Day 25 - Las Cruces to Alamogordo

Olivia, my sea turtle, learned that Pat Garrett, the guy who shot Billy the Kid in 1881, was murdered at this spot. 

After some climbing, we said goodbye to Las Cruces in the distance.

After more climbing against a stiff headwind, Olivia and I finally made it to the top of San Augustin Pass at 5719 feet.

And we learned that route 70 was one of the first coast-to-coast highways.

It is a little hard to see here, but the desert plain behind me is covered in orange flowers.

Here is a better view of some these flowers. They went on for miles on one side of the road.

And here is a close up of one of the flowers.

After the pass, I enjoyed miles of smooth downhill sailing toward White Sands.

On my way down, I met Jeff who was on his way up and over to Las Cruces. He has been on his current bike trip starting in the Carolinas since November 2018 and hopes to visit most or all of the National Parks in the lower 48 -- wow!

Olivia and I stopped briefly at White Sands National Monument and talked to a few folks about Zero Waste and Climate Change.

We stopped briefly at the Alameda Park Zoo as well.

Then I caved and enjoyed a great burger in Alamogordo (I rarely eat beef but I was very hungry).

Before reaching our motel for the night, we also made a brief stop at the New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Helen Keller helped support its expansion.