And another one down, another one down, another one bites . . . .

Yup, that's right, two states are now history.  Tonight we are in Lordsburg, New Mexico.  When last I left you, dear readers, we were in Phoenix, Arizona.  A lot has happened since then, let me tell you:




Wow, sure is steep in New Mexico 

OLD MAN SYNDROME.
Ok, so I'll start with a bit of a confessional/excuse/lament.  I had the bright idea of not bothering to train for this ride.  "I'll build as I go" says I to myself.  Well sore muscles are one thing, pulled tendons quite another.  I put enough strain on my right knee during the first two days of climb to tear the ligaments and leave me with tendonitis.  Oops.  As a result I have had to back off of my riding schedule; more days off than we had planned and two days of catching a ride with Bev as Joe rode the mileage. Oops.  I'm back on the bike again but for the time being I'm trying to limit my daily miles to 40.

APACHE JUNCTION.
Anybody seen Jacob Walsh (The Lost Dutchman) of late?  Seems as if old Jacob hit it rich with a gold strike in Apache Junction only to have the location of his strike lost to history.  Folks are still poking around the Superstition Mountains for some trace.  Turns out the real strike is the drop dead beauty of this place.  We spent a couple of nights (a couple thanks to my knee) in the Lost Dutchman State Park in the shadow of the mountains.  Beautiful!

Ah, home away from home parked beneath the Superstition Mountains.
Bev climbed these by the way.

DAM.
Ok, I got to use that joke after all.  Roosevelt Dam sits in the Tonto Basin and plays havoc with the flow of the Salt Creek and a number of other creeks flowing down from the Sierra Ancha.  It's quite a sight.  A Hoover Dam in miniature, but not that miniature.

Roosevelt Dam

Roosevelt Lake Bridge is the longest two lane single span steel-arch bridge in North America 

What happens when you tell a river that it can't flow to the ocean?  It creates a lake of course.  In this case, Roosevelt Lake (go figure).  We camped beside Roosevelt for a couple of nights (a couple thanks to my knee) in the Tonto National Forest.  Beautiful!

POW-WOW, WOW.
We rode through the San Carlos Apache Reservation on the weekend that the Apache Nation was having its annual pow-wow.  The various Apache tribes send a delegation for the event.  We were there for the opening ceremony.  I felt honored to have the opportunity to be there.

NEW FRIENDS.
In the sleepy town of Duncan, Arizona we stopped to talk to Mike who was parked in "Hilda's" enjoying lunch.  Mike's bike was parked outside the restaurant loaded like he was on some kind of bike tour.  Turns out he was.  Mike is riding from San Diego to St. Augustine.  Go figure.   As we chatted, along came Bruce and Paul on their bikes loaded like they were on some kind of bike tour.  Turns out they were.  Bruce and Paul are riding from St. Augustine to San Diego.  Go figure.  (We stopped early in Duncan thanks to my knee.)

The good folks in Duncan allow campers to stay free of charge in the town park.  Rhonda cooked a full meal for all seven of us.  Believe me, bicyclists that have been on the road for a while can eat!  We talked late into the night like old friends and parted the next day with the hope that we may meet again.   

UP.
There's been plenty of climbing to get here but tomorrow the climb starts in earnest.  Stay tuned.