Born to be wild (and freezing)!!!

Day 2

So I guess it's only fitting that since I'm trying to run away from winter that it would follow me! We woke up in Santa Fe to a chilly morning. By 9:00 a.m.we had eaten a quick breakfast and were heading our separate ways. We had tuned into the weather channel before breakfast and were trying to beat the weather challenges facing each of us. Denver had dropped 20 degrees in less than an hour and was getting heavy snow. Suzanne and David needed to get home to their 6 kids before the mountain passes closed. I was trying to beat the 40 to 50 mph gusting winds that would peak late morning.

As I rode the 50 or so miles from Santa Fe to Albuquerque, I debated the route I would take when faced with the choice of continuing south on I-25 to go all the way around the mountains or to swing west when I got to I-40. Recalling that the weather channel showed temps in the 50-60s range, I decided to take a chance and went west.

About 20 miles into the west, I recalled just how unreliable weather guessers can be. Although the winds were gusting enough to push me around my lane, it was mostly a head wind with a little NNW action to keep me on my toes. I think the gusts were just as strong as yesterday, but the direction of them made it easier to navigate. The temp hovered right around 40 degrees and caused me to don long johns, jeans, long sleeved shirt and fleece, leathers and a layer of rainsuit to help block the wind.

I stopped at an Indian trading post somewhere around 50 miles west of Albuquerque and pulled out the map to reevaluate my plan. A hot chocolate and a cup-o-soup later, I still wasn't sure what to do. Then I check my voice messages and listen to a voice message from a Navy buddy named Eric. I had emailed him a few days ago to let him know I would be traveling through Arizona and asked him if he still lived in Phoenix. I called him back and we made plans for me to head towards Phoenix tomorrow. Warmed up and with a sense of purpose to my westward progress, I headed for Gallup, NM about 30 miles away.

I kept seeing billboards for the El Rancho hotel and recalled that it was one of the historic landmarks on old Route 66. I pulled into the parking lot of the hotel-motel and knew that this would be a better experience than staying in nondescript chain lodging. I went in and was cheerily greeted by a woman who recognized that I needed a warm room ASAP! I asked her if there was somewhere safe to park my bike and she told me I could bring it inside. "Um, mam, it's not a scooter, it's a pretty big motorcycle." She walks me to the foyer of the hotel lobby and asks me if it would fit in the corner. "Yes it sure will!" is my amused response. "Well just pull it in right through these double doors, but kill the engine once you're inside, OK?" Okee dokee!!!

So I park my bike and bring my bags up to my room and look around a bit. There are a ton of autographed photos of movie stars who have stayed here. Most are from the 40s and 50s, but I recognized several from the Westerns I used to watch with my dad. I walk down the hall and stopped in my tracks and broke into a chuckle and grin. The background song playing was "Born to be wild"!!!

After a scalding hot shower and some very tasty hot tomales in the hotel restaurant, I'm ready for another day on the road!