Myths and Misconceptions About my Trip

Before my trip comes to an end, there are a few things I want to set straight.....some myth and misconceptions surrounding my trip. I have a list of memorable quotes from my trip that I will share at some point. They make for some great laughs! Other people are always fascinated to hear about my trip and the way they perceive what I'm doing fascinates me. They get fixated on details that I take for granted that don't seem to bother me, other times people's comments make me laugh, rarely do they offend me! However, before this trip comes to an end, I wanted to politely clarify and address some common myths and misconceptions regarding my trip.

You're really brave!....One tough young lady!

Brave, me?!?!? Growing up, I used to run down my hallway in socks passing all the enpty rooms on the way spooked that somebody or something would pop out at me. By the time I made it back to my room and returned to the family room, my heart was pounding and I was completely flustered. I don't consider myself brave at all, but I also don't like to live in fear! What fun is it to be afraid? I could easily spook myself out on this trip, camping alone in the forest, pitching my tent behind buildings not too far out of sight from people. Anyone could stop on the road in the middle of nowhere and do as they please with me. These thoughts have all crossed my mind of course, but briefly. Usually at the end of the day, I can hardly keep my eyes awake to look at the pictures I took that day, let alone worry about whether or not I hear an animal foraging in the bushes nearby. In fact, I'm no adamant on getting sleep, I wear ear plugs to bed at night. I don't want to know if something is going to come and get me, if they do, just let me sleep and rest until the very last moment possible, PLEASE!!!

Climbing a few of the rockies will help you get strong!

Instead of feeling scared and thinking that something could happen, I try to exude trust and respect to those around me and the people with whom I interact. I embrace an opportunity to meet new people, excited by what I might learn from them, gaining insight and perspective on life. Am I lucky that 99.9% of the people whom I've encountered on The Loong Way Home have been thoughtful, kind, and extremely generous? I don't think so! I give others the benefit of the doubt and think that other people naturally have good intentions. Am I innocent or naive?? Perhaps you might think so, how fun is it to live in a world filled with fear, threat, and suspicion?!?!

Sometimes you just gotta pretend to be tough!

Surely you must get lonely.....

Lonely? I don't have time to get lonely! Even on my longest days, after hours on end in the saddle pedaling I don't get bored. I never run out of things to think about or tired of sight seeing. My environment is constantly changing and so are my thoughts, which keep me stimulated and aware. I love being in motion! There is always something new and different to take in, observe, and reflect upon. Lots of times I think my brain is “off” and I look down at my bike computer and realize I've just gone 50 km without even realizing it! Do I remember what was going through my head? No! But just like that the time has gone by so quickly! When I stop for a break or to sight see, it's almost guaranteed that someone will approach me to ask a question and engage in conversation. In fact, I can almost predict who that someone will be and it happens in less than a minute out of the saddle. To tell you the truth, sometimes I could actually use a bit more alone time, which is why it is important to balance staying the night with a hosts and camping.

How many times was I the tourist attraction when I just wanted to see the real attraction like everyone else?

I really enjoy traveling on my own! At first, the idea of traveling solo made me feel foolish. Isn't there anyone who will go with me on my trip? But the deeper I got into the planning the more I realized that this was personal journey that I needed to do on my own. It was something intimate, my dream, my desires, and I wasn't going to let anyone stop me or change my course! At the end of this solo trip, I could easily see myself doing another trip similar to this, solo as well. If I find a partner in crime to join me, excellent, but I'm not going to stop doing what I love most just because no one will come with me! In fact, I would encourage everyone at some point in their life to travel solo. Do a weekend getaway alone, or an entire week-long trip, but take the time to be alone and get to know yourself. It's made me more confident, insightful, and happy.

One minute I'm eating my dumplings in peace, the next, there are people swarming asking me a million questions I can't understand!

You can't be over 30, right?

