The next chapter!
I actually slept in a bit and didn’t get up until nearly 8am. The wind was already blowing, although without nearly the power that would come later in the day. I geared and packed up and headed to my friend’s home 30 miles east of Albuquerque but stopped on the way to get a BMR shot of the Madonna statue.

It was early in the day when I arrived at Colleen’s home but not without challenge. The directions she provided were impeccable and the GPS followed them perfectly, however I was not convinced they were correct and turned a dirt road early and ended up having to do a 6 point u-turn as she watched me from the correct street. We both had a good laugh when I finally arrived!

Colleen’s lovely home

The wind picked up with high warnings for the next couple of days and I found myself enjoying the hospitality of my friend and her two wonderful children. I even watched a few episodes of Kino’s Journey a great anime tale of a motorcyclist traveling in dystopian society.
Perfect…

Good Morning Chickens…

Fancy pants or is that stole?

The morning is truly special in the desert. Just look at that light!

When I left Colleen’s home, the wind was just beginning, but didn’t seem to bad. I was heading into Albuquerque to get a new rear tire as there was little left of my previous one. I had ordered my tire of choice two days earlier and had an open appointment, but when I arrived the place was quite busy and I knew it wasn’t going to be an in and out sort of affair. Also, I was having new rear brake pads put on as well. They seemed spongy and indeed when they checked the brakes were badly “glazed”, whatever that means.

As I sat waiting, I couldn’t help but grab a photo of this great contribution to the decor of Moto-Authority.

I was probably there over 2 hours, but had lots of conversation going with several customers. It was certainly an entertaining time.

Once it was complete, I headed south to Truth or Consequences over the freeway. I was going to take a more scenic route but the wind was gusting with a vengeance and I just wanted to arrive at my friends home and call it a day. I knew somewhere out there was a margarita with my name. 😉

I spent the next few days visiting my ol’ pals and enjoying David’s fabulous cooking and Annie’s wonderful conversation. I had a lovely visit.

Seriously, who wouldn’t want to eat here??

Walking around TorC

Even though I have friends to stay with in TorC, I think I’ll have to give this soaking motel a shot. It’s looks delightful.

Love the artwork!!

TorC is a very quirky place. One of my FB moto friends just arrived a day or two before me and enjoyed my recommendations. He in turn sent me the place above, as that is where he stayed. He throughly enjoyed TorC, but it’s a sort of love/hate kind of place. I love it there, but its funky qualities would not apply to everyone.

ArtMonster’s gallery.

Michael Thompson, owner of Studio ArtMonster has the perfect shangri la. His studio has great street exposure, studio space as well as living quarters. He need sell only one painting per month to continue his existance there. I was envious!

The steel steer in the center of town.

A restaurant.

Machinery in front of the museum. I love all the rusty colors and textures.

Dust and Glitter’s inviting babe.

The town has several street mural signs. I loved this one!

While in TorC, my friends David and Annie, took me sightseeing. We went to the local historic town of Chloride.

The road out to the town was beautiful!

The last few shots of TorC were taken at a new friend’s home. He is an artist and his yard certainly reflects the artistic beauty of New Mexico.

This is Roy Lohr, artist and photographer. His amazing work can be seen here.

Lastly my two pals, David and Annie.

It’s always difficult to leave Truth or Consequences. I adore the quirky town and the surrounding desert. When I leave it’s alway bittersweet, but I must admit to enjoying the ride over Hwy 152 to Silver City, yet another quirky NM town. Just look at that sky!!

Hwy 152 is a barrel of laughs and a wonderful challenge.

When I arrived in Silver City, NM, I had to photograph the county courthouse for my BMRally. It was a lovely building.

Silver City’s downtown is lovely. I had coffee there and decompressed after the windy ride up. The downside or riding NM in the spring is the tremendous winds.
I love the colors…

Great old neon.

A roadside attraction in the town of Gila, a side trip for bag points for the library.

A playful crow at a roadside stop.

This day ended in Holbrook after an amazing ride of only 320 miles, but over 7 hours of some very scenic American West roadways!

Today’s map: