kristen gave me a ride on friday up to Hon-Dah Casino, near pinetop, where she and kathleen had a meeting that morning. i rode east from there, cringing a little at the cold of this higher elevation. the smell of snow and pine trees was refreshing and new.
i had been told there was a spring along my route. kristen said it was by A-1 lake and this local guy at the mini-mart told me it was actually by the hawley lake turnoff, about seven miles on. so i was on the lookout. i wanted that good water!
at the hawley lake turnoff i didn't find the spigot i was told i would find. i did look around for a while. found a roll of duct tape by the road. i traded this to a guy from michigan who was stopped, playing in the snow with his partner and their little dog, for a quart of water. i didn't find it at A-1 lake either. oh well. there wa plenty of snow around i could melt if i really needed water.
at the sunrise resort, near the ski area, i was able to get some hot water for tea and then i hung out there and read inside where it was warm while i ate my lunch. i found out there that the roads had not been plowed on this route i had thought would save me some time getting to the town of alpine, so i had to backtrack about four miles and continue towards the larger town of eagar.
tried hitching back on the main road and a couple of nice snowboarder guys in a truck took me about eight miles to the turnoff for the small town of greer. the decent to eagar was fairly fast from there. overall i bicycled just over 45 miles between hon-dah resort and eagar, but it was a vigorous day of riding in the thin air of this high elevation. by the time i got to eagar a headache was pretty well established.
i thought i'd find someone to stay with by hanging out at a bar. the bar i found, connected to a restaurant (forgot the name) across from the basha's grocery store, did not feel like the place i would meet my host. i was trying to use my intuition at this point to find some opportunity... noticed a kind of funky looking pickup pull into the grocery store lot and i decided to see if the driver was someone i could approach. she seemed like a nice woman, but when i tried to approach her as she was putting her groceries in the car she pretty much avoided me, closed the door and drove off. seemed almost afraid. this was a little discouraging, but i went back to hang out by the store and see if anyone else would come along who i had a feeling about. the next guy i talked to was receptive and told me he had to finish delivering some hay but would be going back down to this hatchery near alpine this evening... something like that. this sounded perfect! i told him i'd go have a beer at the bar and would he please look for me there? he said he would.
at the bar the couple i saw when i had first stepped in was still there. we chatted for a while and the guy paid for the pint of fat tire i ordered. he works at a prison and has some opinions about how people need to take responsibility for improving their situation. he has little sympathy for those who would blame their circumstances or other people for keeping them down. i concurred, but also tried to bring up the other side of the story, that some people do have more privilege (like he and i for example) and tend to have an easier time improving their lot. his girlfriend felt like it was unfortunate that the apache people didn't seem to have the leaders needed to get them out of their troubles.
they also said they like to garden and grow some of their own vegetables. the guy was interested in learning how to preserve food (mentioned canning) for more variety in the long winter months. in this area there is a short growing season. you can imagine i was full of encouragement for them.
my headache got worse shortly after the beer and i began to feel kind of ill. i sat on the bench by the front door to wait for my ride. by ten he still had not shown up, and i had been nodding off and feeling less and less comfortable sitting there waiting. the guy who had bought me the beer had told me i could probably spend the night in the post office if nothing else came up. they don't lock the doors and it is heated. the folk at the restaurant thought this sounded like a good idea too. so i went to check it out, just a few blocks away.
i was just settling in to this warm, florescent-lit abode when a police officer walked in. someone had seen me enter and called the police. i could have been more careful, or this person could have been less of a jerk. anyway the officer was very nice and honestly seemed to want to help me out in finding an alternative to sleeping in the post office. when he found there were no funds available to pay for a hotel room, as police departments sometimes have, and i remained unwilling to pay, he told me he could take me out to this spot where he thought i might have some shelter and i could sleep without being bothered. it was at the rodeo just on the far side of town.
i loaded the bike and everything in the back seat and after a short drive we came to the rodeo grounds. under the bleachers we found a nice little space which kept me out of view and provided some shelter from wind. it felt right to me, though, i was just so tired at that point i would have slept almost anywhere. my feet were cold much of the night, but i think i got at least eight good hours of rest.
next day i made my way to the town of alpine. it was a clear day but very windy. sometimes it was at my tail, like on some of the hills thankfully, but other times it was a headwind or came at me from the side. made the riding more challenging, but i would just get into a low gear, try to meditate, and keep it steady, taking little breaks every once in a while.
one break i took at a recreational area with access to a reservoir. i used the toilet and brushed my teeth. these vault toilets are disgusting, simply because a cover material is not used. such a little thing, depositing a few handfuls of sawdust after each use, which is more simple than wiping your bottom, makes a huge difference! why is this not the practice? a kind, old german woman, a tourist i believe, gave me encouragement, and a little girl looking at me with curiosity, said hello.
just past the small town (felt like a ghost town) of nutrioso, i came to the highest elevation on the 25 mi. stretch of highway i rode this day was 8550 ft.
when i got to alpine i stopped at bear wallow cafe, where i was attracted by the good vibes i think. there i had a cup of herbal tea and wrote a little of a letter. once i'd gotten up the gumption to try hitching i went out to the far side of town and gave it a shot. after about a half hour a young couple in an older, well-used pickup stopped for me.
these wonderfully generous folks of the town of luna are often the ones to pick up and house travelers in need who are passing through. they told me of a recent experience that went sour, but were kind enough to give another guy a chance. i will not tell the whole story now of these people, but will say that they shared what they had, treated me most considerately, and were pleasant company. when they shared dinner with me i washed the dishes. they gave me a small tent, which i had a hard time deciding to accept, and i gave them one of my last two packages of salmon jerky. i hoped it would be shared with the grandmother, who they said makes many flavors of beef and elk jerky.
in the morning my hosts drove me to 'the Y', which was another 14 or so miles towards silver city. i rode a little ways and then decided to try hitching again. as i approached a little turnout two trucks were coming up behind me. i stuck my thumb out as i slowed. the second truck pulled into the rest stop and i thought they it was for me. but no, this old guy was just in need of a nap. i sat and read more of the book kristen gave me, 'buddha in redface', and waited to see if he would give me a ride once he was done. all i got was a wave when i drove off. i decided this time i would be patient and wait for a ride, even if it felt like a waste of time. i was still kind of unsure what i wanted, to ride this relatively nice section of highway or to get to silver city sooner. after 30-40 minutes someone stopped for me. they had driven past and come back for me!
in this newer pickup were a lesbian couple with two young children in the back seat, where i got to take the last available spot. we chatted most of the way to silver city, stopping only once for a bathroom and snack break. they paid for the lemon i picked out at the gas station market. the five dollar i offered for gas was accepted. i drew on a piece of paper for the kid and the mother had me sign it and write a quote. i decided to write the one that i came up with a couple years ago:
'everything is perfect, but that doesn't mean we can't do things differently.'
and she got it! it was really cool connecting with these folks, who are a teacher and social worker(i think?) now living up in santa fe. i was told there is a woman near to the school where the teacher works who offers produce from her garden for donation. a little spark of urban farming activity. the kids were fun to be in the presence of.
they dropped me off in downtown silver city in the early afternoon and i crossed the street to javalina cafe, where the sound check for a spiritual song performance was just beginning.
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