I think people assume I'm under thirty because of my “younger” looking appearance, my energy, and the fact that people over 30 surely don't quit their job to go bicycle around the world! When people want to know my age, I always preface my answer saying I look younger than I am. I'm flattered that I'm perceived to be youthful, really. In fact, I've even been called “kiddo” on this trip and not just once! My favorite comment about my age came from a bike mechanic back in Hobart, Tasmania. “What is this, like a gap year for you?” A gap year is what the Brits do after high school before entering university. I found his question to be quite funny, so I came up with an equally comical response. “I'd say it's more like a mid-life crisis without the husband, kids, car, or house!” Except, The Loong Way Home really ins't that either. I never had some big epiphany, nor did I wake up one morning and say, “That's it, I'm going to cycle around the world!” I knew I was getting really comfortable in Barcelona, which isn't a bad thing, but I felt like I was missing out on a world out there to explore and discover. I was itching for a change, trapped in my daily routine. I was antsy to do something drastically different. Surely people over the age of 30 are responsible and don't just quit their jobs?!?! I've always struggles with conforming to society's norm. I can only go with the flow so long before I have to break free. Does it make me irresponsible? Not really, it actually works in my favor, making people think I'm younger than I am. Thanks for the compliment!

And don't forget to  surround yourself by kids, they help keep you feeling young!

Ouch! Doesn't your bottom get sore?

Actually, no, not really! I have the most comfortable saddle in the world: a Brooks no less. They say there is a break in period with these leather beauties, but I bought mine, put it on, and cycled around Corsica, France for 10 days without having any problems. I've never really had any problems and the longer I sit on it the more comfy it becomes, my butt cheeks rest perfectly on the triangular shape. Sometimes I have to tighten the leather by turning an adjustment screw because it starts to sag over time, but my saddle is more comfortable than most chairs! I've never had saddle rash from my Brooks and only once do I remember a sore bum, but that was caused by a new pair of bike shorts rubbing rather than the seat. I sware by the Brooks saddle, it has been wonderful! Since it is leather, I protect it from the rain with a shower cap on top, that is the only real inconvenience I've experienced!

An up close look at my beautiful and comfy saddle!

I never understood those people who can just leave their job and go travel....Are you independently wealthy?

I love this comment and question! I take their comment with a grain of salt and respond jokingly saying that I work in an extremely lucrative profession, teaching! It's very fulfilling profession that doesn't necessarily fill the pocketbook. People make this comment almost with a bit of disgust or resentment. But as my Dad always says, life is a series of choices. You choose how to live your life and I enjoy simplicity and a minimalist style. I don't need any fancy amenities, travel and food are the extent of my purchases, that go above and beyond my basic needs. Before leaving on my trip, I was full time teaching putting in well over 40 hours a week at school plus working crazy hours teaching private classes before and after school. Thankfully I have a lot of energy and I could keep up this crazy schedule knowing that it was a means to an end to save as much as possible before I left. I don't have a car, no house, no debt, which makes dropping everything and leaving relatively easy. In the grand scheme of vacations and travel, bike touring is rather inexpensive. Other than plane tickets and bike mechanics, food was my greatest expense, but then again, I didn't want to survive off of bread and cheese pedaling around the world.

You must know a lot about bikes!

I wish!! If I did, wow, I'd be one hell of a bike tourer! Would you believe me if I told you I had never had a flat tire in my entire biking career before I set out for this trip? I've done gran fondos, half Ironmans, and Ironman always looking down at my tires, ing not to puncture! I practiced how to change a tire in my apartment, but that has nothing to do with being out on the road. The first time I got a flat tire, I was put to the test changing it in the middle of nowhere in China with no one to help me. Before I left for my trip, I had good intentions to learn the basics about bike mechanics. I became a member of a bike Co-Op in Barcelona, hoping that it would give me the practical knowledge I needed for my trip. However, at that time, I didn't have the interest or confidence that I needed to really get my hands dirty and dig in, I was intimidated and scared, too insecure to believe I could actually fix something on my bike. I counted on my nice character to help me out along the way. I'm great at diagnosing the problem, hearing a noise and finding where it comes from, but fixing it is a whole other story. However, in the last month, I've become much more confident and my skills have improved. Recently I changed out cables, a cassette, and my chain.

First flat tire of the trip

I met the most interesting mechanic the other day at a bike store in Olympia, Washington. He said, everyone is already 90% a bike mechanic, there is just another 10% you have to learn. I do understand what he means because tinkering with a bike is intuitive. It is all about creative problem solving, basic physics, and being a detective. But first, you have to want to learn. After pedaling 20,000 miles, I'm finally eager to take my bike apart and rebuild it, and learn all I can while adapting it just so to prepare it for another trip.

Are you doing this for a charity or to raise money or awareness?

Nope! I know that sounds selfish, right? That is exactly the point. I feel as if other people ask me trying to impose their opinion or make a statement that it isn't acceptable to do something just because it makes you feel good. Is it really that bad to put myself before others? Are they trying to make me feel guilty for not contributing or giving back to the bettering of a community?

