Day 89 - Mimbres, NM to Silver City, NM

It was a cold morning when I rolled out of the tent. We had decided the night before to continue straight to Silver City instead of travelling up north to the Gila Cliff Dwellings. It would have been pretty far out of the way and we didnt really feel that the trip was worth it.

I noticed I wasn't getting much water out of my bottle while I was brushing my teeth. I opened it up to find the cause.

Aside from the cold, the skies were clear!

It was a short ride to Silver City - only about 25 miles or so.



On the way there, we passed by the Santa Rita Pit Mine and learned a bit about the history behind the towns we were passing through.




We spent the majority of the day at the library and walking around town.



We found a fire department that let us set up our camp next to their station. They also gave us the first showers we've had in 7 days. It was marvelous.

Total mileage: 25

Day 95 - Tucson, AZ

Brenda gave is a tour of downtown. We stopped at a bunch of her favorite places and got to meet some local artists. 

We stopped by the monkey house - their downtown house with a refinished mini golf attraction in the yard. 

We stumbled upon another figure from the closed mini golf course while wandering about town. 

The highlight of day was all the Mexican food we got to eat, though my stomach would disagree. 

Total mileage: 0

Day 94 - Tucson, AZ

Today we made a trip up to Mt. Lemmon for some pie. I was really glad I didn't have to bike up the road, it was pretty gnarley. 

On the way down, we also stopped at Agua Caliente Park. There used to be a hot spring here, now it's going dry. 

We did find a few tangerine trees though. 

Total mileage: 0

Day 93 - Tucson, AZ

Here it is, what I've been waiting for: In N Out Burger. 

We spent nearly the entire day being lazy. It was incredible. 

Total mileage: 0

Day 92 - San Carlos, AZ to Tucson, AZ

We were not much in the mood for riding today. We decided early into the ride that we would try to hitchhike to Tucson. 

There was a sign of salvation at the top of a mountain pass. So close to civilization!

Though the views from the mountain pass were quite beautiful. 

Luckily, the rest of the road wasn't very challenging. 

I got a nasty flat just before we reached gas station we were going to try to hitchhike from. It turned out that tubes don't like to be slammed into boulders at 20 miles per hour. 

We managed to find a truck that let is throw our bikes in the back. The owner of an ice delivery company gave us a ride for 70 miles into downtown Tucson. 

After a short 15 mile ride from downtown, we made it to the Heuttners!  We were greeted with beers and smiles. 

I was also provided with a buzzer so that I could shave my face. It was nice to look human again. 

Total miles on bicycle: 55

Day 91 - Three Way, AZ to San Carlos, AZ

The morning started off with a big climb, but the rest of the day was relatively flat. At least the first 65 miles were. We ran into a guy who was cycling around the country. He told us we should get out of the Indian reservation we were in as soon as we could. So we pedaled hard. Apparently they have a big problem with gang violence. And drunk driving. 

I found milk for $0.50. 

We weren't able to escape the reservation so we camped out at a casino just before the border. After having dinner, we pulled a few bucks from our pockets and hit the slots. 

Total mileage: 108

Day 90 Silver City, NM to Three Way, AZ

Nothing special today. We climbed another mountain and passed the Continental Divide. A lot of climbing. We found shelter for the night at a park ranger station that had facilities for cyclists. Oh, and we crossed into Arizona!

Total mileage: 85 ish