Day 26 - Alamogordo to Ruidoso Downs

At breakfast in Alamagordo, I met Jim and Wade. Thanks to Ken Boyd, I am now recognizing and thanking all vets for their service to our country. Jim and Wade were concerned about illegal immigration and also about plastic pollution in our oceans.

Later I passed through Tularosa.

It was beautiful there, but MacDonald's made some of the trash I found on the roadside.

Luckily I happened upon a dumpster just around the corner.

Lots of wide open farmland...

...and horse ranches.

My 20 mile climb up US Route 70 was awesome! Great vistas, wide smooth shoulders, and signage to remind motorists about bicycles.

Here is a lonely mailbox.

We learned a bit more about Billy the Kid.

We also passed through the Mescalero Apache Tribe Homelands.

Some local artist painted sone awesome and inspirational murals along my climb. I wish I had taken better photos or videos of them all.

At lunch I stopped at the E.L.A. restaurant in Mescalero (excellent & inexpensive food) and had a great discussion with Ken, Frances, Angela, and Justin who live nearby. Local artists Angela and Justin are in the process of building an earthship. They also can their own fruit and veggies, raise their own chickens, and are very environmentally progressive. E.L.A sources their beef from the local Apache lands so this is the only place where Angela eats beef.

As I proceeded onward and upward, I encountered a forest of trees for the first time in a long time. All the terrain from San Diego up to this point has been desert, grasslands, or brush.

I also had 2 separate packs of dogs chase me for the first time on my trip. All the dogs I encountered earlier were kept behind fences. Luckily my bear spray worked well and dissuaded them from pursuing me very far.

After a long but easier than expected climb, I reached the highest point of my ride at Apache Summit and 7,591 feet. I was blessed with fantastic sunny weather and a very light tail wind.

Then I had almost 10 miles of downhill into Ruidoso Downs. Tomorrow I will have another 60 miles of downhill into Roswell.