This from last year when we took our long motorcycle trip. One of thirty six stories I wrote. Have a great day!
Today was kind of Boom and Bust all around. Boom in that we really didn't have an agenda and just went chasing stuff and Bust in that some of the stuff we chased didn't turn out to be all that. But when you're on your 21st day of an undefined motorcycle trip, there really isn't a Bust day.
We left the AMAZING Valley of the Fires after one last look. Turns out, after further investigation, the massive lava flow is 44 miles long and 3 miles wide. Yeah, I'm a geology dork. I get it.
We headed back to town to gas up and check out the White Oak Ghost Town. Turns out that it was a pretty accurate description in that there wasn't dinky doo there. In fact, on the way in, the GPS said to take a right on some particular street... except there was no street there. We pressed on and took a random turn into what would be the town and I had a GPS first. It said "In 1000 feet............" and went silent. I've been using GPS since it was available and have never had that happen. There were some signs of life, however. A FedEx truck pulled up to one house, delivered something, and then left town, or what was left of it.
We turn around and head back but took the time to take some long road pics of the bikes and see random wildlife.
So, I was waiting to tell people ( David Hoffman ) that we were headed to Pie Town NM because all the stuff we saw online made it look really cool. So, on the way there we passed by the Owl Bar & Cafe, which has been there since forever. Turns out that a bunch of "Prospectors" convinced the original owner to put a grill behind the bar back in the 40's and the Owl Burger was born. Of course, those "Prospectors" we're G-Men setting up White Sands, NM as the Trinity test site, where they detonated the first atomic bomb. The burger was an original smash burger and the recipe hasn't changed since the 40's. Stock and standard cheeseburger all the way with green chili sauce and mayo. It was fantastic and the hand cut fries set it off and it was all pretty cheap.
On our way to Pie Town, I didn't realize but we passed the Very Large Array Radio Telescopes. It was closed but at least we were there. This was right after the raging wildfire somewhere in the distance as we made our way. Yes, I'm a space and science dork as well. If you haven't guessed that by now, you're really not paying attention.
So, here's the thing. We really thought Pie Town was a thing. People online really made it sound like a thing. After we got there, we found no store, no place to sleep, nothing of interest, and basically just a dust bowl. This is the first time we didn't make any reservations and that's a good thing because Pie Town isn't a thing, but kudos to the people of Pie Town for working hard to try to make it a thing.
We pressed on another 20 miles or so and came to the less than thriving metropolis of Quemado, NM and landed at the Largo Motel, owned and operated by a spunky 78 year old gal that I wouldn't want to piss off but has a wonderful sense of humor and her cat is on Trip Advisor since it's 21 lbs. Say hello to Largo Annie.
Coincidentally, we're next to the Largo Cafe. We might take a dinner there. For now, we're enjoying the first hotel room on this 21st day of the trip.
And the wind does weird stuff here. strange and haunting sounds, they are.
