Riding the modified KLR 650 in the Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico...

[Wingnut]

Round #8 o' pics, nice longhorn action in the 'Cabin & RV Park!' Remember, we're NOT that far from Texas here, LOL. Damn. Just down the road we have the 'Old Apple Barn & Wild Game Bistro' or whatever the heck it is, 10-4? I brought some GOURMET GRINDS with me on today's ride, but ONE DAY I shall stop here and MACK elk & bison burgers, then follow 'em with some apple pie next door, YEAH??? Sounds pretty GOOD to me, PILGRIM!!! LOL.

BTW, that tall-standing 'APPLE BOY' looked like CHUCKY when I first saw him, due to the angle & glare & whatnot. All you had to do was put a BIG OL' BUTCHER KNIFE in his hand, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Once I got closer to the statue, I realized it was NOT quite as EVIL as the CHUCKY DOLL... but it had me fooled for a moment or two, lol. Meh, NOT my f#%ng problem, I don't need or want that knife-wielding jackhole on my property, you understand.

 

[Wingnut]

Round #9 o' pics, should be the last for today's ride... I'm about ready to mack a chicken burrito and crash anyway, but here are the final shots. Nice old Corvair parked nearby, and those last pics show my riding gear, lol. Okay, I'm off to mack, I'm suddenly HUNGRY, lol... I wonder WHY? Got more to relate about today's ride, but it can wait till manana!

 

[Wingnut]

A few additional observations upon yesterday's epic ride... I put 119.8 miles on the tripmeter, this time mostly on pavement, just a few miles on dirt. I met some cool folks and exchanged numbers... partied with a guy who had just finished an 8-mile hike, he reminded me of Hashbrown because he used to work in the cannabis industry and he knew a lot about indoor growing operations. Since he already had some bud, we wound up burning a little of each, his and the weed I grew in Alamo, lol. It was a fun time, and the wilderness setting was beautiful. I like that spot, it's easy to reach.

Before I met this hand, I flagged down a rider on a Yamaha TW200, the fat-tired bike which one site member used to ride in the White Mountains of Arizona. Anyway, this rider was in the Air Force, so no weed for him, he didn't wanna risk his military career (perfectly understandable), but we made a tentative plan to ride at Red Sands, which is an OHV rec area on US54 south of my home... it's only about 20 minutes from my door, I've been meaning to go there but I haven't made it yet, too busy riding in the mountains, lol.

One thing I meant to say last night, while I was riding on what is now my favorite paved road (so far), the heller twisty Hwy. 6563 which is a rider's paradise! If you ride from Cloudcroft to Timberon, you will take Hwy. 130 south for a few miles, then pick up Hwy. 6563, a skinny two-lane blacktop road which winds through beautiful forested areas, with an occasional meadow or mountain valley to break up the scenery. Yesterday, since some trees were turning color, golden leaves were falling all around as I rode, it was like something out of a dream! 'The Land of Enchantment!!!'

That 6563 road is PRIMO, and it's also rather challenging... as a former truck driver & lifelong motorcyclist, I use gears to pick up speed and slow down, hardly ever touching the brakes. Furthermore, as an old skateboarder and rice rocket rider, if I can see the twisties ahead and there are no oncoming vehicles, as well as no vehicles behind me in my mirrors, then I use the entire road surface in the curves. That means I disregard the double yellow, you'll often find me on the far fog line, or close to it, lol. These curves are radical & there's not much of a crown to the road, so a rider can work ALL the asphalt.

And even though I'm riding this big ol' dirt sled, these Dunlop D606 knobbies have a pretty good rubber compound, you just have to be careful and be aware of the limitations of these tires in curves at high speed, or at a speed well above the posted limit, lol. Boy, I love those twisties on 6563, they are awesome! You feel weightless as you work through the curves and chicanes... I highly recommend this road to any experienced riders in the area, as it is challenging but also exciting and the scenery is MAGNIFICENT! I've done the 130 loop and several other paved highways up there in the Sacramentos, but 6563 is definitely my favorite (so far).

