The Walking Machine

Today was a tough day for cycling. We started just after 8:00am due to the time change and a later sunrise, and I finished around 3:15pm. We stayed on highway 90 for nearly most of the day, with a somewhat rough road surface, very long and prolonged elevation climbs, and a head and cross wind that gusted at times up to 20MPH. I promise not to prolong my weather reports any more, but suffice it to say, this factor makes the difference between a good and bad day, at least for those of us on 2 wheels. I shouldn’t complain too much, since we’ve only had a smattering of rain since we started. The cold starts, however, have been ever present, but again, I digress!

We stopped in Valentine, as the students there had burritos and drinks prepared for us as a part of a fundraiser. I learned that, due to the remote nature of where they are, this particular school district spans 100 square miles. Yes, you read that correctly, 100 square miles, making the school bus rides for some of the kids tremendously long. Our stop where the kids served us was just behind the public library, which essentially is a very small house along the main road. It is completely funded by Karen Johnson, who is Karl Rove’s wife. (Karl Rove is a republican political contributor and former Deputy Chief of Staff for President George W. Bush). The kids were absolutely great; very talkative and polite, and we really enjoyed talking with them.

After moving out of Valentine, we saw a very unusual sight about halfway between Valentine and Marfa. Here was docked a “Spy Blimp”, which is part of the border patrol. Apparently, the National Border Patrol service uses this blimp to detect people attempting to migrate across the border into the U.S. I never really realized just how much energy and attention is focused on this particular issue.

After cycling uphill for what seemed to be most of the day, we finally were greeted by a gradual descent into Marfa. I learned that Marfa has quickly become an arts hub. The Chianti foundation, founded by artist Donald Judd, (supposedly a personal friend of Mick Jagger), displays huge indoor and outdoor installations on an old army base. The arts center hosts exhibitions, concerts, and the Marfa Myths cultural festival. Outside of town, there is a viewing platform from which the mysterious orbs known as the Marfa Lights can sometimes be seen. Additionally, Marfa is known as the location for the movie “Giant” (released in 1956), which was filmed on the Ryan Ranch, just outside of town. The movie features James Dean, Rock Hudson, and Elizabeth Taylor.

Tomorrow, we cycle from Marfa to Marathon, TX. It is a relatively shorter day, (approximately 56 miles), and is the gateway to Big Bend National Park. The plan is to stay both Thursday night and have a layover day on Friday, before heading out to Sanderson on Saturday.

A relatively long day miles-wise, however we enjoyed a tailwind and some cross winds on our trip from Ft. Hancock to Van Horn. I started the day solo, but at the first SAG stopped joined a group and stayed with them for the duration of the day. We traveled through the Rio Grande river valley on quiet roads in the morning, and then joined up with some interstate roads and eventually Interstate 10. I enjoyed the livestock and some of the ranches and farms along the way, and stopped to take a few pictures of horses, goats, sheep, and cattle. We had one long climb on the shoulder of I-10, but the tailwind made the overall experience tolerable. Toward the end of the day, we passed a Talc Mine and had one last long climb before sailing down the other side of the mountain. Right before we stopped, we passed into the Central Time zone, another signal that some progress has been made. We are now just a little shy of 1,000 miles in total since we left San Diego, and by the end of tomorrow, we will have exceeded 1,000 for the trip thus far. Only 2,000 miles to go! 🙂

Van Horn appears to be one great big truck stop, with many service stations and motels in what otherwise appears to be a relatively small and sleepy town. The biggest attraction to Van Horn is that it is the town closest to Jeff Bezo’s (Amazon founder) Blue Origin suborbital launch facility, known as Launch Site One. The site itself is about 25 miles north of Van Horn. We are camping in tents at Good Sam’s RV Park just outside of town, and the wind is absolutely whipping our tents all different ways. The ground here is absolutely covered with Goat Head Stickers, which wreaks havoc on bare feet and more notably, bicycle tires. The stickers come from a plant, which, after blooming, forms a devil’s thorn or a spiny fruits that have several spiny points that resemble a goat’s head. It’s a funny sight to see everyone carrying their bikes over grassy and sandy areas, in an attempt to avoid punctured tires. We’ve also been advised to stop and check our tires periodically, and try to remove the stickers before they create a problem.

