We made it to Amarillo at 8pm Saturday evening and we're stayin' put for 2 nights. The weary butts need a break. As mentioned in the previous blog, 'twas an unexciting ride - oil wells, windmills and beeves. It was pretty cool to see all the cotton gins along the way. The fields have been harvested and they're planting again...mountains of cotton at different gins and delinting plants. The earth was very red against the blue sky:





We booked a room (did I mention we're staying in ONE place for TWO nights - yeah!!!) at the 1st Amarillo exit as there were storm clouds brewing over Amarillo. Yep, we learned our lesson about going just a "little further" into the greyness in hEll Paso! We went in search of chicken fried steak and found it at the Country Barn. Another fine day.

Sunday: Woke up late - 8:30am - rode to the Cadillac Ranch, which is just too kooky for words. We left our mark on a few of the caddies and took off for Historic Rte 66.
We cruised the route, made an offer on a Navajo rug at an antiques store (rejected), then pulled up to a roadside biker dive. Watched the bikers arrive while we grabbed a snack and refreshed with tea (lots of it)! Now we're off to Palo Duro Canyon, the "Grand Canyon of the Panhandle" - we'll see about that. After that, it's off to dinner at the Big Texan - Randy's all aflutter. Later.....

The sights, the sounds, the smells...

The riding is gorgeous, but we've met a couple of biker buds who tell us the next stretch is boring...I have no fear that we'll find something interesting along the way.

We watched the Cavs win, while drinking Coronas and eating chips/queso at our beautiful ($$$) El Paso hotel bar/lobby. We departed at 9am, and headed straight to Barnett HD - the largest dealer in the US. The weather was cool after all the rain, so on came the jackets and we headed out scenic rte 82 to Carlsbad. The stockyards seemed never ending - here's the answer to "where's the beef". Not far out of El Paso, we spotted this guy standing along the road:





We rode through the Guadalupe Mtns and on in to Carlsbad to grab a room. After questioning 6 locals on the best BBQ joint, we ate at Danny's Place Pit BBQ. We agree that it's excellent! Off to explore the caverns...94 degrees now and no jackets! Met another couple there who were riding from Columbus, OH...small world.



We opted to take the Natural Entrance hike into the caverns...strenuous but well worth it. By the time we finished, it was "bat time" at the amphitheatre. What an unbelievable thing it is to see them exit the cave! We watched them until dark and they were STILL coming out. Ranger John said there are approximately 400,000 bats and it takes up to 2 hrs. We could hear their wings as they swarmed out, and they bring that special bat guano essence out with them.

Star-filled night ride back to town, stop at grocery store for local chips/salsa, bed time. Headed to Big Spring, Lubbock and (maybe) Amarillo TX...long day tomorrow, for sure.

Here are some views of the cave entrance, the walkway into the abyss, the smell of guano, looking up to the outside world, and cave formations - enjoy!

The rain in Arizona, New Mexico, & Texas falls...

on US! What the heck...it's supposed to be a DRY heat, not threatening type cloud formations to the north, east, south and west. Well, we haven't had internet access for a few days, so I'll make this one short and sweet (trust me, I have a LOT of great stuff to tell, just don't have the time or brain power right now).

We made it to El Paso, TX tonight later than tentatively scheduled (see above mention of rain). We've seen Border Patrol busts, I've practiced my limited foreign language skills numerous times (basically "hola", "gracias", and "dos Corona, por favor"), and we've met some great people along the way (see above mention of rain and think of us looking like drowned rats while seeking cover - people are very very kind to crazy gringos).

Having a wonderful time, even in the rain. We head to Carlsbad, NM tomorrow! Will try to catch up then, but for now please enjoy a ride into the storm with us. What adventure wouldn't be complete without the words "oh shit, is that a tornado?!"








(On an informative note: the Continental Divide is VERY VERY WINDY. Randy got us through that little bit of blustery business like a real pro).

(On an uninformative note: I melted my boot sole onto the pipes while travelling through one of the deserts. My husband is still talking to me, and for that I love him even more)

California - Captain's Log 5-24-2009

Who would've guessed that Randy and I are such extreme coffee swilling people? We'd made 4 pots before the rest of the house woke up (okay, let me add that the Cali Sloans have a 4 cup coffee pot - WTF?!)

Had breakfast at Harry's Grill - Randy got his 1st Mexican fix of Huevos Rancheros and a '64 lowered Chevy Impala sitting in front of the restaurante (still practicing my foreign language skills).

We could hardly wait to pick up Sophie from HD of Westminster, so that was next. She travelled like a champ, minus a burnt out headlight. Parked her in the condo garage and went to Casa Sloan for the day. We had a fabulous day just hanging out, laughing, imbibing, weeding flower beds, sipping wine, laughing, organizing, grilling out, drinking wine, laughing - life is great. PS: yes, that's a towel I'm wearing. Terry is the new cashmere, especially when one's husband steals one's hoodie for warmth.

and they're off!

We're not in Ohio any more! Departed CAK yesterday - layover in Chicago. Took the taxi ride from hell to Murphy's (no, seriously, the haitiian driver took cell phone calls while doing 90 mph AND looked at the cell phone while talking)...where we ate one of these.

It was worth the ride, plus I scored a mailman delivering to Murphy's.

We opted to take the Blue Line back to O'Hare, and Randy worked his people skills at the transit gate to get us free entry to the train.

Clear flying to LA...we got to see the Rockies, Grand Canyon, desert, Las Vegas, desert, mountains, desert and more desert. The flight actually arrived 1/2 hr early - who knew.

We settled in at Rick/Timmi's soon-to-be "former condo", headed to their new house (it's great - orange tree, lime tree, roses the size of plates - what a yard!) Had dinner in Laguna Beach at Watermarc (Rick bought, so we sprang for the $60 tip - yeah, pick yourselves up off the floor and read it again), then called it a day.

Time to start....

checking the 10 day weather forecasts for the Wild West. Hmmm...average highs in Yuma, AZ = 100 degrees. Sunscreen on the list! At this time 10 days from now, we'll be arriving in Los Angeles - santo cielo!!! I'm brushing up on my espanol - buenos noches amigos.

and she's off!

The bike is on her lonely journey to Cali via air-ride semi transportation. She's traveling better than I will be! See ya in 3 weeks!!!