Anyway, lemme move on here and see what's happening... I must be toughening up where the riding is concerned, I wasn't saddle-sore at all after my ride, but I can feel the effects of my ride today, lol. It'll be an easy day here at the ol' hacienda, the weather is gorgeous (again) so I'll just hang out here and enjoy it. I may go back and catch some footage of riding that ditch in town tomorrow, but I don't feel like doing that today, lol. At my age, with these action sports, I need a day's break between runs, maybe two days, lol. It was a different story when I was younger, 10-4? But I'm still having heaps of fun, and I'm certainly more familiar with the KLR 650 after all these rides I've taken...

The bike has its limitations, especially on the trail due to its size & weight, but it's still a fun bike to ride, and it has enough power to keep me happy. The key is to ride it like a soul surfer, NOT some 'Crusty Demon of Dirt!' If you do that, the bike will make smooth graceful carving turns and its weight isn't such an issue. Now, this bike was modified and it leans toward dirt, not pavement: what I mean is the previous owner modded it out for riding in Baja, where he took the bike on several long road trips (offroad too, it being Baja). So it's lighter than the average KLR, which is nice, and it probably handles a little better, depending upon the rider. I'm happy with it, and being a Kawasaki, the bike is bulletproof, lol.

WELL, LEMME POST THIS AND GO SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING ELSEWHERE... CHEERS!!!

 

[Wingnut]

Saw this KLR 650 in the WallyWorld parking lot yesterday... interesting color scheme, with the green spokes and all, but my bike is still better, lol. Lighter, with a better swingarm, cut-down fairing, better tires, better DG exhaust pipe, etc. And cleaner too! Just sayin', lol, but this is still a cool bike for riding the trails!

 

[Bacpacker]

Glad you had fun WG. Great pics once again

 

[Wingnut]

Yeah, I had a blast up there, I was just reliving the ride by looking at the photos, and those shots from the Rim Trail where it intersects Trail #90 are primo, lol. Great view from that location! Forecast looks good for another (possible) bike ride on Wednesday, this cold wet slop should clear up tonight or tomorrow morning, then we get two clear sunny days, so this Wednesday might be the ticket... let the trails dry out for a bit first. I gotta call that place in town and see if they have the AMSOIL, otherwise I'm just gonna buy a quart of compatible synthetic Lucas Oil to top off the oil in the bike. It doesn't need to be changed yet, but I need to add some oil to bring it up to the correct level... I usually top it off to the upper mark on the viewing window, that gives me a little more leeway where burning oil is concerned, lol.

Man, since it's a raw wet day here, I decided to heat some soup and I made a couple of mini Ham & Swiss hot melts with that 'Garlic & Herb' French bread and some mayo & mustard. Boy, that hot food went down well, I have a happy tummy right now, lol. It's really not that cold here in my home, but I refuse to turn on the central heating furnace until I'm starting to freeze, lol... cheap b@stard that I am, I'm wearing sweatpants & a longjohn top & some nice thick-@$$ wool socks with my house slippers. That hot soup and those hot melts warmed me up nicely! I washed everything down with a big ol' swig of Southern Comfort Traditional Egg Nog & some cold milk... I won't have to eat again until tonight, lol. I almost went with one of those 'Hot & Spicy Firewok' ramen bowls, but the Ham & Swiss melts with hot soup won out, lol...

Hey, Spikedriver, if you see this post, check out the 'Bailey Curve Long Trestle' as seen in a historical photo in Round #6 of pics of my last ride, that's a cool bridge. Dunno why it was called a "long trestle"---seems fairly short to me, lol. Oh, well, no big deal, I'm gonna try to locate the other historic wooden trestles that still exist in the Sacramento Mountains, not just the Mexican Canyon Trestle, but others up there which I haven't stumbled across yet. I think there are at least one or two more, I'll find 'em eventually, but there are SO MANY TRAILS up there in the Sacramentos that it might take me awhile, lol. It's nice having that huge 'adult playground' up there, so close to my Alamo home and all... when I bailed out of the Socialist Republik of Kalimexifornia, I told myself I would live in or near mountains from now onward, AYE?

 

[Wingnut]

Bumping this thread so friends & family can find it more easily...

 

[Wingnut]

Ah, that glorious feeling ya get when ya know you're going to ride in the mountains, ya walk outside and ya see nothing but clear blue skies, the sun streaming through the pines and the wild birds singin'...