All in all, today was very successful. Tomorrow, we have another 75 mile day, with a straight shot south-east to Marfa, on Texas Route 90. I’m told that we will cycle through Valentine, (population 150), where the seniors from the school, (all 7 of them) will be serving burritos as a fundraiser for a trip them have planned for later in the year. Should be a heartwarming experience, as well as a challenging day on the road. For now, I will sign off just before nightfall, and hope that my tent does not collapse on me during the night. Good night to all!

After a little later (8:00am) start, we wound around downtown El Paso before emptying out farmland on our way to Fort Hancock. The route was relatively easy today, with favorable winds and a relatively smooth and flat shoulder to ride on for most of the way. In the morning, we climbed onto a ridge in El Paso, and enjoyed a broad 180 degree view of Juarez, Mexico, just across the Rio Grande. The final 20 miles or so was enjoyable, as we emptied out onto the Rio Grande River basin. I started out in a group for the first segment, and then encouraged the faster riders to move ahead at the first SAG, as I have quickly realized that if I was forced to keep their pace for the remainder of the trip, I might make it but never see anything except for other people’s bike tires and the tip of my tongue hanging half-way down to my handlebar. And since I’ve already seen the tip of my tongue…

The remainder of the ride, about 40 miles or so, I did solo for the first time since I started the tour. While I have enjoyed the company of the other riders, I found the tension level greatly reduced when allowed to cycle at my own pace, and began to enjoy the sights and sounds along the way. The funny thing was, I ended up finishing the ride ahead of the faster group, simply because I stopped only briefly for a protein bar and some water, while they stopped for a full Mexican lunch. The surprised looks on their faces when I greeted them at our stop for the evening was worth the price of admission. I passed a lot of alfalfa fields and pecan groves with miles and miles of pecan trees, all in perfect lines. I was surprised to see the soil underneath the pecans completely flooded, and assume that the trees need a fair amount of irrigation in order to remain healthy and productive. There were a number of signs at the edge of all of these groves, warning that those who attempted to pick the pecans either from the trees or off of the ground would be punished by state law.

As I indicated yesterday, Ft. Hancock was made famous from the movie the Shawshank Redemption. I received further clarification today, when they explained to me that the main characters in the movie made an agreement to meet here, once the one man received a card in prison post marked from Fort Hancock. Apparently, this was a clue that the one man had made his escape, and would be able to meet the other in Fort Hancock so they could escape together into Mexico. I’m sure I got some of that story wrong, so feel free to correct me with the more accurate details.

Aside from this bit of trivia, I can attest that there isn’t much here. I knew not to expect much when I kept seeing signs for a post office, about 20 miles before I came to it. When I referenced my “Around Me” app on my phone once I arrived, it appears that the closest restaurant and gas station is 34 miles away. When I got to the Fort Hancock High School around 1:30, I was informed that the school would not allow any of us in to take showers until after dinner. For now, I’m writing this at the Community Church in Fort Hancock, a cute little church with 10 pews, a pulpit, and a ceiling fan. Oh yes, and one small man with sweaty bike shorts and his ever-present ski jacket. (Wish it would warm up some!)

Tomorrow, we leave Fort Hancock and continue our journey to Van Horn, where we will bed for the evening in tents at the Van Horn RV park. Another exciting day on the horizon. Thanks for all of the encouragement and support!

Welcome to Texas! Even though I am over 600 miles from home, strangely I feel closer, simply because the license plates read “Texas” on them. Today was noteworthy in many ways. First of all, it marked the coldest start we have had, with straight air temperatures of 31 degrees F, and with wind chills, it felt like 26 degrees. Most of us wore all of our cold weather clothes, including shoes covers, full fingered gloves and insulators, tights, and multiple long sleeves to ward off the cold wind, which, at 10 – 15MPH most of the day, blew directly into our faces. We left around 7:30am, and arrived in El Paso about 2:30pm, thanks to a notable accident that happened mid route.

