Leaving El Paso

 Day 7, April 8, 2011 – Leaving El Paso

Route from Mission RV Park in El Paso TX to Vista RV Park in Sierra Blanca, TX

83.6 miles averaged 14.2 mph.

Today’s tour was initially through a beautiful agricultural valley. You could see farmers working the fields plowing to make ready for whatever crops will be planted.  Looks like there may have been some cotton and alfalfa before.

I drafted Ron & Zoe on their tandem for a bit.  They are part of the San Diego to St. Augustine, FL tour being run by Adventure Cycling Association.  Do any of you think that I could get Neita to do that?  (Probably not!!)  They mostly camp and stay in hostels.  Tonight they are staying in a church in Ft Hancock and don’t even get showers. I did hear that they had amazing food.

One of the most conspicuous things about this part of the ride is the powerful presence of the Border Patrol.  You can see their vehicles sitting on the bluffs above the valley, on the frontage roads and even at the checkpoint just west of Sierra Blanca where they questioned everyone about their citizenship.  The agent looked a little skeptical when he saw me, on a bicycle, without any gear, and claiming that I had just ridden from El Paso and was on my way to Maine.

After leaving the Rio Grande River valley, I climbed about 1000 feet to Sierra Blanca TX.  Like so many small towns in this part of Texas, prosperity that helped build some very interesting buildings has long left the area.  Now many of the structures and even the towns themselves are sadly abandoned.

The campground in Sierra Blanca, is situated with the railroad tracks just to the north and the freeway just to the south. I don’t imagine that it will be a very quiet night. A fascinating tidbit about Sierra Blanca was the town where the Second Continental Railroad met.

Neita & Duncan by the Second Continental Railroad marker

Best Moment – The winds that were forecasted didn’t materialize until very late in the day.  This was especially good because for most of the past few days, the winds have presented a bit of a challenge.

Worst Moment – Had to be saying goodbye to Ron.  Neita’s brother was immensely helpful on the early days of the trip getting things into a bit of a routine and giving Neita encouragement in piloting this monster motorhome.

Listened to Scarecrow – a thriller about a serial killer with extraordinary computer hacking skills operating out of Phoenix.

Tomorrow I head back to the hills and dry camp in Kent, Texas.  I’m not sure that there is good cell or internet service there, so if I don’t blog tomorrow, that is probably the reason.