New Mexico (Day 19)

Well, I have finally made it to New Mexico... and I got to celebrate this state crossing by biking up a hill. It actually wasn't terribly bad. I was able to reach the summit without having to stand up on my pedals.



Once inside the NM border, I went to go visit the Steins Ghost Town off of exit 3. Even though the former railroad station town had over a half-dozen of the original buildings from the late 1800s still intact, it turned out to be a rather dull and uninspired place. The buildings were pretty dilapidated (almost to the point of being unrecognizable) and they were juxtaposed with the visible Interstate-10 (only a few hundred feet away), which ruined any possibility of being "transformed" into the 19th century. But, it didn't matter too much, since I was planning on going to the better-known, Shakespeare Ghost Town in the next town of Lordsburg, which I heard was a little more impressive and well-preserved. However, by the time I got to Lordsburg some 20 miles later, I was feeling hot, tired and thirsty and didn't feel like pedaling the extra 5 miles to go to the ghost town.

With the trip to the ghost town nixed, my next goal was to find beverage-- FAST! Once I saw the golden arches of a McDonald's, I eagerly pedaled to the front door and rushed inside to get a burger and (more importantly) an ice cold fountain drink. You can imagine how disappointed I was when I saw several hand-written signs saying "no sodas" displayed at the front counter. So, I headed back out into the 100-degree air in search of another fast-food venue. I called my friend Jeff, who said Google Maps indicated a Subway shop only 500 feet from where I was. But we soon found out -- Google was wrong! All that was at the said location was a liquor store and the home of Jamie Gum. So, from there, I went to the last fast-food option in the area -- a Taco Bell. I wasn't too excited about going there because I just ate Taco Bell leftovers for dinner the night before. But my lack of enthusiasm turned to sharp horror when I entered the dirty and dismal place. As thirsty and cotton-mouthed as I was, I couldn't bare eating at that disgusting Taco Bell with unclean tables, shifty workers and piles of dirt swept into the corners.

I finally found an Arby's on the east side of town. It sort of smelled like a uriney homeless man, but I think that was just the curly fries. All in all, it was tolerable, and at least they had an outlet where I could charge my cell phone and laptop.

After munching down my bacon-cheddar-roast-beef sandwich, I biked another 10-12 miles along Interstate-10, totaling around 55 miles for the day, and 837 miles for the entire trip. CLICK HERE if you want to crunch my numbers.