Tour Divide 2014 Day 5 Grants

The Good Pie Cafe wasn't going to open until 11 am, and I thought I needed to go earlier, so I ate another pizza for breakfast and started to Grants.  The wind was behind me and the first thirty or so miles were on dirt.  I rolled quickly on a good surface and got into open rangeland.  At one place I saw a cowboy and his dog herding some cattle across the road.  One of the calfs bolted and the dog corralled it, really cool to watch the rider and horse and dog working as one.

When I hit pavement I went past the El Malapais National Monument.  Saw some really interesting lava patterns in the rocks on the west side of the highway and then got my picture taken by some folks in front of one of the more famous features.

I think I got to the Subway at Interstate 40 at about 12:30 or so, and had a sandwich there.  When I left, the next 9 miles to the middle of Grants took a while to navigate with a seriously strong headwind.  Thought about leaving for Cuba, but I elected to stay the night in a hotel and spent the afternoon eating two more times and getting ready for a 3 am departure the next morning.

Lava swirls

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