Why do people think monetary donations are one of the only ways to give back to this world? Should I be riding for a cause or raising money for an organization? I got the charity question a lot in Australia and The United State and it made furious initially. When I said no, people looked at me with pity and sympathetically stated, “Oh, I see,....you are trying to find yourself!” I had to hold back my desire to laugh and instead I chuckled inside myself thinking, I found myself loong ago, don't you see? That's why I set out on my bike,.....because I do know myself well! I know what I like, what I enjoy doing, and I finally got the courage to just do it!

Specifically addressing the charity and fundraising issue, personally I think human interaction is priceless and many times more valuable than a monetary donation! You learn so much from other people and your contact with them. People I've met along the way say I'm an inspiration and admire me, which may be true, but the feeling is reciprocal. I can't even begin to tell you how I've changed and grown as a result of this trip and what I've learned from interacting with people from so many different countries and religions.

So you are going home right, settling down in Oregon? Or are you going back to Spain?

Where is the crystal ball?? I want to see what my future holds.....actually, I really don't, so please don't ask me! Even after 20,000 miles (30,000km) I still don't know where I'll end up! From the name of my trip it seems as though I would be going home and stay in Oregon. I call my trip The Loong Way Home so people automatically assume that I'm going home to be in Oregon when my trip finishes. Yes, I do want to spend some time at home visiting family and friends and enjoy some downtime, but I have a feeling after a few months I will be itching to set off again. Back to Barcelona? Barcelona actually feels more like home since I lived there for 11 years, but I also don't see myself staying there forever. I would love to use it as a home base before the following school year. Barcelona is an inviting place to be a tourist with sunny skies, delicious food, and an outdoor sport mecca. I could cycle to my heart's content, substitute teach, and visit friends, before going back to the “real world”. I warn you, don't take any of my plans for the near future seriously these days as my mind is scattered and all over the place as my trip winds down.

Starting to see signs for Oregon!!!!

Spiritual Superstition...... or Call Me Crazy!

You might really think I’ve gone mad after reading this post, but I can’t help but publish the most peculiar experience I had a few nights back with my host.  I’ve started a list of all the interesting professions my hosts have who I've met along my trip. The list includes everything from swat medics to smoke jumpers, jubilee dancers, and skydivers in the Slovenian army.  They rank among the most unusual!   I’ve stayed with hosts of many religions from Muslim to Mormons, Buddhists to Hindu’s, but I had yet to stay with a Native American spiritual leader, until I met Susan, a Lakota spiritual educator, as she likes to call herself.  Although frankly, I think she is more along the lines of a “healer.”  I’m going to give you the facts of the situation and tell the events as they unraveled and you can interpret them as you like.

The Black Hills are quite touristy, but it is an enchanting area

I arrived to Hot Springs, South Dakota for the day just after 6pm.   Once again I was completely famished (this seems to be a common occurrence for me recently).  I’ve learned from experience NOT to plop down at the first place I see when I arrive at my destination, because the chances are I won’t ever get up.  I did pull up to the first food stop I saw in Hot Springs, but I only let myself buy two items, rather than a bagful of snacks.  This way, I would have a snack while contemplating my dinner and camping options and move on.  I was out on the steps in front of the store when an older woman approached, entering the store.  She wanted to know where I had come from.  I told her the short version, Hemingford, NE, a good 110 miles away.  It had been a long day making up some miles for the windy ride out of Scottsbluff.

The Black Hills of South Dakota, they get their name from the pine trees that cover them that look "black" from afar.

I never made it to the river, but I'm sure it was nice.....

She looked local, so I asked her where the best place was to access the river for a bath. After all, Hot Springs was a unique town in South Dakota’s southern Black Hills with a natural hot springs running right through the center for all to access.  She pointed out a path to take and so I asked her for good camping places in town where I might be a bit hidden and off the tourist path.  I wasn’t expecting her to offer me her own yard, but she did, and I didn’t hesitate to accept.  I could get set-up and then go explore town.  I waited for her to go in and buy the ice cream she came for, and then I followed her home on my bike, just a few minutes away. 

