Due to my anxiousness to ride, I put us in the area just as the Lincoln Forest got socked with heavy rains. On the plus side, we did enjoy riding in the cool, green and blossoming Chihuahuan Desert! Road conditions were ideal, since some light rains blew in and dampened the dust!
Our gracious host has been farming/ranching in Dell City for 50 years, and at 89 years he old keeps beautiful flowers!
I liked the way the sun was catching this sign.
On day one, I noodled around on my own trough the back roads around Dell City.
The desert blossoms are incredible after the rains, its a truly special time in the desert!
The 8,000 ft El Capitan peak of the Guadalupe Mountains is always in the background...
On Day Two my wife and I headed out for Alamogordo.
DoctorDr was kind enough to lend his DR650 for my wife's first dual sport ride!
We are headed West through the Cornudas Mountain in background (5700 ft.).
Directly behind us (East) is El Capitan.
My wife found this little guy, his red eyes are wild!
Sweet rock formation! The desert is full of surprises!
As we dropped down from the spectacular Otero Mesa towards Hwy 54, I got anxious about the skies.
Once we got the Hwy 54, winds and rains let loose! The 30 miles to Alamogordo were spent testing
the Frogg Togg raingear to the max! They leaked at the butt seams! I had to slow my wife down on the freeway!
She was pushing 60 mph in strong cross winds and a heavy rain. I was afraid a wind gust might take her down.
We stayed holed up in a motel for the rest of the day.
Day three had threatening skies, but the rain held off as we explored White Sands.
Only one other tourist was at White Sands, and the ominous clouds provided some neat lighting
for the photos.
We took the County Road E001 back to Dell City and the transition from lower Sacramento mountains
to the desert valley is particularly inspiring.
Day Four, I took my wife on a more challenging road, where she took a fall and planted her hand into a cactus.
She picked the cactus spines from her throttle hand, which was swollen and compromised.
So we headed back to our lodging.
Once she was settled, I took off to explore the 506 into New Mexico.
After a while I needed to turn back, and ended up using the GPS to noodle around on un-used,
over-grown tracks.
A few barbwire gates were easily opened to continue on the un-used roads, but eventually I encountered
new barbwire fencing - with no gates. So, I noodle around the fence lines, and power lines, back to the main road.
This kind of sand-blown patina can't be faked! More desert jewels!
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