Looks like Crackhead drinking out of the birdbath in that first pic, and little Black Diamond in the second, lol. The blasted varmints! On the plus side, I haven't seen a rodent in ages, lol... gonna be an AWESOME day in the mountains, gotta go make my picnic lunch, gas up the bike and dump that quart of oil in to top it off, then get cleaned up and be on my way! Y'all catch a break today as I ride for hours, lol... pics later, though I intend to revisit some locations to get pics for the guys at the Kawasaki website where I also hang out. For some reason, my Acer laptop has no longer been filing all photos I insert via memory card... haven't figured out that problem yet, and it's easier to just go back to those locations I mentioned and take more pics, lol. And NO, I'm not gonna mess with the NEW flip-phone I bought, it can stay in the box for now... I don't need the aggravation, lol. "FUHGEDDABOUTIT!!!"

 

[Wingnut]

WHOOWHEE!!! I actually made it BACK to this thread after a short but SE-WIOUS PAR-TAY SESSION, lol... bong hit o' chronic, a few beers SLAMMED like they were GOING OUTTA STYLE, and of course a JD TN APPLE shot or two, lol.

Alright, NOW it's time to post some RIDING PICS from today's jaunt, the WEATHER acted up and made me reconsider my riding plans for the day. Snow fell in the mountains yesterday, it's still on the ground and some twisties are "slickery!"

So what I did was pull the grade to Cloudcroft on US82, peel off southward on Hwy. 130 (state or county, dunno which), and peel off again on Hwy. 6563 (again, dunno which), then ride as far as the tracked vehicle seen in earlier posts, lol.

After that little pic session for the riders at the Kawasaki website, I decided to turn back and try my luck lower down... the air temp up around 8650' to 9000' was decidedly CHILLY, and I was GLAD to be wearin' my insulated riding suit, lol.

I rode back down the hill till I hit 'Old Firehouse Road' and "Karr Canyon Road'---tried both of those roads in exploratory mode, the scenery was BEE-YOO-TI-FUL on both roads but they were heavily residential areas, low speeds and all.

So I decided to drop even further down into the Tularosa Basin, and set my sights on visiting Red Sands OHV Area and Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, which are both SOUTH of my home, which in turn is SOUTH of Alamo, lol.

Rode past my normal "exit" or turnoff, then continued southward on US54... problem was, I remembered the 'Red Sands' signboard as being a red wooden number, but that was not the case and I overshot the mark, missing the sign.

Rode clear down to the 10 yardstick on US54 in Otero County before I realized that I had somehow overshot the mark, so I had to TURN AROUND and head back north to find the freakin' chump-@$$ BLM area, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Arrived at Red Sands by midafternoon and saw NO SHADE or MAN-MADE SHADE of ANY sort, the slimy Democratic Scumbag Party must have cleaned out the BLM funds for erecting such structures in the wilderness, AYE?!?

Took a few pics, but Red Sands is more suitable for smaller & lighter dirt bikes & MX bikes, as well as quads, ATVs, dune buggies, and all sorts of other cr@p... but for the KLR 650, meh, not so hot with the deep sand in certain areas.

So I rode north to the turnoff for Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, and rode into the park to suss it out... no trail riding for the Monster Thumper, just hiking afoot for wilderness enthusiasts. Nice trail too, I'll go back and hike it pronto, lol.

Right near my home, mere minutes from my door, and the scenery doesn't exactly SUCK either, LOL. After bailing from that location, I rode to an impromptu firing range near my home to see if anybody wanted to party, but NO DICE, aye?

I finally decided to call it quits after 200 miles or so on the bike, with some saddle-sore action on the ol' posterior, so I rode home and started to derig the bike, wipe 'er down, put 'er away, etc. Now, hours later, I'm ready to post pics, lol.

HERE WE GO, DON'T MIND THE OVERLAP WITH THE TRAIN TRESTLE & TRACKED VEHICLE, LOL...

SEE HOW THE WEATHER CHANGED FROM SUNNY & AWESOME THIS MORNING TO CR@PPY UP TOP?

Lol... back in a moment with a few more rounds of cool pics, especially once I dropped back down in elevation.

P.S. There are the hillside homes Peanut liked so much earlier, but the weather was NOT complying for pics, lol. That Mexican signboard for the logging operation just proves that the first Mexican gangs were RAILROAD GANGS!!!

 

[Wingnut]

Round #2 of pics for today's ride:

There's the tracked vehicle again, and the nearby country home that Curmudgeon (?) liked, but with clouds & snow in the picture, lol. Meh, ya can't win 'em all...

