Butte overlooking Zuni, NM
The old windmill has been replaced by a solar powered water pump
The landscape
Even an ugly bush can bloom to be very pretty
The fan blades are missing but the tower still stands
The road has sliced thru this country and that allows us to see the beauty here
Old abandoned homes
A microburst in the distance
Time for a chicken tender
Cattle feeding pen
Two man-made raptors fly overhead
This windmill still turns
July 15, 2013 Monday, Day 33 riding, Day 45 of trip.
Started riding at 6:20 am. Eighty miles to next stop, Quemado.
Passed a man trying to get a ride to Zuni to report a large black bear that had killed five of his sheep last night. Didn't eat any of them. Just killed them.
Several miles before Fence Lake an old rancher stopped and asked if he could give me a ride to Fence Lake. I told him no, that would be cheating. He told me to be sure and turn left at Fence Lake. If I kept going straight I would be on gravel. He told me he had two knee replacements and had replaced his horses with quads. He had a high powered rifle in the cab of his truck and I asked if he has had to use it much. He said once in a while he has to. A few weeks ago mountain lions killed fifteen of his calves in one night. They just killed them for fun. Didn't eat any of them. That's something people don't know about mountain lions is that they kill for fun, or for the sport of it, he said. This spring ranchers in the area have killed three mountain lions.
The last five miles into Quemado I was in the dark, but I have lights on my bike. It does help me to see better when a car approaches from behind me.
Today was the second highest day of ascent: 3990 feet. The highest day of ascent was thru Flaming Gorge: 4356 feet. The Lizard Head Pass day was 3567 feet.
What made today so high was one rolling hill after another, after another, after another, etc, etc, etc. (Borrowed from The King and I)
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