CDT mile 362 miles hiked 24

Suzy, I found us a house in New Mexico

We woke to tater calling us to get going it was 6:30 I looked at Buttercup and we both rolled over and went back to sleep for 20 minutes.  It was so nice in the RV and it beat sleeping in the rain and wind storm last night.

We hit the road and kept moving on our way towards Grants.  It was pretty cold we all stopped to actually later up in warm clothes and headed to the first water source for the day a large metal tank with a solar pump.  There was a hole up top and with the strong wind it was raining down.  Zorro arrived and he had a great idea how to capture the falling water by using his groundsheet. We all put in our rain gear and jumped right in.  It took a few tries but we finally filled out bottles and headed on.

It takes a team to get water out here

We walked the if the road with Zorro, we chatted about home the career I had, my wife and her job and artwork, my pets etc… He told me of his travels around the world and his hike on the PCT.

We finally hit Sand Canyon and back into a wilderness.  The canyon was a single track and quite a pleasant change form the road.  We walked through the canyon and came upon an old pueblo home.  It was worth an investigation and we hung out there for 15 minutes before heading on.

We came to Cibolla Canyon and back on a road we made quick time to the last windmill for the day.  The windmill was pumping out clear cool water from far below.  We filed our bottles and chugged water before deciding to go camp nearby behind some sage bushes.

Nothing makes a desert hikers heart sing like the first glimpse of a windmill

We ate and we’re just getting settled in our bags when a black pick up came down the road to the windmill.  We all were on alert and a guy got out after seeing us.  He asked what we were doing and we explained and he said, “I was going to fire a few rounds from my rifle towards the hill is that ok?”, “Sure” we said.  A few minutes later a large riffle with an extended clip was out the back and he let the lead fly. The muzzle flash looked like a mini burst from a flamethrower and our otherwise peaceful spot for a few minutes sounded like a war zone.  When he was done he loaded his gun in the back and told us to be careful out there…..well it’s too late to leave so we are just going to pass out and hope that is it for the evening target practice.

nothing like a warm quilt on a cold night to enjoy cowboy camping at it’s finest.