Day 4: Reserve to Grants

We woke up this morning to a cool 42 degrees; honestly, it was amazing! When I stepped outside to make sure the bikes were still there, I could hear the elk bugling, a wolf making a bunch of noise, and a rooster. I’m sure this is everyday life on the edge of town in Reserve. We jumped on the bikes and went to a little store called the Black Gold Emporium, a few blocks down the street. They had two small pumps outside, so we topped off, and I even pulled out my two-gallon fuel bag and filled it. Yesterday, I rolled into Reserve on fumes from my reserve fuel tank, cutting it a little close. This included coasting down a mountain. After fuel, we hit some blacktop and turned onto dirt. This section was my favorite so far. Easy forest trails, canyon trails, cliffside trails, and plenty of curves and switchbacks. Zero technical riding; it was a slow, scenic tour of the wooded backcountry. Adventure bikes were made for this purpose. We spent about two hours on this trail, then we went back on the pavement, topped off on gas, and had breakfast at a place called Bear Wallow Cafe in Alpine, Arizona. It was a classic country diner full of antlers, deer heads, other animals, and old antiques, such as the two jugs and pictures right inside and throughout the door. From there, we returned to the trail and pretty much stayed on gravel and dirt most of the day. Once in the Zuni Indian Reservation, we drove up to the Wolf Sanctuary, but they were closed. We spent hours riding the desert’s lowlands and saw unique vegetation such as prairie grass, flowers, etc.
Such a contrast is compared to higher elevation locations. The desert floor is straight, long, and fast. We opened the bikes up a couple times and really enjoyed the vastness of NM. It’s brutal, unforgiving, quiet, and unique to be in. From there, we jumped on the blacktop and headed towards Grants. We checked into the Days Inn, then washed the bikes at a self-service carwash; Jeff went and picked up some oil, we all did laundry, and then Ron and Jeff changed the oil in the hotel parking lot. This was quite the event since a bolt went missing for a while but was eventually found. We finally had time to grab dinner around 8:30. The hotel shares a parking lot with a Chinese Buffet, so we walked over and had dinner. Jeff has some maintenance on his KTM in the morning, so we might need a late start. Today was the longest travel day at 251 miles.

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