I was supposed to spend the last day of 2008 installing storm windows on our screened in porch, but the fabricator called up sick and my wife went to her ceramics studio, so what else could I do but take one last 2008 ride? I'd missed one of the classic New Mexico dual sport rides a while back (http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=401025), and while I couldn't squeeze that whole ride into what remained of 2008, I thought I might be able to complete the one section I hadn't done before - the Jornada del Muerto. The ominous name applies to a long dry stretch of the Camino Real (a 1600-1900 route from Las Cruces to Santa Fe) where the route left the Rio Grande and crossed 90+ miles of desert. The loop would be about 280 miles with just about half on dirt. Here're the maps (black sections are paved, green are dirt): Most of the route runs fairly close to the western boundary of the White Sands Missil Range. Several miles south of Dripping Springs, you see the first indications of the range - these big sheds / hangers out in the middle of nowhere: To the west lie the Sierra Larga, a fairly wild area east of Socorro. There's a lot of good riding throughout these mountains on BLM lands. Just behind these peaks is an area where there are several herds of wild horses. After running south along the Sierra Larga the route can run directly to Highway 380 between San Antonio and Carrizozo. I wanted to keep off pavement as much as possible so I took a small BLM road around the S end of the Sierra Larga to the west before a short stretch of pavement to the start of the actual route through the Jornada del Muerto. From the southwestern slope of Cerro Colorado, this view opens up and you can see three mountain ranges that form the western side of the Jornada del Muerto Basin. The closest to the right is Little San Pascual Mountain about 11 miles away. The next range in the middle is the Fra. Cristobal Mountains about 35 miles out and the farthest range to the left, barely visible, are the Caballo Mountains about 65 miles away. The south end of the ride passes just north of the Caballos before running into Truth or Consequences below Elephant Butte Lake. A few miles further south you lose any doubt that you're along side White Sands Missile Range: The mountains behind the plywood weapons are the Oscura Mountains. Here's the TE610 in front of Sand Mountain. I carried a 5 liter fuel container in one of the dirt bags and added it to the tank at Engle. I didn't take many more photos after this as I needed to be home by 5:00pm for a New Years Eve dinner and I didn't get away from the house before 10:00am, so I wanted to keep moving. Once I passed Engle at the south end of the ride I would be on pavement all the back up the Rio Grande to home, so I stopped for one more shot - this is the west side of the Fra. Cristobals with Elephant Butte Lake just visible in front. Made it home before dark and in time for the dinner! Won't be on the bike for about a week, so this was a good way to end the year. Howard L. Snell
Another great report I'm getting the impression even larger pics would be more desirable so I've set them to 1024 x 1024.
You lucky bastige... I had 4 days off for Christmas and now I've got 4 days off for New Years, and what am I doing? I'm turning my house upside down and re-finishing our 90-year-old hardwood flooors, that's what. Sounds like a boatload of fun, doesn't it? Thanks for the report and photos WoodSandingChick
