Day 18 - 61.3 miles

We are sitting in a cabin listening to the wind howl.  We were riding this afternoon in a 40 mph wind, first as a cross wind and then as a head wind for about the last 5 miles.  The wind storm created huge dust clouds, stinging any exposed flesh and making the sky gray.  Mercifully we are staying at a KOA that could put us in cabins.  There is no way that we could have put up tents.  We can hardly stand up.  The ride today was really nice until the wind kicked up. We went through Hatch and saw lots of chili, cotton, pecan, and walnut farming.  We saw people harvesting red chilies that had apparently been left to dry on the plants over the winter.  The ride was mainly flat, and we made good time until two flat tires slowed us down. - Sue

There were times today when the sand/wind storm pushed the bike in several directions, we had some scary times today.  This storm should quiet down tonight and hopefully things will be better tomorrow. In the photo below the picture shows a gray sky with low visibility, this is what the storm looked like. - Annie