Beautiful day today! We had a nice leisurely morning � checked out around noon and then off we went. Our first stop was yet another Harley dealer � but I must say the people that worked there were the most accommodating I�ve ever met. We stopped in to buy a shirt or two and ($200 + later) asked if they knew where the nearest post office was because we needed to ship some stuff home. They ended up giving us a Fed Ex box (which we filled completely) and then offered to send it for us. They even paid for the shipping. They also took the regular mail I had and sent that off too. It just makes me happy when people are nice and helpful.
We were then off to the City of Rocks in New Mexico. What a cool place. Bit hot there � but very cool. It really was fascinating to be riding through what looked like a desert and then suddenly there�s a whole city of big rocks. I�ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking. From there we headed out to the Gila National Forest and Wilderness (the first area to be dubbed as such by Congress) in search of the Gila Cliff Dwellings. We were prepared to hike a mile to see this one. We wound the bikes through some beautiful mountain roads, over some spectacular lakes, through the lush forest, over countless cattle guards and finally to the cliffs. We hiked a mile (straight up it seemed) and finally found them. Actually viewing the ancient dwellings of the Mogollon people who lived there from the 1280s to the 1300s was worth every inch of the hike. It�s amazing that structures built so long ago still stand.
We ended the day in Silver City, NM which we got to via Route 15. The Tail of the Dragon has nothing on this sharply curved, no shoulder, no center lines road. It was beautiful. We did less than 250 miles today but it sure was a lot to talk about.
