Deming, NM and THE WIND

Hi everyone ,

Well, the day started out well even though we decided to spend the  morning driving up and back from Silver City to a bike shop for the tire tubes.  It was a beautiful ride and the town is quaint, old, and very touristy.  Took some pictures which Katy will post on website tomorrow.  

After lunch back in Lordsburg at the RV site, the guys took off.  We followed with the plan being to stop at the Continental Divide for pictures.  We met 8 miles short of the Divide to have a snack and visit a tourist trap which reminded me of Wall Drug in North Dakota.  As we approached the Divide we kept looking for a place to pull off and set up for shots of the guys riding up.  I was driving and Paula was navigating.  All of a sudden the sign came and went with no opportunity to stop or anything.  Just a green highway sign stating "Continental Divide, 4,600 ft. elevation".  We couldn't turn around so we called Dave, who said that he was trying to take pictures on his phone but it wouldn't work.  So, we have no documentation that we actually crossed it.  You'll just have to take my word for it!!!

We drove to Deming.  Last evening and this morning my brother and my nephew Paul  both emailed that this is the hometown of Paul's partner Todd Davis.  They included the phone number of Todd's mother Jackie.  I called  her as we approached Deming and she said she knew we were coming and wanted to take us to dinner and would meet us outside of town and lead us to a nice RV park.  That worked out and we made plans to be picked up after the guys got in and cleaned up.  Jackie's friends Kay and Johnny came by and got us and then we met Jackie at Irma's Restaurant for dinner.  We had a great time over great food getting acquainted.  After dinner Jackie took us to an old house that is now a museum where she volunteers.  It has been lovingly restored to much of its original beauty with poured adobe walls, lovely wood floors, authentic furnishings, and the charm of the late 1800's and early 1900's.   It was evident that Jackie has poured much of her heart and soul into this endeavor.

We enjoyed all this in a town that isn't on the route we planned, with people we had never met.  I knew that Todd was from the southwest, but not the town, and I had never met his mom.  Thank you, Dean and Paul, for following our progress and giving us the heads up.  Jackie had also prepared a wonderful bag of "Made in Deming" delicacies--cookies, fresh tortillas, enchilada sauce, canned jalapenos, and some great rolls for breakfast.

The wind is really blowing hard tonight.  Jackie, Kay and Johnny all warned us about the hazards of driving on to Las Cruces tomorrow if it continues to blow.  They said that sometimes it gets so bad that you can't see your hand in front of your face with all the dirt in the air.  So we are planning to get up early to see if there has been any improvement. We won't take any chances.  If we can go, we will have caught up with the bicycle route in Anthony, NM tomorrow night.  If not, we will be behind again.

From a rockin' motorhome,

Love and blessings,

Lana