 

[Wingnut]

Round #3 of pics for today's ride:

That yellow warning sign for truck drivers was worth shooting (with the Canon cam, lol). Followed by shots of Karr Canyon homes & farms & ranches & whatnot, plus a nice shot of the last fall colors with a tractor in the barn, garage, tractor port or whatever the heck it is, lol. Remember the canyon from earlier posts? I think it's Apache Canyon but I'm NOT sure, as there are heaps of canyons in this area and it's hard to tell which is which unless you're a FULL-ON F#%NG LOCAL, lol.

 

[Wingnut]

Round #4 of pics for today's ride:

That was the last of the canyon shots above, here below we have a shot of Alamogordo under the western escarpment of the Sacramento Mountains:

And ^^^ looking down ^^^ the "relief route" (or bypass) which is a good way to avoid lights & traffic in town, lol. Here are shots of the entrance & first offroad vehicle staging area at Red Sands:

The riding at Red Sands is better than it appears here, and there are reportedly over 100 miles of trails to ride... just sayin', as the rec area is more extensive than ya know, lol. Now we move on to Oliver Lee Memorial State Park:

Look at the Tularosa Basin in that penultimate shot, it sure is one BAD@$$ HIGH DESERT BASIN, lol...

 

[Wingnut]

Round #5 of pics for today's ride:

BTW, I did NOT have Dog Canyon pegged right earlier, that OTHER canyon is some MONSTER which I don't even know yet, but Dog Canyon is STILL quite respectable, and there is a PRIMO hiking trail for those afoot, the trail leads up to the top of the escarpment and hooks up with trails on high, yeah? So much to learn, and this Oliver Lee Memorial State Park is literally MINUTES from my door, lol... that brown building that blends into the background is the Ranger Station, Visitor Center, or whatever, and the trailhead lies immediately behind it. Seemed like a popular place, the overnight campground was pretty much full when I checked it, lol. Back in a flash with the final round o' pics...

 

[Wingnut]

Round #6 of pics for today's ride, this is the last round, then I'm off to CRASH for the night, LOL.

First pic is of the view from Oliver Lee Memorial State Park as I was prepping to leave... all the other shots were taken within a few short miles of my home, there are impromptu firing ranges on public land under the escarpment, I can be there within 5 minutes of leaving my home, lol. See the trail in Pic #6? I rode up that trail to get to the firing range seen in subsequent pics, one of many impromptu ranges in that area, lol. CHEERS!!!

P.S. In Pic #2, locate the "tank farm" just right and slightly lower than center of the pic, look to the left at the groups of trees, and my home is in that third or fourth group to the left of the tank farm (I think, lol). Anyway, I gots trees! I saw some nice properties on the east side of US54 today, I'm talking properties which would go for MILLIONS in Kalifornia, lol... some other day, I'll ride over and take some pics of those PRIMO HIGH DESERT HOMES & RANCHES, they are SWEET!!! And I ain't jokin' either, I'll back that claim with PICS soon enough, LOL. For now, it's "GOOD NIGHT!!!"

 

[Bacpacker]

Looks like an AWESOME ride.

 

[Magus]

Well, THAT was the MOST FUN I've had with my clothes on since goldurned DINOSAURS roamed the earth, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

I'm chillaxin' at the ol' hacienda now, all cleaned up, cold beer in hand, and I've already resized the pics from today's little jaunt, not a bad ride or a bad day either, LOL.

Hmm, lemme see, best deliver the hard facts first & get 'em outta the way, lol.

TOTAL MILEAGE: 159.3 miles on the tripmeter

TIME WASTED: 7.5 hours

HELLER FUN HAD: absolute MAXIMUM

COOL KARMIC EVENTS: Off the friggin' charts, lol... oh, wait, there ARE no CHARTS for karmic events, ARE there??? Meh, I still had a good time, and that's all that matters...

Here we go with Round #1 of pics, looks like I'll have four rounds total, so bear with me... Spikedriver, all railroad-related shots were taken with you in mind, lol. The rest, well, lemme see what I took photo-wise, and I'll toss in a caption or two if necessary.

