Day 14 - layover in Silver City, NM

Last night Andre made avocado halves with home-made sauce again for dinner (see photo of him serving Terry). Rhodri prepared a great chicken dish flavored with capers, anchovies, Tabasco and black pepper. Who says British food is bland? He then demonstrated to Ken how to make and eat a cookie sandwich for dessert (see photo of him with Terry and Ken in hat).
This morning we awoke to 20 (no typo) degrees. The photo of Julie holding her steaming coffee says it all. Since today is a layover day, breakfast included scrambled eggs and bacon. Smelled and tasted great!
Last night a couple biking the same route camped with us. Turns out they live five miles from Rhodri in Nottingham. The next photo shows the husband, Trevor, ready to set out this morning. They are riding unsupported, meaning they carry all their gear.
Around 9 am, eight of the riders joined Mitch and Julianne in the van for a 90 mile round trip north to see Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. The drive took 1.5 - 2.0 hours each way due to the narrow, twisty road (route 15). We climbed into piñon and Ponderosa pine forest. The views west from the ridge line were breathtaking (see photo of Bob Plant, Ken, Terry and Carol).
The Monument has a nice visitor center with an informative video on the history of the Mogollon people who lived in the area from 1100 to 1300. Curiously, the cliff dwellings were only occupied from 1270 to 1300. A half-mile trail takes you to the cliff dwellings, like a small version of Mesa Verde. The photos below show the dwellings, and Rhodri and Julianne hiking back down. Climbing up and down a ladder at home to clean gutters was good practice for the ladders into and out of the cliff dwellings.
There is no overnight camping in the monument, probably to preserve the dwellings. The closest campgrounds are Upper Scorpion and Lower Scorpion. Don't sound very user-friendly!
On the drive back, Rhodri spotted several mule deer. Ken said it is also elk country.
Mitch and Julianne are cooking dinner in camp tonight. Not-so-subtle hints about nearby steakhouses were ignored. They made a killer fusion meal of stir-fry chicken with cashews, celery, red and yellow pepper and cottage cheese.
Yesterday's cold afternoon wind was absent today. Bob G, one of the wine aficionados with Andre, Bob Pedersen and Rhodri, holds a local find. Sampling appetizers before dinner are (clockwise) Jerry, Ken, Terry, Rhodri, Carol, Bob Pedersen and Julie.
Tomorrow we have a choice of routes: 29 miles on routes 180 and 152 with a view of the huge Santa Rita Pit Mine, or 58 miles on routes 15 and 35. The second option, the more scenic route, covers the first 18 miles we did today and has some steep grades. Plus you get to cross the Continental Divide twice. Bob Plant and I and others plan to ride option two for the scenery. Bob and I are also cooking tomorrow night. So we asked Julianne to set out lots of pretzels and beer tomorrow for the option one riders, as dinner will not be early! Since we have a long day and are cooking, the next blog post may be in two days.
Bruce