Day 32 - Apache Creek, NM to Glenwood, NM

Finally, an easy day that actually turned out to be easy:-). Wibke and I got a good early start from our campsite in Apache Creek, and we're on the road by about 6:30am. 
Just as we're finishing this thing, I'm finally mastering the art of setting up and breaking camp!  We started with 13 miles of mostly downhill to the town of Reserve, during which we saw numerous elk along the road.
They're a whole lot bigger than our eastern white tail deer, so I sure wouldn't want to hit one! Once in Reserve, we had a great breakfast at Ella's Cafe, and once properly caffeinated and carbon loaded, we set off for the remaining 36 miles to Glenwood, where we had a reservation for a cabin.  Most of the ride continued to descend out of the mountains and down into the Sonora Desert. 
After one last climb up to about 6500', we dropped down to below 5000' for the first time since northern Montana.  So, while our lungs and hearts greatly appreciate the drop in altitude, the heat just goes up at the same time ( a drop of 1000' of altitude is equivalent to 5.4 degrees F in local temperature). It's not a fun tradeoff!

Fortunately, with our ride being only 48 miles, we fini just before noon, when the temperature was nearing 100F, and the heat coming off the taac was well I'm excess of that!  ...and, our little motel of cabins had a pool! Which we made good use of :-)

Tomorrow will likely be the culmination of our adventure, as we head to Silver City, NM, 72 miles further south.  The Mexican border is another 230ilrs across pretty featureless desert - and the southwestern US is in the grip of a heat dome setting records from LA to Albuquerque.  Local temperatures near the border will be over 110F over the next several days, so I think we'll consider safety first rather than trying to be uber-badass ;-). Just getting to Silver City tomorrow before it hit 100F will be more than badass enough for me!

So- until tomorrow - Cheers from the GDMBR:-)

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