Sun, Hail, RaIn. New mexico?

Toe warmers on my ears. Felt great!

Day 54. 50.75 miles. We have ridden over 2200 miles! Made it to Cuba, New Mexico.
We camped in a cow field above 10,000 feet last night. We are back on the trail between Abuquiu and Cuba. Early morning Hunters were on the road. This morning the sun was out but it was still freezing, especially when the sun came up. We spent the morning putting layers on for the downhill and then taking them off on the uphill. Big temperature changes between the sun and shadows. I heard grasshoppers again today, and was hopeful we are progressing back into warm weather. I was wrong, for today anyway. I can see the creativity of our species when faced with an abundance of something. It reminded me of all the grasshoppers in Montana and Wyoming. Back then I wanted to roast them in oil and eat them with a lot of salt. They were everywhere and we were hungry. I can imagine the first settlers trying them. But then we saw a box of grasshoppers in a five and dime store and I passed. If they were fresh and not imported from china….. And the cow patties…. No wood for miles and miles, just low sage brush and no fuel for fires. It only makes sense to use dried cow Patties for fuel, which are all over! Really rough rocky downhill then from the top is was cruising. Then we came to a washed out boulder field where we fully tested the limits of a “gravel” bike, fully loaded. Bump! Bump! Bang! Thump! The terrain eventually gave way to a smooth dirt road with short sections of very red muck, but which did not stick to our tires. The sky was mostly overcast with some sun in the morning. At lunch, the sun was out and we dried our tents and jackets from yesterday and last night. After lunch we saw hail on the ground today as we topped out on a high point and we’re grateful we didn’t experience it on our heads! A short while later we saw a blue sucker hole in the sky before the big rain event. We got wet. It was so wet and raining at one point we saw a pit toilet and pulled in for a break. Lots of hunters in trucks, with 4 wheelers and camping along the road. Once we were back on the bikes, the rain kept on. The last 10 miles were downhill on pavement and raining. Before the downhill Tara put on her down jacket and we added toe warmers to her gloves. It was cold. My mittens were sopping wet but warm with the toe warmers in them. We rolled into the town of Cuba and went straight to McDonald’s to get warm and to google the town amenities. French fries and coffee. A new sandwich, John rolled his fries into a wrap for a British “ Chip butty” - a French fry sandwich, who knew that was acceptable. Google it! We booked a room at the Frontier Motel for $80. We had low expectations for creature comforts but when we can bring our bikes into a ground floor room we are happy. Went to dinner at the Mexican restaurant we could walk to. Everything is wet or damp and it will take us a day to get our bikes clean and our gear and clothes clean and dry. In bed early.