In New Mexico

Notes on where I am Friday May 22

    This morning I left Silver City to climb over Emory Pass to the 20-person town of Kingston. Once Silver City was the center of silver mining but some 200 years ago, they discovered copper, and for the past 200 years copper has been mined first by the Spanish, then by Native Americans, and then by American companies. As you drive out of the city, there are gigantic hills of pilings and winding roads between them and the serrated piles of tailings from the mines creating mountains of corrugated looking hills. It is a long history and I just bought a book from a second hand store with all the details - b ut haven't had time to read it yet.
        Then we climbed up past the scrub and the first evergreen trees we have seen in a while and suddenly we were in Colorado country - or so it felt - with rolling pine tree covered hills and valleys - but no pine beetles. They hadn't heard of them. It felt like going to Estes Park in a van from Boulder, because this was a day I didn't want to do 8,000 feet so I rode the first 10 miles and then got into the van.
      The road wound round in the typical hairpin bends - no traffic and no bike shoulder to ride - to the top. We stopped and walked the half mile to the spectacular view from the  pass and took photos. Then we drove down another series of hair pin bends to our fabulous lodging for the night.
      I'm at the Black Range Lodge in Kingston, a bed and breakfast built first in the 1800s and added on to over the years. There is a hot tub - yes - and Catherine the owner, and her husband Garry, who gives massages, and their assistant, Bonnie are wonderful Western folk who make us all feel so much at home. I have a beautiful little corner room upstairs where I am sitting on the big bed now, looking out at the view and hoping to see the stars tonight. It has a tiny bathroom and shower, and a balcony where I hung my swimsuit to dry. As we drove in there was a sign inviting us to join the "Spit and Whittle Club" for its weekly meetings but I haven't got there yet. The trees are still bare because it's still early spring, but one pink cherry tree is opening its blossoms.
      When I went for a stroll up the road to the Gila Park trails, I crossed a little rushing stream on stepping stones and wandered under the evergreens, rustling in the wind.
     Yes, I took photos but my Iphone says "no service" for some reason. I will try and download them later. Catherine is cooking us a big turkey dinner and we are all scattered around the big house and in the livingroom downstairs.
     Tomorrow the hills are lower and I plan to ride the 88 miles to Las Cruces if I can....We shall see. Then we get to Texas where we spend three weeks - that's how big Texas is!