It’s getting warmer. In fact it seems to be a much warmer spring than usual in these parts. Last frost isn’t until April 15 for these parts, but it’s to be close to 70 in New Mexico today and warmer in Texas.
My original path was to reverse my last course, Bernalillo NM to El Paso TX to Dallas TX to Fort Smith Ark to Bernalillo, NM. However, severe weather in Arkansas dissuaded me from that path and a quick mapping on Google showed equal miles on the path I ran.
- Bernalillo, NM Start
- Flagstaff, AZ
- Tucson, AZ
- El Paso, TX
- Ft Worth, TX
- Amarillo, TX
- Clines Corners, NM End
- Then home to Rio Rancho
Flagstaff can be damned cold this time of year as it’s at 7000 feet elevation. Today, it was temperate at about 50. Still nice to have the heated jacket, but pleasant. Phoenix traffic was minimal as it was Saturday and there were no delays. Tucson traffic was heavy but moving. I had to mark the corners at Flagstaff and Tucson with gas receipts, so didn’t have to tap my extra tank. The next three runs would be closer to the 350 mile IBA limit on receipt stops. Even so, El Paso came quickly.
My first 1000 miles passed before the I10/I20 freeway split and I stopped for a few hours of sleep in Pecos, TX. I wanted to get some more miles in and stop closer to Ft Worth, but tired is tired and I was ahead of schedule. Doing some math, I figured I could stop for 6 hours and still make my time easily. I set the alarm for four hours of sleep and woke on my own 4 minutes before the alarm.
On the road again, I’m assaulted by the usual West Texas smells – oil and cows – or as Texans say: Money. But it’s clear and cool, no traffic as it’s really early Sunday morning. Ft Worth slides by to the east and I’m on my way to more cow poop smells as I head through the perpetual road construction of Amarillo. Only a couple hundred miles left and plenty of time to get my clock stopped. A few miles past Tucumcari, I’ve got my 2000 miles in less than 36 hours. I get my final receipt in Clines Corners to give some miles leeway just in case.
My trip on a map: https://new.spotwalla.com/trip/7d1d-3e05d1-a117/view
2087 GPS Miles
Honda ST1300
Less than 36 hours
SS2000Gold Certificate