About half-way into the ride, my friend from West Virginia, Jim Bob, navigated behind another rider, and his front tire clipped the back tire of the rider immediately in front of him. The inevitable happened, and he went down HARD, onto the pavement in the middle of the road. We quickly ditched our bikes and went to the rescue, but the damage was done. When Jim Bob fell, the majority of the impact occurred at his left elbow, though those of us who saw the fall from the back also witnessed his head hit the pavement, as well. We quickly helped him up and off to the side of the road, to avoid any oncoming cars. Fortunately, one of the SAG vans came in about 10 minutes, and loaded Jim Bob and his bike into the van and sped off to an Urgent Care in El Paso. The verdict was a break in the radial head of his left arm, just below the elbow. There were several gashes and dents in his helmet, but fortunately, the neurological checks showed no signs of concussion. Long story short, Jim Bob has a 12:30pm flight tomorrow back to his home state of Minnesota, as this marked the end of his journey. To his credit, he attended the dinner tonight, and wished us all luck. He still plans to ride RAGBRAI this July, and is contemplating another cross country trek next year. He will be sorely missed.

Needless to say, the rest of the ride went a little slower, as the remaining 7 riders in our group this morning were all a little shaken by this turn of events. Personally, I was struggling with the 73 miles today, and I owe a debt of gratitude to Teresa, another rider, who patiently taught me how to create a “slip stream” on the bikes. The slip stream involves aligning my front tire with the back tire of the rider in front, riding as closely as possible without interfering with the path of the bike in front, as well as watching for cars coming from behind. They claim that this maneuver reduces the “drag” from oncoming wind by 25%, and based on personal experience, I can attest that it does just that. While it is a little unnerving to ride so closely to the rider immediately in front of you, it does make a dramatic difference. It also taught me to choose very carefully when selecting a group to ride with, perhaps selecting a group that rides at your normal pace, or a little slower. In other words, as they say in West Virginia, “if you can’t run with the big dogs, stay on the porch”. I’m thinking that his might just be some good advice, and will be on the lookout for other riders with comparable abilities to my own in the future. The thought of separating from the group I have become close with pains me, but it might be in their best interest, as well as my own. We shall see!

There’s not much else to report about today, as the scenery was pretty much the same as we have had for the last several days. Tomorrow, we cycle from El Paso to Fort Hancock, a distance of 61 miles. After navigating through some urban traffic for the first 20 miles or so, we empty out into farm land, and parallel the Rio Grande River. Tomorrow’s destination is Fort Hancock, made famous from the movie the Shawshank Redemption. We we will be staying at Fort Hancock High School, and eating our dinner meal and breakfast the following morning at the Community Church, just adjacent to the school. I hope to have more to report tomorrow!

You have to admire some people’s resiliency. As an example, we have one rider who yesterday, during our 92 mile adventure, was forced to abandon his ride 13 miles short of our final destination. This was due to the fact that he felt his body listing to one side, and was unable to unclip out of his pedals when he wanted to, forcing two (2) unplanned “crash landings” onto the rough asphalt. Bleeding and a little “fuzzy”after the falls, the course directors asked that he join the SAG wagon for the remainder of the ride, so he could be watched more carefully. As he walked up to camp, we saw that his knee was significantly bruised and bleeding, and his arm appeared to have been bruised and potentially out of joint. That was yesterday. Today, when he woke up, he asked that one of the course directors take him back to the spot where he abandoned his ride the day before. With the mechanic accompanying him along the way, he rode the remaining 13 miles he missed the day before, in 37 degree temperatures, with the same 12-15 MPH headwind we had yesterday. The best part of the story: The man is 78 years old.