When I arrived, she told me that I was more than welcome to her spare bedroom, so I wheeled my bike under the carport and brought my stuff inside.  She pardoned her messy house, telling me she just arrived home after being gone all winter.  This I believed because things were a bit scattered, and her suitcase was still in the living room, but it didn’t bother me.  I was appreciative of a roof over my head and couldn’t believe I had lucked out with a host in a town where I planned on camping.  After washing up and getting settled, I asked her what she did in town, although I thought she might be retired.  At 70 years old, she was still working, she told me she was a Native American spiritual teacher.  I questioned, “Oh, like a healer?” Susan doesn’t like to think of herself as a healer, instead she described herself more as a bridge between the divine and the human world. 

Susan, my host, the Lakota spiritual teacher

Yes, go ahead and say it,...... “Melissa, you’ve gone crazy!”  If it wasn’t for being on my bike pedaling 20,000 miles (30,000km) on my way home, I probably wouldn’t have given much time or thought to a “spiritual healer” and shrugged her off as being a crazy old lady too!  But the more Susan explained about her work and life, the more fascinated I became!  She was filled with wisdom and had an interesting perspective on life.   She believes that as long as you are doing what you are doing, “they” will take care of you. That is the way it works, it just does, Susan confirmed.  As long as you remain on the path that is dictated to you in your life, through free will and incarnations, everything you are suppose to be doing, the people you are suppose to meet, the experience that you are suppose to happen will occur.  Humans get in trouble, Susan believes, when we forcefully try to stop others from following their path.   But it is our own free will and ideas of spirituality that designate this path.  Susan’s role is to consult us along this path and help guide us, but rather provide a bridge for us.

That evening, Susan admitted that she didn’t even like ice cream. Her fridge was practically empty after being gone all year. Yet, she went to the store that evening and walked into the store and came out with ice cream that she didn’t even like or plan on eating?!?!?   She claimed that “they” had sent her down to the store because she was supposed to meet me!  This was “their” plan.  I tried to hold back my judgmental thoughts, but inside I though, “Oh geez, this lady is really crazy!  Good thing I’m only staying for one night!”  It’s probably good I only did stay for one night because I just about ate everything in sight that night and the following morning. I had the weirdest cravings that night at Susan’s house.  My body craved salty food first, eating anything in sight laden with salt, then sweets.  I couldn’t refrain from trying to satisfy my cravings, they were intense!  Susan joked with me and told me the more I ate the better because then she wouldn’t eat it! She didn’t touch the ice cream, but guess who did have their fair share?

That night we continued to have more thought provoking conversation about religion, the history and geography of the area, journeys, culture, and life in general.  Her partner was German and she’d ton a lot of traveling around Europe, which is always a good topic of conversation with me.  Susan was certain that my journey was all part of a bigger plan to be a teacher others and share my experiences with them.  For me, my trip is more about personal growth and discovery, but I guess I do have an impact on others.  In her words, I’m like a type of messenger, literally!  There are few religions that really captivate my interest, but I Susan’s spiritual beliefs intrigued me.  I pressed my luck hoping that she did a bit of fortune telling as well.  Not that I believe in that kind of stuff either, but at times I wonder what the crystal ball would say.  If someone told me five years ago I would be traveling from Barcelona to Oregon on bike, I would have thought they were crazy! Unfortunately she told me she didn’t do that kind of stuff!

We woke early in the morning and I was optimistic I could get a blog post written before hitting the road. She made a nutritious breakfast for me while I typed away about my experience in Scottsbluff.  After eating, I could there were some pills close to my computer.  I thought she had accidentally left her vitamins close to me.  Susan told me, when you leave here, you are going to come down with something strong and you will need these.  “You’ll be hit hard, but just take two, and then two more every two hours until you start feeling better.”  I recognized the words on the package as German and they seemed like some sort of homeopathic medicine from Europe.  Susan confirmed this fact.  They were homeopathic pills from Germany.  I sort of just nodded and said, “Ok, ok!” thinking, Lady, I’m not going to take some pills with ingredients I don’t even recognize from a lady I don’t even know. Politely, I put them in my bag anyway. 

The two things I left Susan's house with, a Namaste card and homeopathic pills (I ended up taking all but these)

I stubbornly tried to finish my post, but I could see Susan had her own agenda.  She was setting up some cards…..Wait a minute, I thought she didn’t do fortune telling?!?!?  They were Namaste cards she told me, all laid out face down on a tray.  She told me to pick one, any one of them.  I strategically went for the card that was the most hidden under the others.  I turned it over, wouldn’t you know, it said, “Sense Withdrawal!”  Crazy, here I had looked for the card that was the most hidden and out of the way.  For a few days I had been craving some “me time” a bit of down time all to myself, out of sight from others, cut off from the world, impossible on a bike tour!  She told me to keep this card’s message present in my mind as I continued on my journey. 

