The DD's go Southwest by way of Montana and Wyoming!

Before we get to today's ride, let's just go back to last night. We went for a walk up Canyon Drive and dinner at Geronimo. A restaurant where they do everything right!  The galleries along Canyon are incredible. Here is just a sampling of the outdoor art.            A great end to a wonderfully arty day.  Now today. Up at a reasonable hour for a fairly short day's ride. Deliberately so because we chose a route via Taos and wanted to spend some time there.  We had an easy ride up to Taos and parked just off the square. Saturday morning and the farmer's market was in full swing. We had a coffee at the La Fonda hotel and planned our walk.    First stop was the R C Gorman gallery. Interesting simplified depictions of  Navajo women . Next over to the courthouse for a look. I tried locking them up but they made a break for it!     We finished up at Kit Carson's house. A very interesting film depicting his life plus a tour ...

A very cultural day. No riding! We started out from the Luxx (lobby below) around 9 and headed straight for a French bakery breakfast.    With a crepe on board we went to see the cathedral just off the square but a funeral in progress limited our viewing.      From there we went to the New Mexico History Museum. Wow! You could spend a day just there. We had no real knowledge of the to and fro for ownership of this area. When La Donald talks of building a wall and having Mexico pay he should perhaps remember that America took this land (New Mexico and Arizona) by force when Mexico refused to sell it! This is a real photo- not staged   And this is a real stage (coach). Not too comfy!   Perhaps this is why they don't allow alcohol on the reservations. The bottle is tiny, kind of airplane sized.    From there down to the rail yard district for lunch and some interesting art galleries.  Lastly the Georgia O''Keefe gallery and then a well earn...

The crew has become restless - we tire of endless open spaces and beautiful valleys and canyons. An insurrection is brewing as Santa Fe looms. High speed tarmac, Route 66, Breaking Bad locations and retail therapy are now the priority. The plan is hatched last night at the daily Jack Daniels meeting.    With that in mind the route is reshuffled to run through Gallup and Albuquerque and then Madrid (Mad Rid) to Santa Fe. But the captain extracts a price. We start with breakfast at Denny's where the northernmost Denny's t-shirt is worn with pride!  And right opposite the restaurant is this most attractive retail offer. Although what you do while the item is on layaway doesn't bear thinking about!   We start with a smooth ride down to Gallup and a coffee at the historic El Rancho hotel - well known to the Fukawi!   From there a 2 hour interstate blitz at 80 mph and temperatures that eventually hit 102F for lunch at Loyola's. Again a Fukawi haunt and the scene of bo...

All those of you who are tired of rocks put your hand up!  Well, too bad, because we enjoyed another day of simply outstanding rockery! It started for all of us way before dawn, determined to get that perfect shot of sunrise.     Once awake it was difficult to go back to bed so we went for a drive out on the (very) unpaved valley road loop.    See that picture of the horseback cowboy out on the rock ledge? That's Andy!   There are so many great pictures but time to move on.  We left Monument Valley to the north for a fairly short riding day. Once again the variation in the rocky landscape was fantastic. That said, the towns on the road to Chinle are few and far between which meant only one quick stop on the way.  Why Chinle we hear you ask?  Well, it's at the mouth of Canyon de Chelly (d'Shay) - a place people have inhabited for perhaps as much as 5,000 years. And again why?  Because it is unbelievably beautiful and a great place to stay...

(By way of Arizona!) Back on the bike today with a fair distance to cover. With a forecast of below zero starting temps we clothed up well, but in fact, it started to warm up very quickly and by the time we hit Kanab layers were coming off. Thanks Andy and Eleanor, it's so nice to have a support vehicle with such a great crew! The scenery started out big again right from the get go at Red Canyon.        Coffee in Kanab after one of the worst stretches of deer kill road we have seen (no pics!). And yes, the live ones were out there too! We worked our way back east to Page where we stopped for the Glen Canyon recreation area and incredible Horsehoe Bend.        From there over hot dry desert country to Kayenta - home of the fantastic Amigo cafe (well known to Fukawi!). Best Mexican/Navajo food bar none.        And, saving the best for last, Monument Valley and the View hotel. Wow!  Some of these shots are from our bedroom wi...