View attachment 94395
View attachment 94396

Okay, I now see that there are 32 pics, so I'm gonna start with these two of the KLR 650 all loaded up and ready to roll on today's adventure! There's some kinda red reflection on the plastic tank in these photos, dunno if it's from the red pavers or the flophouse primer on the skirting of the manufactured home, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Anyway, those are the initial bike shots and I'll be right back with the other BS, lol.

That looks a lot like one of the bikes in my last book, minus the twin .30 cal LMGs

 

[Wingnut]

Ya know, Bacpacker, you ever make it out here to Alamo, I'm gonna hand ya the cycle key & trail map, load a picnic lunch for ya & point ya in the right direction, lol. It's nice to have someone appreciate this thread, and I shall continue to post up riding pics as I go along here, same way I'll do it at that site for Kawasaki riders. The KLR (or 'Killer') may not be the prettiest Kawasaki ever made, nor the fastest, but this 2011 bike with 25K miles on the odometer is doing a fine job of keeping me entertained, lol. Who knows? Maybe I'll trade it for something a tad lighter for the trails... I originally wanted something in the 400cc to 450cc range, but this bike came along and I had money to burn at the time, so I threw down $3800 (without even haggling, which I hate to do), and tossed in an extra C-note for some new(ish) Forma riding boots which fit me perfectly. In fact, convenience & bike delivery were factors in buying bike & boots, since I was camping at the time and was somewhere around 100 days into THAT venture, lol. If the boots fit ya, you're welcome to borrow 'em, lol... same goes for the armored & insulated riding suit, MX helmet, gloves, etc. That insulated suit came in handy up there in the mountains yesterday, it was decidedly CHILLY up there with all that snow on the ground, lol. Here's a shot or two of the riding gear, I took 'em today for the riders at the other website, where I'm focusing solely upon riding:

P.S. Don't mind the messed-up rack, I was doing laundry at the time, including bedsheets, lol. Peanut, Hiwall, Supe, Pearl (and hubby), Magus, and a few others here whom I can't recall at this particular moment, that invitation stands for you as well! I'm not that attached to the bike that I can't let others ride it, once they demonstrate some sort of proficiency, lol. Supe, that means: "DON'T DUMP THE BIKE!!!"

Now, if this were my old rice rocket which I rode at "a hundred and a half" out in Anza-Borrego, where the road surface was hot & the tires sticky, well, I'd have to know y'all a bit longer before I let ya go out and WRECK THE BIKE, LOL.

 

[Bacpacker]

I'm sure enjoying reading about your rides

 

[Pearl]

Ya know, Bacpacker, you ever make it out here to Alamo, I'm gonna hand ya the cycle key & trail map, load a picnic lunch for ya & point ya in the right direction, lol. It's nice to have someone appreciate this thread, and I shall continue to post up riding pics as I go along here, same way I'll do it at that site for Kawasaki riders. The KLR (or 'Killer') may not be the prettiest Kawasaki ever made, nor the fastest, but this 2011 bike with 25K miles on the odometer is doing a fine job of keeping me entertained, lol. Who knows? Maybe I'll trade it for something a tad lighter for the trails... I originally wanted something in the 400cc to 450cc range, but this bike came along and I had money to burn at the time, so I threw down $3800 (without even haggling, which I hate to do), and tossed in an extra C-note for some new(ish) Forma riding boots which fit me perfectly. In fact, convenience & bike delivery were factors in buying bike & boots, since I was camping at the time and was somewhere around 100 days into THAT venture, lol. If the boots fit ya, you're welcome to borrow 'em, lol... same goes for the armored & insulated riding suit, MX helmet, gloves, etc. That insulated suit came in handy up there in the mountains yesterday, it was decidedly CHILLY up there with all that snow on the ground, lol. Here's a shot or two of the riding gear, I took 'em today for the riders at the other website, where I'm focusing solely upon riding:

View attachment 97336
View attachment 97337
View attachment 97338
View attachment 97339

P.S. Don't mind the messed-up rack, I was doing laundry at the time, including bedsheets, lol. Peanut, Hiwall, Supe, Pearl (and hubby), Magus, and a few others here whom I can't recall at this particular moment, that invitation stands for you as well! I'm not that attached to the bike that I can't let others ride it, once they demonstrate some sort of proficiency, lol. Supe, that means: "DON'T DUMP THE BIKE!!!"