Then she asked if she could touch me.  Most, people ask if they can touch my legs, so I was used to it.  But Susan’s hand didn’t go to my legs, she put her index finger just below my collarbone, closed her eyes, and was silent for almost a good minute, longer than I expected.  She opened her eyes and told me, “You are going to be okay on this journey Melissa.  You will arrive home safely, but wow, a lot of interesting things are going to happen.  You are going to meet some really fascinating people and it is going to be a long trip!”  I know, anyone can say that about my trip but, at least it is good to know that a semi truck isn’t going to run me over or some crazy weirdo terrorize me, at least if I stay on the path my spirituality tells me to go down! I was hoping she’d say I’d meet my prince in shining armour, another cyclist on a shiny steel frame pedaling along on his long bike ride, but that didn’t come out of her mouth either!

At this point I thanked her, packed up my things, and she sent me off with some dried sage wrapped in Kleenex, which is a sacred herb for the Lakota people.  I was on my way to the Black Hills and Mt. Rushmore.  Rolling away, literally two doors down, I saw another supermarket.  Interesting?!?!?  She could have walked 30 seconds and been at that supermarket to get ice cream last night, yet Susan had gotten in her car and drove half a mile down the road for ice cream……..I tried not to think too much into that. 

Follow the signs and you'll get there if you don't get hit hard like I did

Three hours into my ride I rolled up to a small touristy town, Custer, right at the crossroads to Mt. Rushmore.  I was starting to get hungry, so I figured it was a good stop.  Still stubborn and intent on doing a blog post, I looked for a restaurant with a strong wifi connection where I could chill for a couple of hours.  This is when it hit me.  All of a sudden I felt really weak and ravenous.  The feeling was strong and had come over me just after I sat down, taking me completely by surprise.  In the matter of minutes I ate the entire bag of groceries I bought to have that night camping.  Then, I had to go to the bathroom, not once, not twice, or three times, it was non-stop!  What was this? Where did this come from?  What was happening?  Boy was I lucky to be in a town, in a restaurant with a bathroom.  I was reluctant to admit that this was what Susan warned me about.  She told me I would come down with something when I left, but I thought this something, if it were to happen, maybe a day or two from now, NOT within a few hours!!!  Of course, being the stubborn person that I am, I didn’t take the pills she had given me, I just kept going to the bathroom until I couldn’t go any more!

Me on my last fumes trying to make it to Mt. Rushmore. I made to the sign, and kept pedaling all the way up, somehow....

I still had 20 miles to ride to Mt. Rushmore, so I needed to get myself on the road.  I felt okay at the beginning, but the longer I rode the more exhausted I felt.  I had eaten an entire bag full of groceries and drank a few liters of sports drinks, surely, I would feel fine?  But I didn’t!  And the truth is, I’ve never felt worse on my entire trip.  I was shaking, jittery, famished, as if I hadn’t eaten for weeks!  In the world of cycling they call it bonking, which to this day, I think I’ve only officially felt twice.  But at this moment, I was beyond bonking.  All I had left for food were the two chocolate bars Susan gave me as I set off.  I ate these, nothing.  I was still weak. I finally gave in and took two of her pills.  By then, I think it was too late.  I didn’t notice any immediate remedy.  I struggled to make it up to Mt. Rushmore.  I was on the verge of a breakdown, I could hardly pedal, somehow I found some way to keep the legs turning. What was happening to me? What on earth had attacked my system?  I arrived at Mt. Rushmore and if it wouldn’t have been for the thousands of tourists, I would have laid down in the parking lot and fallen asleep for the night.  I couldn’t go any further.  I couldn’t think straight, I couldn’t do anything except wonder……Is this what Susan had warned me about?  

Mt. Rushmore, for me the best part of arriving was knowing it was all downhill to Keystone, SD, my refuge for the night

Managed to wheel my bike down as close as you could get to the monument....

