Day 05 Silver City

After yesterdays ordeal a rest day was in order, at least for Cassi and me. John had gotten into Silver City by 10am the day before and had taken full advantage of the luxuries of civilization. Our accommodations were an RV Park in the center of town complete with hot showers, laundry, coffee, and a tent site with grass, trees and picnic tables.

I woke with the sun feeling a little tired but primarily hungry. John and I let Cassi sleep and went for coffee and pastries in town. We stopped by the post office to get our "bounce" boxes. Long distance hikers and bikers use bounce boxes to mail themselves, via general delivery, things they don't want to carry but need along the way. Ours included maps and guide pages for upcoming sections, extra bike repair gear, bike lock, chargers for camera/cell phone and, what I really wanted, the soap/shampoo/shaving kit. After cleaning up we woke Cassi and went for a 2nd breakfast at a local Mexican cafe a block away.

We called family and friends. John caught up with Ken who was enjoying driving John's car. He was having a good time hiking and camping in the Gila and making his way slowly back to Aztec. John adjusted my rear derailleur and fixed Cassi's seat post clamp. It was nice having a mechanic. After doing some clothes and bike cleaning it was time for lunch at Dairy Queen, a 1/2 block away, then groceries, 1/4 of a block away. Yes, our lives revolved around food and we liked having it close by.

After an afternoon nap we visited the local bike shop to get an update on conditions to come and replace a broken water bottle cage. John had finished his reading material, Catcher in the Rye, but was able to borrow a book on Lance Armstrong from the shop with the promise he'd mail it back when done. The folks were nice and helpful but what made it truly a singular event was this would be the only bike shop we would encounter our entire trip. In fact Silver City population 10,000 was a metropolis compared to the rest of the towns we'd pass through. By then it was time for (you guessed it) dinner, washed down with a beer and then ice cream. We biked around downtown Silver City, enjoying the turn of the century architecture and the green space through the center. Couldn't ask for more from a zero (ie no forward progress made) day.

New plants seen- buffalo gourd, scorpion weed

Animals identified- milkweed bug, broadtailed humming bird, Chihuahua raven, redtailed hawk