Now, if this were my old rice rocket which I rode at "a hundred and a half" out in Anza-Borrego, where the road surface was hot & the tires sticky, well, I'd have to know y'all a bit longer before I let ya go out and WRECK THE BIKE, LOL.

 

[Wingnut]

Good deal then, Bacpacker... maybe some youngster just starting to ride will learn something from this thread, especially where road safety is concerned. I really need to create my 'Road Safety' thread soon, perhaps this weekend if I have the time. I'd like to leave some sort of legacy here at this site, and SO MANY drivers and cycle riders out there could benefit from the perspective of a former OTR truck driver and current/lifelong motorcyclist, 10-4? I've seen a whole heap of ugly fatality wrecks in my time, and I know I can do SOMETHING to help folks increase their odds of survival on the road, not just near big trucks but in an all-around sense, ya know? And Pearl, I just saw your post... "DON'T GO WRECKING MY GOLDURNED BIKE!!!"

You will NO LONGER be 'THE BOSS" if that happens, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! But the offer still stands, since ya don't strike me as a TWEEKIN' CRACKERHEAD, LOL...

 

[Wingnut]

Okay, I'm gonna bump this thread so I can find it more easily after my ride tomorrow... I thought about running clear to Elephant Butte Lake, since the weather forecast is good and there's definitely a window of opportunity, but I also wanna check out Sierra Blanca, the roughly 12,000' peak not far to the NNE, it's a bad@$$ peak. This is NOT the town of Sierra Blanca in West Texas, which I've been through countless times while running the 'Southern Route' across the U.S. Dunno yet which target I'll choose, maybe I'll sleep on it, lol... either objective is radical, so I'm gonna think about it some more, yeah? Make that sammie & prep a bit tonight, then head out early manana!

The main drawback in going to the lake is that I have to ride through the northern half of Las Cruces, with all of its BAD drivers. There is no shortcut across the 'Jornada del Muerto'---if there is, I haven't found it yet, and I think much of that land is kinda off limits anyway due to the White Sands Missile Range testing. I'd love to find a shortcut to the lake, dodging missiles and all, but I'm not sure any road crosses the divide... I asked an old school local once about access from this side of the range (San Andres Mountains), the guy was a fireman for the Jackrabbit Flats Volunteer Fire Department, and he said there are no roads allowing legal access across the missile range.

Maybe I should buy some Kevlar and cross the missile range ANYWAY, lol... make a video using my Canon cam, with audio tour narration! You'll hear my enthused voice: "AND TO OUR LEFT WE HAVE THE INCOMING TOMAHAWK MISSILE..." KA-BOOOOOM!!! If y'all never hear from me again, you'll know what happened... but no worries, I died doing what I love and the end was relatively quick, lol. Pieces of my KLR 650 will rain down upon the Tularosa Basin, to be found later by missile range personnel and civilian scientists: "Some damned fool was actually RIDING out here! The poor misguided individual! Well, his earthly troubles are over... pick up that beer, will ya? I can throw that in my fridge!"

Ya know, I was just looking at my trucker's atlas, and there IS an alternate route to the lake: driving up US54 to Carrizozo, then hooking left or west on US380 and running it over to I-25, where I'd hop on south of Socorro and run south to the lake. Might be a tad longer than the Las Cruces route, but I wouldn't have to deal with the bad drivers over there in L.C. Something to consider, that's for sure... almost worth it, NOT to have to deal with the traffic, 10-4? They have BAD drivers over there too, just like in El Paso... a bunch of Juaristas who don't know the 'Rules of the Road' in the States, lol. Uninsured motorists too... might be better to go the other way, lol. We'll see, I may just stay local too...

 

[Magus]

Cocktails.

 

[Bacpacker]

Well????? We waiting on pics.
Hope your ride went fantastic with some great weather thrown in

 

[Pearl]

Well????? We waiting on pics.
Hope your ride went fantastic with some great weather thrown in

Hope Wingnut is ok!!

 

[Wingnut]

Yes, Wingnut is okay, lol... just beat tired after a lonnng day of riding, 211.7 miles on the tripmeter, but some insane twisties and some trail riding too! At elevation! I gots heller pics! Gimme a moment to get my... er... ACT together! I think we have 9 rounds of pics, with special pics for Neb and Peanut! Neb is the Tolkien fan, right? I am too, and this tower I visited looked like something straight out of a Tolkien book, lol... back in a bit! Maybe I'll grab a beer after all!

"PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE, GRASSHOPPER!!!"

 

[Wingnut]

Okay, we're gonna start with a pic taken from my trucker's atlas, so you can follow my nearly 6-hour journey on the KLR 650 today. I know there are some devout Christians here... me beloved & dear departed mum was a devout Catholic, and also a lay member of the Franciscan Order, which I didn't know until after her death. She was a strong Christian woman, and I respected that, even though I've never been highly religious myself. I lost my faith at a young age, prayin' my little heart out that my dad would return after he abandoned us overseas... but he never did, and I never saw him again.

However, freedom of religion is a core principle of our Constitution, so I don't begrudge others their right & freedom to follow the religion of their choice. I'm also into history, particularly Old Western history, and even more so, the hardcore Old Southwestern history! The Franciscan Order of padres, friars, monks et al, helped build missions, dwellings, stone and/or earthen dams, etc., and they helped tame the Old West by converting the 'savages' and teaching them how to improve land, adopt farming practices, and all that good stuff. Some of it took, and some Franciscans lost their lives...

Now, the California Missions get all the publicity, as they were founded early on and they still stand today... but the Franciscans also moved inland and started new missions elsewhere, such as this mission in Tularosa, New Mexico. I passed this church on my way to pick up US70 east out of Tularosa, and it was so pretty that I decided to go back and take a few pics for folks here at this site! Not only was the church or mission itself nice, the grounds were pretty as well, and the stone wall and arch out front were heller cool! I tried a few different angles, y'all can thank me later, lol.

Now, the history is what draws me to such places, and such buildings as this are alive with history! What we have here is a mission founded during the last year of the Civil War... members of the Franciscan Order wanted nothing to do with the war, they were busy out West, helping to tame the Mescalero Apache Tribe, among others. Well, the U.S. Army tamed the Injuns, but Franciscans helped the Injuns to learn new ways of being productive, particularly where farm work & methods of irrigation were concerned. Like Old West homesteaders! Let's take a look at their handiwork in Tularosa!

 

[Pearl]

Okay, we're gonna start with a pic taken from my trucker's atlas, so you can follow my nearly 6-hour journey on the KLR 650 today. I know there are some devout Christians here... me beloved & dear departed mum was a devout Catholic, and also a lay member of the Franciscan Order, which I didn't know until after her death. She was a strong Christian woman, and I respected that, even though I've never been highly religious myself. I lost my faith at a young age, prayin' my little heart out that my dad would return after he abandoned us overseas... but he never did, and I never saw him again.

However, freedom of religion is a core principle of our Constitution, so I don't begrudge others their right & freedom to follow the religion of their choice. I'm also into history, particularly Old Western history, and even more so, the hardcore Old Southwestern history! The Franciscan Order of padres, friars, monks et al, helped build missions, dwellings, stone and/or earthen dams, etc., and they helped tame the Old West by converting the 'savages' and teaching them how to improve land, adopt farming practices, and all that good stuff. Some of it took, and some Franciscans lost their lives...

Now, the California Missions get all the publicity, as they were founded early on and they still stand today... but the Franciscans also moved inland and started new missions elsewhere, such as this mission in Tularosa, New Mexico. I passed this church on my way to pick up US70 east out of Tularosa, and it was so pretty that I decided to go back and take a few pics for folks here at this site! Not only was the church or mission itself nice, the grounds were pretty as well, and the stone wall and arch out front were heller cool! I tried a few different angles, y'all can thank me later, lol.

Now, the history is what draws me to such places, and such buildings as this are alive with history! What we have here is a mission founded during the last year of the Civil War... members of the Franciscan Order wanted nothing to do with the war, they were busy out West, helping to tame the Mescalero Apache Tribe, among others. Well, the U.S. Army tamed the Injuns, but Franciscans helped the Injuns to learn new ways of being productive, particularly where farm work & methods of irrigation were concerned. Like Old West homesteaders! Let's take a look at their handiwork in Tularosa!

