{"id":209,"date":"2016-05-27T22:38:34","date_gmt":"2016-05-28T06:38:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lennysride.com\/2016\/whiskeypapa\/here\/?p=209"},"modified":"2016-05-28T09:34:15","modified_gmt":"2016-05-28T17:34:15","slug":"day-11-carlsbad-nm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lennysride.com\/2016\/whiskeypapa\/here\/?p=209","title":{"rendered":"Day 11 – Carlsbad, NM"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Guadalupe Mountains are a park and the whole thing is closed due to fire.\u00a0 I’ve always got a plan B but you hate to have to put that into effect when you think you’re done for the day.\u00a0 Oh well, it was going to be a cold night up there in the mountains, now I’m in the climate controlled comfort of the Motel 6 in Carlsbad, NM. I’m here with about 50 members of the Bandidos MC<\/a>. They are an outlaw club but I’m sure it’ll be one of those, “Don’t start no trouble, won’t be no trouble” things.\u00a0 Hopefully there won’t be an all night party, one of them is next door.<\/p>\n

Okay, that was the end of the day, let’s get back to the beginning.\u00a0 Douglas is right on the Mexican border, and in order to go east and stay in the United States, you have to go north first. That ride put the Chiricahua (chair-a-COW-a) Mountains off to my left. I told you that I lived in this area as a child and many stories were told about the Chiricahua Apache\"Cochise\" Indians and their last free chief, Cochise.\u00a0 This was one BAD Indian and he fought for his land and people against the Army for 10 years and was never defeated in battle. He died of natural causes on Apache land in the Chiricahua Mountains in 1874 and was secretly buried at a place called Cochise Stronghold<\/a>, an impenetrable hideout he often used. Nobody has ever found his burial site even though Cochise Stronghold is now a popular destination for locals to picnic, & hike. Good memories…<\/p>\n

\"\"This is Yucca Cactus and mesquite bush territory.\u00a0 There are almost no thorny cactus anywhere around here.\u00a0 I have no idea what changes in the climate cause that, but it’s way better for walking around hunting dove and quail as I did in my youth.\u00a0 California’s Joshua Tree is next of kin to the yucca cactus.\u00a0 This is a yucca with a couple mesquite bushes and the Chiricahua Mountains in the background.<\/p>\n

I only went as far north as I had to before I turned right and followed the southern most route across New Mexico into Texas at El Paso.\u00a0 That is one desolate stretch of road; at one point I saw a couple people walking.\u00a0 They appeared to be husband and wife walking across the USA or something. I think if there had been any shade anywhere close I would have stopped to get their story – no shade, no story.\u00a0 This road was rough, but about 25 miles of it was brutal, it was like asphalt whoops<\/em>, no wonder I didn’t see any other motorcycles.\u00a0 I kept thinking it would end soon and was wondering why my new shocks seemed to have failed all together.\u00a0 I actually stood up on my floorboards; which is no easy task.\u00a0 If it hadn’t changed I would have been looking for another route.\u00a0 For those of you not familiar with whoop-de-doo’s watch this video.<\/p>\n