Since today was a well-deserved rest day, we “slept in” until 6:00am, and scrambled to get dressed in the completely unheated, ice-cold gym. As indicated above, the temperatures dropped into the mid 30’s, and the winds persisted for the majority of the day. The bad news is that the weather is supposed to drop even lower tomorrow, as we embark on our planned 73 mile ride into El Paso. On a completely unrelated note, the “food truck” that our cook drives experienced a water pump malfunction, preventing him from driving over 30MPH in order to ensure that the truck did not overheat, which was the main reason why we ate Domino’s Pizza last night. Reportedly, they were able to “patch” the water pump, hoping to make it to make it to El Paso where they can get the pump completely replaced. I am sure that Lewis and Clark had the same types of experiences as we are having, right?

After doing some preventative maintenance on our bikes this morning, our smaller group of four (4) which am currently being allowed to participate in (thanks David, Sean, and Jim Bob) walked to the Dollar General store, which appears to be the only store in about a 25 mile radius. The big winner at Dollar General was one of our Brits, David, who discovered a small Batman pillow, which he believes will work better under his head than his bag of dirty laundry he had previously been using. Why he chose Batman over Spider Man, I’ll never know!

After the Dollar General experience, we walked a block to the town’s only restaurant, Mama Casitas, where we met Mama herself and enjoyed some home-made tortilla chips and authentic Mexican food. A number of the other riders went on an excursion across the border into Mexico to eat at the “Pink Restaurant”, however I believe our decision to remain “state-side” and enjoy Mama’s was a good one. From there, we returned to camp, sorted our laundry into bins, and hunkered down in anticipation of another very cold and blustery New Mexico night. Say a prayer that the winds die down just a little, so our passage will be a little easier than yesterday! Our hope is to once again employ our “pace line”, taking turns at the front of the group to help blunt the effects of the wind.

Today was a tough cycling day. To set the stage, it began around 8:00pm Thursday night, with the winds and rain pounding the tents. The temperature dropped into the 30’s, and the wind was so strong that it caused the tarp covering my bike to flap furiously, creating some crazy noise and commotion. I elected to uncover the bike and take the tarp into the tent around 11:00pm, knowing that the rain would inevitably saturate the bike but at least keep the noise down for the other campers. The storm finally subsided in the early morning, allowing a little sleep before the long day began.

Five of us started out right at daybreak, which was about 7:15am. I hadn’t ridden 2 miles before my left mirror detached and hit the pavement, causing me to make some minor repairs while the group sailed on. Only 30 minutes later, I ran into one from the group who experienced a flat tire, and stopped to help him replace the tire, only to discover another rider a few miles forward, who was dealing with a leaking tire himself. All of these unplanned stops put us well behind the other riders, and set the stage for a pretty long day.

Long story short, our second longest ride of the tour, a 93 mile trek from Rodeo to Columbus, NM, was made even more difficult by some significant headwinds, with some gusts measuring beyond 20MPH. So much for the theory that traveling west to east would be easier due to the easterly direction of the trade winds! For some reason, the flow worked against us all day. Counting stops, it took us about 10 hours to cover 93 miles. By the time I was finished at 5:15pm, I was ready to throw the bike in the dumpster and head for the airport, but alas, all flights out of Columbus, NM International (population 1,500) had already departed for the day. :). So the tour continues for me! 🙂

I can tell you that the sites between Rodeo and Columbus are few and far between. Marked only by a simple sign, we did cross the Continental Divide, which did give me a little boost of enthusiasm that we were making some actual progress. Beyond that, I can tell you that in 10 hours, we experienced very little road traffic, and absolutely NO people or wildlife, with the exception of about 10 circling vultures, who seemed to follow me throughout the route. (I am convinced that, given my obvious struggles, to them I must have been perceived as a possible snack opportunity). At one point, we came across a plot of land for sale, listing the 10 available acres for $20,000. From what I saw, the $2,000 per acre asking price was very aspirational, and I would strongly encourage anyone interested to offer significantly less, as the potential your offer would be accepted is relatively high. To further paint the picture, I did not even see telephone poles and wires until we were within a few miles of Columbus.