View attachment 97694
View attachment 97695
View attachment 97696
View attachment 97697
View attachment 97698
View attachment 97699
View attachment 97702
View attachment 97703
View attachment 97704
View attachment 97705

Okay, we're gonna start with a pic taken from my trucker's atlas, so you can follow my nearly 6-hour journey on the KLR 650 today. I know there are some devout Christians here... me beloved & dear departed mum was a devout Catholic, and also a lay member of the Franciscan Order, which I didn't know until after her death. She was a strong Christian woman, and I respected that, even though I've never been highly religious myself. I lost my faith at a young age, prayin' my little heart out that my dad would return after he abandoned us overseas... but he never did, and I never saw him again.

However, freedom of religion is a core principle of our Constitution, so I don't begrudge others their right & freedom to follow the religion of their choice. I'm also into history, particularly Old Western history, and even more so, the hardcore Old Southwestern history! The Franciscan Order of padres, friars, monks et al, helped build missions, dwellings, stone and/or earthen dams, etc., and they helped tame the Old West by converting the 'savages' and teaching them how to improve land, adopt farming practices, and all that good stuff. Some of it took, and some Franciscans lost their lives...

Now, the California Missions get all the publicity, as they were founded early on and they still stand today... but the Franciscans also moved inland and started new missions elsewhere, such as this mission in Tularosa, New Mexico. I passed this church on my way to pick up US70 east out of Tularosa, and it was so pretty that I decided to go back and take a few pics for folks here at this site! Not only was the church or mission itself nice, the grounds were pretty as well, and the stone wall and arch out front were heller cool! I tried a few different angles, y'all can thank me later, lol.

Now, the history is what draws me to such places, and such buildings as this are alive with history! What we have here is a mission founded during the last year of the Civil War... members of the Franciscan Order wanted nothing to do with the war, they were busy out West, helping to tame the Mescalero Apache Tribe, among others. Well, the U.S. Army tamed the Injuns, but Franciscans helped the Injuns to learn new ways of being productive, particularly where farm work & methods of irrigation were concerned. Like Old West homesteaders! Let's take a look at their handiwork in Tularosa!

View attachment 97694
View attachment 97695
View attachment 97696
View attachment 97697
View attachment 97698
View attachment 97699
View attachment 97702
View attachment 97703
View attachment 97704
View attachment 97705

Awesome pics

 

[Wingnut]

Round #2 of pics... these trees were less than a block away from the mission, so I stopped to get some pics of the fall colors!

Now we're pullin' the grade up toward Mescalero and Ruidoso... I believe this shot was taken in Bent, a small hamlet or community just west of the Mescalero Apache Reservation.

Here's another mission, this one founded in Mescalero in 1887, same year work began on the Hotel Del Coronado in California, lol.

From here, we jump to the Inn of the Mountain Gods, an inn, casino & golf course on a lake just southwest of Ruidoso. The setting was nice, and there were paddleboat & skiff rentals for boating & fishing, but the Apache rental rates were absolutely ridiculous. I didn't know Biden had Apache blood, like 'Pocahontas' (i.e. Elizabeth Warren), PFFFFFFT. Meh, I can stop by the lake and eat a sandwich now and then, it's a good spot for that, and there's a lot along the shore behind the main building which has benches on the lakeshore trail.

Back in a moment with more lake pics...

 

[Heartbroken]

Dang, Wingnut, now ya have me wanting to get an off-road bike and head out west! Thank for sharing your rides.
I rode today too, just got Bike back from the mechanic and was gifted with a warm day in November so skipped out of work for the afternoon and hit the road. Didn't stop for any pictures today, but here's a few from a ride last month. I don't have any mountains or canyons, mostly a lot of flat farmland. But now that Bike has had the carbs rebuilt, I have plans to ride to the UP next year and tour round the waterfalls.

 

[Wingnut]

Round #3 of pics, we're still at the Inn of the Mountain Gods:

Look at that breeze! The wind was already picking up when I was here, and it became a serious factor and safety hazard later in my ride! But this little lake would be ideal for Laser or Minifish sailing! Problem is, the Apaches won't let any 'outside craft' on the lake, which of course lies on their reservation, so they make the rules, pfffffft. And what's with the 'dangerous wildlife' warning? Rattlers in the summer? Alpine Gators at 7000' elevation? Mega Piranha? Apache Sharktopus? Vicious attack Dobie & Rottie ducks & geese? Beats me...

P.S. Looks like some drunken Injun scalped the paint off that lakeside bench in Pic #8, lol...