Different section of dunes, still close to the camping/staging area.
After the above shot, I elected to back Fiona up instead of losing all the height advantage I'd gained for this spot. This turned out to be quite the ordeal and I ended up smoking the clutch quite a bit to get her into the below spot.
I waited ten minutes for the clutch to cool down and to quit smoking! First time I'd seen actual smoke come out of this particular clutch setup. Hopefully all is OK and I just basically wore down the material somewhat.
Fiona rode fine back down to the campsite and I parked her to cool her down some more. At this point, the camp host stopped by and gave me a heads up. The BLM folks were going to close down access to this site in the next day or two, soon as the signs arrived. Bummer, but not unexpected.
After a call with Martha, I decided to go ahead and pack up and head on to my planned stopped near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico a day or so early.
I returned the flag to the camp host with my thanks and I headed on out for a 4.5 hour drive to the Monticello Road BLM site north of Truth or Consequences, NM off of the I-25 Super Slab.
This is a spot I've used before several times, but this time my usual spot was occupied already. I ended up in a pretty good and recently cleaned up spot closer to the highway entrance. Last time I was here, I recall a destroyed RV's remnants here.
After setting up camp, I dismounted Yagi, my Yamaha TW200 to go check out the access to the nearby Elephant Butte Lake. It turns out the area claimed/covered by the Elephant Butte Lake State Park includes all the interesting riding areas near the camp! New signs both proclaimed new to me boundaries and the fact the state park was closed due to the Corona Virus! Dammit.
Still, got a few miles of riding in before I realized I was within the state park boundaries and had to leave. I returned to the URRV, put Yagi back on the front rack mount as there was no point to staying here more than tonight.
I expect to be home by tomorrow afternoon now, here's the last sunset for this extended URRV trip....quite the journey. It'll be good to be home though.
Finally a pano shot of the sunset....it was quite nice eh?
7 comments:
Nice colorful shots Dom.
The logic of closing national and state parks is a bit baffling. Don't let people spread out more outdoors but keep them cooped up all close together? How does that help slow the spread of the virus?
Maybe they're worried people will start camping permanently in the parks to avoid others?
Am sure Martha will be happy to have you home though.
A visual grand finale, Dom. Thanks for letting me tag along. In times like these it's probably best to be home. Take care and best wishes for your loved ones.
Hope you had an uneventful trip back home. Does Colorado require you to self-quarantine for 14 days?
The logic of that decision baffles me as well CCjon...I think they’re concentrating on places with park personnel to protect them....and of course from camper groups congregating I guess. Who knows. Made it home safe.
Thanks SonjaM, made it home a ok and yes it’s good to be home.
Long day on the road, 10 hours from the BLM site to home.....safe and no issues so no real complaints.
I forgot to answer your question RichardM, no self-quarantine required by Colorado.
Post a Comment