Along the route, one of the riders commented at mile 70 that if he were back in his native Holland, he would have ridden from end to end, and be out of his home country by that time. Living in such a large country as the United States, it is hard picture an entire country slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey. Despite our challenges with the route, our luck seemed to change as we entered camp, as we were immediately met by none other than Esequiel Salas, the mayor of Columbus, NM, (population 1,500). Ever the politician, he suggested that if we could not find anything to eat in his town, we would be welcome at his home, where he signaled his willingness to cook for us all. Instead, we elected for Dominoes Pizza, which we devoured in our new, posh living conditions here in the gym of the Columbus Community Center. By now, I have gotten used to sleeping on an air mattress, and am very thankful for my down jacket, which helps keep me warm in our mostly unheated overnight locations. Speaking of that, we just received our “10 minute lights out warning”, so I must close. I promise to write more tomorrow.

Well, here I sit in a leaky tent, in the middle of a driving rain and windstorm just outside of Rodeo, NM. I’m reminded of that scene in the Wizard of Oz, where the storm threatens to blow my little nylon house in circles. I only hope that my electronics (front and back bike light, phone, and watch) are well under cover, but it might not matter, given the intensity of the winds which is causing the rain to move horizontally. The puddles are only in 4 places inside the tent, so I’m hoping that we will get a respite before I can add “indoor swimming pool” to my list of accommodations. But alas, into each life a little rain must fall, so I will continue to count the raindrops, and the moments until the storm subsides.

Despite the rough weather at the end of the day, the cycling day today was a pretty big success. We benefitted from a relatively strong tailwind and relatively flat roads, which allowed us to get to camp around 1:00pm, including a time change crossing from Arizona to New Mexico, where we lost one hour. The cook met us along the route, and served hot dogs that appeared to be at least 18 inches long. We have really benefitted from his services since we left, enjoying eggs and sausage for breakfast and steak, chicken, salmon, and pasta for dinner. I’ll probably be the only person to cycle across the US and gain 15 pounds in the process!

There have been some “mishaps” along the way, which have previously gone unreported. In the spirit of transparency, (though careful not to alarm anyone), I can report that we had one person staying at the hotel in Tombstone (NOT IN OUR GROUP), who apparently suffered a fatal heart attack. The emergency vehicles came around 11:30 – 12:00 at night and attempted resuscitation, but was unsuccessful. While this person was not a part of our group, admittedly it made us all pause and be thankful for our families and friends, as well as our good fortune so far along the way. Our prayers go out to those who have suffered the loss of loved ones.

Continuing in the same spirit, I must report that one of our group did in fact have a fairly bad accident yesterday, though thankfully survived, suffering only minor scrapes and bruises. He was about 15 minutes behind me, coming out of Bisbee, AZ, and was descending down an incline at a fairly high speed just past the copper mines when one of the many cross-winds we have experienced forced him off the road, and OVER the guard rail. Fortunately, the clips on his shoes released, separating the rider from his bike. He and his bike went sailing over the railing and into the brush. There were a number of people around who were able to help him. Miraculously, his injuries were minor and his bike only suffered some minor damage, which was easily repaired. The man, from the Netherlands, had been quite boisterous and upbeat over the past few weeks, but I think the experience has provided a different perspective. I spoke to him at breakfast this morning, and he indicated his willingness to proceed. Having just traveled the same route, I am glad I took a cautious speed down the same incline just moments before.

On a much lighter note, I’m told that the descent yesterday was so dramatic that the group I was riding in traveled five (5) miles in eleven (11) minutes, which certainly sets a personal record for me. It appears our top speed was around 32 miles an hour, and I am pretty sure that we won’t be duplicating that speed anytime soon. The route today was relatively straightforward without much to report, however. We did come upon a monument that commemorates the surrender of Geronimo, the last Apache chieftain, who surrendered in 1886 to General Nelson Miles. According to the monument, the surrender of Geronimo in Skeleton Canyon marked the end of Indian warfare in the U.S. I’m guessing that after getting a good look at Rodeo, Mexico, Geronimo knew that there wasn’t much to look forward to. After staying here, I think he made a pretty good decision.

