NEW ROADS IN N.M.

After spending the night in Las Cruces, NM, my plan yesterday, was to make a counter clockwise circle around the White Sands Missile Range, with a stop in Ruidoso.   When I got to where I needed to turn east on Hwy 70, a little north of Alamogordo, the weather didn't look very good in that direction.  In fact, the dark clouds ahead on Hwy 54 gave me a hint that I might be needing some clothing that repelled water, instead of soaking it up.  Instead of heading into the mountains toward Ruidoso & Roswell, I continued north on Hwy 54.

 The weather went from not looking so good in the above picture, to an almost cloudless sky in the bottom picture.

By the time I got to Carrizozo, at the junction of Hwy 380, the weather picture was starting to look a little better.  About half way across the 65 mile W/B stretch of 380, the blue sky was starting to dominate the clouds, and the temperature was getting warmer.  Speaking of warm, I passed not too far from where the world's first nuclear detonation occurred in 1945.  It was only about a month later, when the two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan, ending WWII in the Pacific.

I headed south on Interstate 25 for about 75 miles before turning off on Hwy 152 toward Silver City.  This road was made for motorcycles, with lots of twists, turns, elevation changes, and hardly any traffic.  I only had to pass one vehicle in over 50 miles of pure two wheel bliss.  With the stereo blasting the Eagles greatest hits, I got lost from reality, never once thinking about how dysfunctional our government is, or who we're at war with today.  Those kinds of roads make riding a Harley worth every penny, and you can bet I'll be on Hwy 152 once again, somewhere in the future.

Not too far from Silver City, I ran across another huge hole in the ground, that is still actively being mined for copper.  The Santa Rita Copper Mine is every bit as big as the one in Bisbee, with the open pit almost a mile across at it's widest point.
  

From Silver City, it was a short run south to Lordsburg, where it was getting late, and I stopped for the night.  I covered 397 miles on this second day of riding new roads in New Mexico, and will be back home today.  My 12 year old Harley is still purring like a kitten, nearing the 40,000 mile mark.  Every time I think about getting a new one, the thought only lasts for a brief few seconds.  I'm pretty sure this bike and I, will continue to grow old together.