Day 0, Sunday 9/5, Timpas to La Junta

DAY ZERO: starting where we left off last year!

Remember last year mid-October when an unseasonably cold front came down from the north? On Sunday 10/11/2010 we awoke to 22 degrees in Trinidad, CO, but braved the cold and headed west towards La Junta. We were rescued by Chris in the RV 18 miles west of La Junta seconds before the big black cloud brought heavy wind and freezing rain. Since the weather for the next several days was the same, we decided to not ride the four days to our end point in Pratt, KS. So we headed home and this year started where we left off, exactly the same spot.

Interestingly, a major temperature difference, this time it was 97 degrees as we unloaded the bikes off the car to head into La Junta, having driven up from Taos. It seemed one of the longest 18 mile rides we have ever done. The heat was intense and we realized how exhausted we were after days and weeks of non-stop work preparing for the trip and other things life threw at us. But we made it and were on the road again.








Does Timpas in Spanish mean the "middle of nowhere?" No, I think we found that the next day. So it was a very hot ride into La Junta to the tenting area at the KOA, yes, where we stayed last year. Bill unloaded all the gear and we sent him to the Koshare Indian Museum, a gem of a museum with an incredible collection of old Taos Artists and many other Indian and Western artifacts. Kit and Martha set up tents, showered and we all enjoyed a great boxed pinot grigio and a good meal of steak, local corn on the cob and salad, and a great night's sleep.

We have lots of kinks to work out, in the camping and car-packing department as well as in our bodies. We are happy to be back on the road and have a great adventure to look forward to. While we may make changes to the route, as it is now we plan on heading straight east across Kansas and Missouri. We'll cross the mighty Missouri at Cape Girardeau, have a day in southern IL, cross the Ohio and drop just a bit south to Columbia, KY. Then we'll head east and south across TN going through Hardin, Dover, Dickson, and Winchester. After a day and a half in northern AL, we'll follow a paved rail-trail to eastern Atlanta, and ride across the northern suburbs then make our way ending the trip in Savannah

Whew, and it is just the beginning!