We now are completely out of Arizona, and on the east side of the Chiricahua Mountains. The camp we are staying in is VERY isolated, with only the Chiricahua Museum a short walk away. This museum is full of reptiles and other creatures in the area, and holds the largest collection of herpetological wildlife art in the world. I feel absolutely terrible that I’m missing the beginning of the museum tour, but then again it might help me avoid some nightmares. They just came to add an additional covering for my tent, so among many other things, I am thankful and hoping to avoid rain in the middle of the night. We shall see!

Tomorrow, day 15 of the tour, is a big one. We are scheduled to cycle from Rodeo to Columbus, NM in Hidalgo County. The route’s elevation is 1,700 feet, and is scheduled to cover 92 miles, which will be a personal record for me. I’m hoping that the rain and wind let up, allowing us a little relief for what promises to be a challenging day. I hope everything is well with each of you. Thanks for all of your encouragement and support!

Despite the relatively low mileage, today was a difficult cycling day, thanks to all of the climbing outside of Tombstone. The climb came early in the day, which helped, however the long, slow pulls really seemed to take a lot out of all of the riders, myself included. Today marked the highest elevation achievement of the entire tour. At the apex of Mule Pass, we took a turn to view the erroneously marked Continental Divide Obelisk, which was labeled 6,030 in elevation. The road we followed to see the marker was constructed in 1913 and 1914 by prison labor. The marker claims that Mule Pass was right on top of the Continental Divide, the invisible line separating the watershed of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The true line lies about 120 miles to the east, along a low rise in New Mexico. The rains that fall on Mule Pass eventually empty out into the Sea of Cortez, and into the Pacific Ocean. Despite the faulty claim, it felt like a pretty big accomplishment to reach the top. Once there, we sped down the other side and into the town of Bisbee.

Bisbee is 90 miles southeast of Tucson, and 7 miles north of the Mexican border. If any of you get the chance, I would highly recommend a stop, even if only for 3 – 4 hours. Bisbee is an “artsy” town, with a number of retail and art shops, outdoor performers, and a very quaint residential district, with homes that used to belong to copper miners. It reminds me a little bit of Galena, Illinois, with the addition of an absolutely HUGE copper mine that is truly spectacular. The different color hues along the create layers of this mine are truly something to see. We stopped at a small coffee shop after climbing for most of the morning, and then “flew” down the other side of the mountain. Within about an hour and a half, we entered Douglas, and found our place for the evening, the Gadsden Hotel.

The Gadsden Hotel was designed by an architect named Henry Trost, who apparently was a very noteworthy architect who built a number of buildings in El Paso, San Angelo, Albuquerque, Phoenix, and Tucson. The Gadsden opened in 1907, and quickly became a meeting place for cattlemen, ranchers, miners, and businessmen. In 1928, a fire swept through the hotel, leaving nothing but the elevator car cabin, the marble staircase, and marble columns. The hotel was immediately rebuilt, using the same architect but on a grander scale. The elevator, a novelty at the time, is one of the oldest manually operated elevators still in use west of the Mississippi. The hotel was also one of the first to feature individual bathrooms in all 160 rooms. The staircase inside the front of the building is made of Italian marble, with columns hand layered with 24 carat gold leafing. There is a window at the top of the grand staircase, essentially a stained glass mural depicting the southwest desert. It runs 42 feet long and 6 feet tall. This is one of the few hotels we will be staying on our tour, so everyone is really making the best of things, while we can.

Tomorrow, we ride another 53 miles, and leave Arizona to enter New Mexico. We will travel to Rodeo, NM, with another 1,226 feet of climbing. This is one of our last “short” days, as the next day, we are scheduled to ride 92 miles, and the following day another 73. After completing these 73 miles, we will be in El Paso. Hello Texas!

