Our morning began early at the Gage Hotel, which is the essence of Southwestern elegance. I had cheese, toast and fresh fruit with yogurt and granola for breakfast.
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| The beautiful Spanish architecture of the Gage Hotel. |
We left around 8:15, as the sun was rising and the temperature was a lovely 52 degrees. The highway was very flat, so we were able to clip along at 16+ miles per hour. We rode in the middle of the east-bound lane, trying to find the smoothest strip of the chip seal!
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| We might go 15 miles on US 90 before we see a car or truck, so we ride out in the middle of the highway looking for the smoothest pavement. |
We shed some clothing layers at mile 20, and the rest at mile 40. We had favorable winds almost all day. We were surprised to see a small plane rise out of a desolate-looking field not far from the SAG Wagon. The dirt runway was hidden from our view. I waved enthusiastically at the passengers on an Amtrak train that passed us headed west. They waved back.
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| Look closely for the speck on the right: A small single engine airplane that took off down a dirt runway near the highway. |
Lunch options in Sanderson were limited, so I had a Neopolitan ice cream sandwich from the convenience store across from our motel.
The Outback Oasis Motel is something straight out of an old west movie, circa 1960!
Ruth, the proprietor, was delighted to show me her husband's extensive snake collection in the room adjacent to the office. One of the rattlesnakes seemed particularly agitated by my visit. The non-venemous milk snakes had gorgeous markings. Ruth said she would be happy to do a load of laundry if all 17 of us would combine our clothes. We did and they dried quickly on the clothes line as the temperature rose to 90 degrees.
I was so happy to talk to my beloved Jack and two of our children while I iced my swollen ankle!
Dinner was a combination of broccoli, cheese and chicken (tofu for Lisa and me) over brown rice, fresh pineapple and green salad. I had a couple of Fig Newtons instead of a slice of the gloppy store-bought pie for dessert.
Morning comes early again tomorrow for the long hot ride to Del Rio. 1,262 miles behind us. 1,838 to pedal. 35 days to go.
Sounds like you had a fun day - I wonder what the people on the train were thinking. They would have been very surprised to hear the whole story, wouldn't they?
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