Day 16 Chama to Abiquiu

Got a good night’s sleep at the RV park despite lots of unofficial fireworks and “street lights”. Never thought to check for those before pitching the tent but fortunately I was under a tree so it was ok.

We packed up and headed for breakfast at the the Elk Horn Restaurant. Brent had been looking forward to this breakfast for a couple of days. Smothered Burrito. Smothered means it’s smothered in green chilli. Chilli at 7:30am is a bit too early for me so I had eggs, hash brown, sausage patti and toast.

Our journey today was a 60 mile ride south on Highway 84. I used the word stunning frequently in Colorado so for New Mexico I’m going with spectacular! That doesn’t mean it’s better, just different. The rock formations are very dramatic, or spectacular.

We stopped for refreshment at El Cuerno Cantina, a gas station in Cebolla. I had a cherry sundae cheesecake which hit the spot.

We pressed on to lunch and found Echo Amphitheater which really was spectacular.

We got to Abiquiu and we’d heard of a place called Abiquiu Retreat on the River, the river being the Rio Chama. It’s an informal place run by Goldie that offers camping to cyclists and hikers.

There’s an outdoor shower, a kitchen hut with a fridge and a compost toilet! There were a couple of other campers and an older guy called John who had been there for a year while he was working on his writing project, a screenplay about medieval celts. He was a very interesting character, an extrovert I would say.

We rode to the local gas station / general store called Bode’s but the kitchen was closed so I had a precooked burger off the shelf. Then, across the road to the Frosty Cow for a banana split!

Back to camp to chill on the deck over the Rio Chama.

Tomorrow is our last day riding. We have about 50 miles to go to Santa Fe and then a couple of nights there to relax. I’ve pitched my tent for the last time on this trip and I’ve really enjoyed the nights we’ve camped.

Today we rode 60 miles and climbed 1906ft.