Kindness of Strangers

Today, perhaps because we really were out in the middle of nowhere and I wasn't carrying my camera, no fewer than six cars stopped to try to give us a ride. One guy in a big black truck pulled over on the opposite shoulder, rolled his window down and said "You can't be out here walking for your health!" A woman in a camper, probably thought we were turning down her offer of help because we couldn't see into her vehicle and didn't trust her not to have an accomplice in the back - she asked if we were really sure several times, and said "It's okay, it's just me and my kids in here!" Another car didn't stop when they first passed us, but saw our car parked four miles down the road and turned around and drove back the four miles to check. Nice people out here.

I didn't bother with the camera because there was nothing to take pictures of but the horizon and the hot empty highway. No birds calling to each other today, just a chorus of crickets and the occasional sound of a vehicle. Two roadkills. A spot where someone had the sudden inspiration to empty half a party's worth of empty beer cans and bottles by the side of the road, but we didn't have a bag to collect them in, so we left them there.

Poor planning had us walking uphill most of the way, but I was really pleased at how quickly I'm getting back into stride.

Fresh miles: 5.5
Time in motion: 1:46
Moving average: 3.1 mph

At one point, we were averaging 3.2 mph, according to the gps gizmo! Uphill! In the heat! And I'm not even knackered!


We've got a little under 19 miles left to the Arizona border, and I've discovered that 601 to Fence Lake is actually paved for 1.6 or so miles, so 3 or 4 trips more ought to cover everything west of Quemado.