Total Trip Distance: 1050.03

Day Twelve - 5/04/2003

Petrified wood

Painted desert

Lucille:

May 4 - Sunday - I left the motel and went to explore downtown Holbrook.  My first stop was Historic Navajo County Courthouse Museum.  Much of Holbrook's past in on display, including an 1898 jail.  I wandered down the street for a few minutes and then went to Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. Shortly before the Offeratory, the priest called out in a very loud voice, "Quarter Call!"  Suddenly there was much excitement  as all the children in the congregation came into the aisles and walked up to drop their donations of quarters into a 5-gallon water jug that was placed near the altar.  I have never seen this done before. The kids seemed to love it.  My car was parked near the museum, one block away.  It was now 12:30 so I decided to get some snacks from the car for lunch.  As I was getting my food, I was approached by a pleasant man named Ray who told me he was a Hopi who had once lived in Riverside, CA where he attended an Indian school and had much success running cross-country.  As the conversation continued, he had a hard luck story--too much alcohol, lost job, lost woman.  He was jobless and homeless for the first time in his life and was embarrassed to ask, but could I help him?  I gave him a couple of bucks, and since I had lots of food in the car, I asked if he would like some food.  He was so excited and grateful for the bag of food I gave him.  He told me that most people just wanted him to get away.  He gave me a hug, thanked me again, and then left.  After he left, I felt happy that I had the opportunity to help this poor man.  Usually I'm very uncomfortable when approached by someone asking for money, but this guy was such a pleasant man.  One moment made both of us laugh.  He had told me that he was going to change his life around--quit alcohol, call his woman to ask to be taken back, etc.  When I opened the cooler to get some food, he spotted a bottle of wine, and with a smile said, "I guess you wouldn't want to give me a little of your champagne.  It's too precious, huh?"  I said, "No, I don't think so," and we both laughed.  I had my lunch on a bench on the museum grounds.  Then I got on I-40 and drove to Gallup, New Mexico, passing the Painted Desert -- such pretty colors!  I stopped at a couple of roadside shops that sold Indian crafts.  When I got to our Comfort Inn in Gallup, how exciting to find Eric and Tom already there. I had a good time today

Entering our third state

TOM:

Day 12 - Today we traveled 88 miles from Holbrook, AZ to Gallup, NM (our third state!).  The elevation ascended 1350 feet.  The road direction was toward the northeast and the wind was blowing from the southwest, a perfect condition for our ride.  When traveling with the wind you do not feel the wind and it is very pleasant.  This was a fun day!  The ride was easy traveling at an average speed of 18.3 mph and making the trip in 4 hours and 48 minutes riding time (6 hours 30 minutes actual time with stops). We think a maximum of 5 hour riding time is good. The roadway was smooth and we had no problems. In addition, we saw some spectacular scenery that varied quite often.  The colors were fantastic with various shades of red earth, blue sky with white clouds, green and brown grass, white, red and yellow flowers.  It was like watching a movie.  There were many signs advertising the many attractions and places to buy Indian craft. We lost an hour due to the time zone change when entering New Mexico.  There were many people tooting their horns for us today.  This has not happened for a few days.  This was a near perfect biking day.

Typical scene today

Colorful butte

Lunch

Many colors

Holbrook, AZ to Gallup, NM. 88 miles. This route ascends from 5200 feet to 6550 feet.

ERIC:

Day 12 - (5/4/03) Today was a great ride day.  There was still wind.  The wind was from the southwest.  We were heading northeast all day.  We had great speed all day and reached the motel before Mom today.  It was exciting crossing into New Mexico.  The sky was my favorite part of the day.  The sky was a great shade of blue with a lot of little fluffy clouds.  The clouds looked like they were painted on the sky.  We don't get clouds like whis at home.  Tonight I want to make sure we watch the sunset.  We are usually eating at a restaurant when the sun goes down.  While I type this afternoon I am looking out the window at the wonderful view.  There is a little rabbit outside that keeps hopping around.  The funniest thing that happened today was that I fell down the side of the road.  It happened after lunch before I got on my bike.  I had an issue with gravity.  I somehow tripped over my bike and almost did a somersault.  I was laughing for a while.