Well, we made up for a relatively easy day yesterday with our migration from Tucson to Tombstone, Arizona today. We climbed through the Santa Rita Mountains today, passing through the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area. The climbs rivaled our second day over the Sierra Nevada’s, and the views were pretty impressive. In the distance, we saw snow covered peaks that were approximately 9,000 feet above sea level. I’m told that we will likely experience sleet or snow and extreme colds tomorrow, as we continue our elevation climb. Just like I was told in China, “the higher you go, the more jacket you will need”.

Last night, after dinner, I had an interesting conversation with the janitor of the school we were staying in. He urged me to avoid going for a walk after dark, since the Peccaries (Javelina’s) were prevalent in the area, and could be easily agitated. Not knowing much about Javelinas, (but not exactly interested enough in them to get “up close and personal” I looked up a few facts. I learned that Javelinas are like a wild pig, and are omnivores (which I later learned does NOT mean that they like peanut butter and Rice Krispie treats). When threatened, the Javelina will rub their tusks together to make a chattering sound to scare predators away. Electing to stay within the safe confines of the high school gym, I slept soundly on the air mattress, secure in the fact that I would not be the source of any chattering in the darkness.

We cycled up some pretty steep hills, and enjoyed some occasional downhills and flat areas before managing one last push up-hill into Tombstone, Arizona. Tombstone is an interesting place. Known as the “Town too tough to Die”, Tombstone is the home of 1,300 souls, (I suppose we could call them “Toomers”). Only 30 miles from the Mexican border, Tombstone is known for a few things: Firstly, it boasts to have the world’s largest rose bush. More importantly, it is the cite of the most famous gunfight in the Wild West, known as the “Gunfight at the OK Corral”.

Back in 1881, apparently several outlaws, (Ike and Billy Clayton, Bill Claiborne, and Tom and Frank McLaury) squared off against Doc Holliday, and Virgil, Morgan, and Wyatt Earp. (I mention these names in case any of you would like to research your 23 and Me to ensure that anyone involved could possibly be related to you). This famous gunfight started with the two sides only six (6) feet apart, and took only 30 seconds, with 30 shots fired. Only Wyatt Earp escaped without being wounded, which is probably why he became more famous than his brother Virgil, who was the town Marshal, and big honcho in the town at the time. I am sure that while you history buffs have found this paragraph absolutely riveting, the rest of you have most likely dozed off by now. My apologies for that!

Also, for you film and TV buffs, there heave been a number of shows and movies filmed here. The one I recognize the most is “The High Chaparral”, which was a TV series that aired in the late 60’s and early 70’s. Also, more recently, Wyatt Earp: Return to Tombstone (1994), and a series of “ghost” movies (Ghost Hunters – 2004, Ghost Adventures- 2009, and Ghost Lab- 2009). I feel a little disappointed that Ghostbusters wasn’t filmed here, but then again, you can’t have everything!

Today, Tombstone boasts the highest rated brewery in the state of Arizona. The Tombstone Brewing Company, (a real Marketing genius came up with this catch name, I am sure), makes ales and lagers. Their core beer selections include Tombstone IPA (hazy New England style IPA), a Raspberry Berliner (a sour fruited Berliner Weisse that is no doubt a favorite in Germany), and an Oregon Lots II Double IPA, (which is probably twice as good as a single IPA). Seasonally, they produce Little Baby Wyatt, (Mrs. Earp’s favorite, I assume), a Wild West Wheat, a Festbeer (during Oktoberfest time), and a Winter Ale, (which is an Amber Ale with cinnamon). For those of you interested in sampling some of these, you can send me all of your money, (small bills, all unmarked), and I will pick up a six pack for you. I’ll try to work out a way to carry all of this back with me on my bike! Josh, I hope you found this information helpful, but then again, you probably already knew all of this!

We are staying at the Landmark Lodge, which claims to be THE (ALL CAPITALS) place to stay when visiting Tombstone. Though I can’t be sure this is the best hotel in the town, I can tell you that the hot shower felt really good, and a real bed tonight will feel even better. From our front door, we can see for miles, mostly jagged rocky peaks and cactus. I’m still keeping my ears peeled for the chattering of the Javelina’s!