Onward and Upwards. Day 39. (3991 Miles)

We started this week in Taos, New Mexico a lovely little town that again held too many shopping opportunities for a woman with such limited carrying capacity.

There is a route of 83 miles known as the Enchanted Circle that follows some lovely roads at high altitude. The photo above is Wheeler Peak the highest peak in New Mexico. Note the stormy sky, we saw some spectacular fork lightening that day.

Also on this route at a place called Angel Fire is the New Mexico Vietnam War Memorial, a very moving tribute to those who served in that war. It was founded by a father who lost his son, a 28 year old platoon leader.

The El Pueblo Lodge in Taos, quainter than your average motel.

Ranches everywhere, this one's for you Donna.

It would be impossible to take a pet on a trip like this but note the new seat cover. It's very comfortable and has eliminated the shock of getting on a vinyl seat that has been in direct sunlight for a while.

We stopped in a place called Chama, a Chevrolet club were holding a rally in the town. This was John's favourite, a Bel Air. (What do you think of this one Mark C?)

The mountain scenery got more dramatic as we headed towards Silverton in Colorado, at times we climbed to above 11,100 feet.

Silverton was an old mining town and is now a favourite with tourists for it's fantastic location in the mountains.

We were there for a Horizons Unlimited meeting, a 3 day event of non-stop presentations by motorcyclists who have travelled in USA, Central and South America, Asia, Russia, Mongolia, Europe, Africa, Australia so most of this planet was covered by somebody! Not all attendees have travelled, some like us are just starting and some have plans for the future. A great bunch of people, we really enjoyed their company.

A misty mountain morning, could almost be an August day in Scotland!

Susan and Grant Johnson the team that make Horizons Unlimited what it is with Dr Greg Frazier who gave a very entertaining presentation recounting highlights of his 5 round the world trips.

John with 'Coop', we have promised to introduce him to the delights of the Hogs Back Brewery when we get together in the UK.

Us with Dennis, Delle and Mark. We look forward to seeing you all again sometime. Look after those pearls Delle!








Editors note: when in Tennessee we rode the Dragons Tail (Deal's Gap) and were told that there were 318 bends in 30 miles, we are reliably corrected that it is more like 300 bends in 11 miles! That's why the front brakes were hot!