Day 30 - Grants, NM to Pie Town, NM

So... After massive effort to get to Grants in one day instead of two, we elected to take a rest day in Grants.  That consisted mostly of doing laundry, taking a swim in the motel pool, and reading.  The main goal was to rest & recharge, and frankly, Grants didn't really offer a whole lot of options anyway- so rest we did :-)

Today, however, was a known "big" day- 70 miles across desert, with almost the entire route climbing gradually. More importantly, the final 35 miles were on gravel roads known for their "peanut butter mud.". Given the weather (sunny & hot), mud was unlikely, so we set off at first light with beating the heat high on our agenda. 
The first 35 miles were all through the El Malpais National Monument, a stunning set of contrasting landscapes. On the east side of the main road are towering sandstone cliffs- similar to those seen across the desert south west; on the west side of the road, lie vast sprawling lava flows from a field of volcanos and cinder cones at the south end of the monument.  Very striking!

After passing through El Malpais, we headed off on a fairly well maintained gravel road across high desert ranchland.  The nicely maintained road soon have way to highly variable section of loose freshly graded gravel, old hardpack clay with washboard bits, and powdery pulverized clay that made riding a fully loaded bike, even with 2.25" tires, sort of like skiing in fine powder snow.  It's a wonder we both managed to keep our bikes upright through the worst sections!
This was probably our worst bit of road on the entire trip!  

Eventually, we arrived in Pie Town- so named for several cafes on the main road (US 60) that have specialized in Pie for decades.  We headed straight to the first, the Ohana Pie Town Cafe. We we're immediately greeted with huge glasses of ice water, and then a big lunch of grilled cheese, tomato, and hatch pepper sandwiches.
Followed of course by a big slice of mixed berry pie with ice cream - on the house for GDMBR riders! Afterwards, we headed to our final Pie Town destination - the Toaster House.  The Toaster House is an eclectic sort of hostel for cyclists and hikers on the GDMBR and CDT trails.  It is loosely operated by a few volunteers when we never met- we were the only travellers staying there...but while it lacks a lot in polish it makes up for in desert funkiness and the price is hard to beat- it's free :-) ( donations accepted of course!).
Tomorrow we head further south, into the Gila National Forest....
Cheers from the GDMBR!


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