Luckily, all I had left to pedal was a few miles straight down to Keystone, where I planned to take refuge for the night.  That night, every two hours I popped a few of her pills while I sought withdrawal from the world.  I was in no state of mind to interact with others.  As for replenishing the nutrients I had lost, luckily I found an “All-You-Can-Eat” burger joint and piled on as many toppings as possible on my Buffalo burger. I went back for seconds and thirds, and then did the same with an “All-You-Can-Eat” ice cream sundae bar.  I think the foreigners working the burger joint were appalled by my appetite.  What a reputation I gave Americans that night with my eating habits.  I have never felt so depleted on this trip, I can’t even begin to explain the sensation. 

Can you find the burger in this basket?

As if the waitress didn't think I was crazy enough with a basket this full, I made her take a picture (notice I'm all nicely bathed from the sponge bath in their bathroom!)

Like I said, you can choose to interpret the situation however you please.  I stayed with a crazy lady for a night, ate something that was rotten or spoiled, got bad food poisoning, and ended up with the worst case of the runs that I’ve had on my trip.   And let me tell you after all the food I ate off street carts in Asia and unwashed and unpeeled fruit, I never had an upset stomach there. Bad luck or do you believe in something else!?!?  You can choose to interpret the scenario as you like. In my opinion, Susan really was some sort of “spiritual bridge”.  Although I don’t think of myself as being a believer, I am a bit superstitious and I DO think she worked her magic on me!  If only she knew….although something tells me she is reading this post with a huge grin on her face saying, “I told you so Melissa……..”

PS. Ironically, I'm sitting trying to type this blog at Safeway, trying to "seek withdrawal", but the man next to me is soooooo curious about my presence it is rather hard! 

Trivia From The Saddle

Do you know where the most photographed church is in The United States? Did you know that a city was created artificially when the atomic bomb was being developed in the early 1940’s? And that the tallest sand dunes are in a state that doesn’t even have a beach on the west coast of the United States?  In this same area, there is also a stretch of highway that has cow mutilation warnings on highway signs due to sightings of UFO’s, which is next to one of the smallest towns in the entire United States.  Yep, that is right, you better believe it!  The things you learn from the saddle of a bike are fascinating!

The road sign provided a much needed rest climbing up to town.

During the last few days I covered a lot of territory in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado and discovered some interesting and rather unusual facts about the area.  First on the list is Los Alamos, off the beaten track (as are many places I cycle on my route) on a road that leads to nowhere and literally dead ends, it’s a perfect remote location to develop the nation’s powerful weapons of mass destruction.  Back in the early 40’s scientists and researchers were looking for a place to build a bomb laboratory, code named the Manhattan Project.  It needed to be a location that was safe from enemy attack, isolated because of its classified top-secret status, and sparsely populated in case there was a nuclear accident.  Los Alamos, NM fit this description.  Not to mention it is a grueling climb up to the city, discouraging any cyclists from entering the area.  I guess I should say discouraging MOST cyclists from coming to visit.  For me, Los Alamos was relatively close to Bandelier National Monument and since I wanted to see the cliff dwellings here, and there were Warm Showers hosts in the Los Alamos, I made the trip.  It was a hard climb, but it was quite interesting to see the area and learn about the history from my hosts who both used to work at the national lab.

One of the atomic bombs developed in Los Alamos National Lab

In the summer of 1946, scientists successfully achieved their mission at the national laboratory and detonated the first atomic bomb at a test site in southern New Mexico.  A month later, the two other atomic bombs were dropped on Japan during WWII, one of those being on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.  Today, Los Alamos is the primary nuclear weapon research facility…..in theory, we no longer make nuclear weapons.

The front side of the church

Those would be your buttresses, a bit different from Western Europe supports

Due north and east of Los Alamos is home to the San Fransisco de Assisi Mission Church, the most photographed church in the United States.  It is a fine example of Adobe architecture and dates back to 1772.  I went to visit the church with my host and we were both surprised to see it under renovation.  The parishioner working on the church told us renovation is an annual event and quite laborious because of the style of Adobe architecture.  There is a short window of time available to work on the church due to the weather conditions, which explains why it took so long to build it in the first place!  Every year, the exterior walls need to be resurfaced, putting on a new coating to the adobe walls, which are made of sand, straw, and water.  Several coats are applied before the final coat, which is the finest mixture of sand to create an overall smooth surface.  Ideally, if the rain holds off after the walls are resurfaced, the sun will bake them, hardening and strengthening the exterior. 

This is a never ending job, renovating Adobe architecture

Why is it the most photographed church in the United States? See for yourself.  The front of the church is extremely picturesque, while the backside also draws the attention of many photographers due to its unconventional buttresses and supports.  The church looks nothing like its contemporaries in other areas of the world.  As you can see, I didn’t waste any time in helping out with its renovation!

