some pastry while enjoying the beautiful morning... Marcia is a cowgirl at heart and we soon lost her to Kowboyz, a vintage western store across the street... I went to track here down after awhile and got bogged down in all the cool old stuff, too! Peg and Gordon came and saved us (and our wallets), and we strolled South through the old rail yard.

Interesting concept. They've arranged the beds in line like the old rails were laid out...

Beautiful!

...even if it is just "Capitalist Propaganda":

One of our missions was to see the studio of a particular artist/jeweler that Marcia and I had seen featured in Cowboys & Indians Magazine in the issue about Santa Fe's 400th Anniversary.

We continued our walk a bit further South until we found his place on Early Street. At first we didn't know if we had the right place, so out came Gordon's and Peg's smart phones for a little internet search. Yep. This was the place...

I sent Marcia up to the locked door and she rang the doorbell... Much to our surprise, Douglas Magnus himself answered the door, and after a moment's hesitation, invited us in... We had expected a sales clerk in a retail showroom, but were treated to his private workspace where he showed us some of his art and lots of cool jewelry. Some of which no one else had seen, yet.

As I mentioned, stopping here was one of our primary goals. Marcia and I wanted a nice memento from Santa Fe that noted the 400th. Douglas' SF400 line was perfect and we picked up a few pieces...

Very cool! Marcia and I were taken aback by how accomodating he and his staff were. It was a great experience, and one we will remember each time we see the pieces we brought home with us...

From Doulas Magnus' studio, we headed East. I wanted to show the crew the New Mexico State Capital on our way over to Old Santa Fe Trail, where we'd eat lunch...

We walked through the rotunda where there is always art on display...

Cool building...

A quick walk-through, and we were in search of food! It wasn't much of a walk down Old Santa Fe Trail to The Pink Adobe, which looked very inviting. The Pink Adobe, it would be. And it did not disappoint...

The alley between the restaurant and the bar. It just looked cool, so I snapped a pic...

The Chapel of San Miguel, on Old Santa Fe Trail, is said to be the oldest church in the USA, parts of which date to 1610...

We ventured down the narrow street next to the church to seek out "the oldest house in the US" and got a unique glimpse into the structure of San Miguel. Very interesting stuff for this architecture buff:

Across the narrow street from San Miguel, we found The Oldest House in the US. The De Vargas House...

Marcia had to touch it...

This is how the house appeared in 1885:

A filled-in window...

 

[rocker59]

...and on down Old Santa Fe Trail towards The Plaza.

The Inn at Loretto. I just love the geometry of this view of the building:

Loretto Chapel is next. Beautiful building housing a miracle inside...

The church is known for its staircase. The story:

"When the Loretto Chapel was completed in 1878, there was no way to access the choir loft twenty-two feet above. Carpenters were called in to address the problem, but they all concluded access to the loft would have to be via ladder as a staircase would interfere with the interior space of the small Chapel.

Legend says that to find a solution to the seating problem, the Sisters of the Chapel made a novena to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. On the ninth and final day of prayer, a man appeared at the Chapel with a donkey and a toolbox looking for work. Months later, the elegant circular staircase was completed, and the carpenter disappeared without pay or thanks. After searching for the man (an ad even ran in the local newspaper) and finding no trace of him, some concluded that he was St. Joseph himself, having come in answer to the sisters' prayers.

The stairway's carpenter, whoever he was, built a magnificent structure. The design was innovative for the time and some of the design considerations still perplex experts today.

The staircase has two 360 degree turns and no visible means of support. Also, it is said that the staircase was built without nails—only wooden pegs. Questions also surround the number of stair risers relative to the height of the choir loft and about the types of wood and other materials used in the stairway's construction.

Over the years many have flocked to the Loretto Chapel to see the Miraculous Staircase. The staircase has been the subject of many articles, TV specials, and movies including "Unsolved Mysteries" and the television movie titled "The Staircase.""

Impressive!

On down the street we wandered, until we wandered into The La Fonda Hotel and up to thier Bell Tower Bar. It was happy hour, afterall...

Great view from atop the hotel!

After a couple of Heradura Silver margaritas, we strolled across the Plaza and back up Griffith Street to our hotel... We rested and regrouped, then ventured back down to the plaza area for a late dinner. It was pretty slow on a Monday Night in this town, but we did find one restaurant open at 930pm. I was about to give up when we found The Sleeping Dog... No pics, but man it was good. Somplace to put on your list when visiting Santa Fe. After a nice dinner, we walked it off on the way back up to the hotel...

Wow! Well, I haven't done that much walking in one day in quite awhile! Here's the map of our walk: Map Link. Add in the walk back down to the plaza for dinner and we walked about four miles during the day... Not that far in walking shoes, I suppose, but I had on jeans and a pair of Luchesse Boots...

Great day! We really felt like we got to see Santa Fe today...

Tomorrow, we ride!

 

[StormShearon]

Thanks a bunch for posting. Your photos bring back nice memories of my wife and I's trip to New Mexico a few years back. We visited a lot of the same places in Santa Fe - the staircase is really a miracle.

 

[mohawkeye]

+1

Our older son was married at Loreto Chapel 4 years ago, and we've got a great set of pics of his wife & him on the staircase. I really miss Santa Fe and Taos...

 

[Bill Hagan]

Had skimmed and scanned this a couple of times, but decided to stop, look at every pic, and read every word.

Wonderful stuff, well told.

Thanks you for going to the (significant) trouble it is to write up and illustrate such a grand adventure. Now many of us have the memories, too.

Bill

 

[rocker59]

Thanks Bill.

Gonna try to finish it real soon.

Lots more pix!

 

[oldmanjob]

Thanks for taking us along

Bill