National Park #9 in The United States

I rolled up at sunset, not safe for riding, but an amazing sunset

From northern New Mexico, I crossed the border into colorful Colorado, as the sign says.  Fifty miles north of the border against the Rocky Mountains are the tallest sand dunes in the United States.  It is awfully peculiar to see smooth golden orange sand dunes at the base of alpine mountains that have snow lingering on their peaks.  Temperatures on the dunes can reach about 150 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, and towering above them are some of Colorado’s14,000ft. mountains.  Why on earth are there 750 ft. (230m) sand dunes in a state that is completely landlocked far from any ocean or beach?  It a natural phenomenon from the result of gusts of wind coming from the west (thankfully a cross wind for me rather than a head wind) that picked up sand and soil from the Rio Grande and its tributaries and carried it through the air in valley until it hit the Rocky Mountains here, where it was deposited. Over hundreds of thousands of years passed with this climatic phenomenon occurring and as a result, the tallest sand dunes in North America have formed. Riding through the area, you see a haze in the air, which is the dust, still depositing more sand on the dunes.  It is quite a fascinating sight to see and explore.

Tough but rewarding hiking on the dunes

I was alone on the dunes in the early morning

On the same area as the dunes, to both the north and south, I encountered some unusual road signs.  I thought I had seen all the crazy roads sings there are passing through SE Asia and Australia where I was warned about rare wild life such as elephants, anteaters, and platypuses, but the road sings I saw in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado topped those in rarity.  On many of the signs cautioning drivers of free-range cows, there is a small UFO image above the head of the cow.  At first I thought it was a joke done by someone with a lot of spare time on their hands, but the signs last for a good 50 miles and  in southern Colorado they are followed by advertisements for “The Cosmic Highway” where you can go to the “UFO Tower”.  What?!?!  UFO’s?!?! Really,…..What is going on here in this barren and remote area of the United States?

Is this a joke? That is what I first thought..... 

People sure know how to make a quick buck these days, getting tourist's attention

It turns out, there have been many cases of cow mutilation, an unexplainable phenomenon where cows have had their eyes and tongues removed, almost as if they were surgically removed and their uterus’ taken out as well.  Farmers claim that the cows were abducted and mutilated before plummeting back to earth dead, without a trace of blood or any other sort of explanation.  Cases of cow abduction and mutilations aren’t a new occurrence; they date back to the early 1960’s.  I know marijuana was recently legalized here, but it seems that people in Colorado have done a fair share of pot smoking over the past years.  However, after asking around at the local cafes and gas stations and doing a bit of research myself, I was quite perplexed by these abductions.  I can tell you one thing, they kept me pedaling at a fast pace through the area!  Crazy, right?!?! Read the articles for yourself and decide.

My last bit of trivia from the saddle comes when I actually ditched the saddle and had to hitch hike at the top of Poncha Pass, just south of Salida, Colorado.  As is characteristic in the high alpine mountains, a storm set in quickly. Gusts of 50 mph headwinds picked up and temperatures dropped drastically in the matter of 5 to 10 minutes.  I was knocked off my bike and walking with it on the shoulder of the highway, hoping to find a house where I could take shelter.  There was nothing around in a mile radius.  Thankfully a pick up truck drove by, took pity on me, stopped, backed up, and asked me if I needed a ride.  Moments prior I had had a total break down, completely demoralized by the brutal weather conditions that had blown in with 80 miles in my legs already that day.  I didn’t think twice about hitching a ride to town.

Mark Perkovich, Bonanza Colorado's only inhabitant

As goes the random events with my travels, the man who picked me up was Mark Perkovich, who happens to be a local and national celebrity.  He is a long time, yet lone full time resident of Bonanza, Colorado, a town in Colorado that is in threat of being disincorporated by the state.  What does that mean? It means that Mark lives in the smallest town in Colorado and one of the smallest towns in the entire United States and that makes him famous.  Interesting, right?  Both local and national news has covered this story as well as local and national newspapers.   In fact, next week, CBS national news is headed to his house to cover the story yet again! If you don’t believe me, read the articles for yourself!

How is it that I always have the most random and fascinating encounters with people.  I’m sure all of you are probably wondering if I went back and rode the mountain pass I hitch hiked…….What do you think?  

Poncha Pass take 2, a piece of cake the following day