Above Left: That's a picture of our Bear Safe about 10 yards/meters in front of our tent. We woke to a very cool and humid valley environment (mid 40s F/ 7C ish). A flash picture reflected suspended water particles in the air but it was not fog.

Above Right: That's a picture of our bike (the Bee), we had already been in the pannier to retrieve our cooking gear (thus the front flap is up). Also, the triangle, which normally hangs off the rear deck, is temporarily hanging from the stoker's handlebar.

Above Left: Terry is preparing breakfast, it starts with boiling water. We have two (2) stoves, one is a backup, but Terry, being a Colorado State Fair Grand Cooking Champion uses both stoves in order to save time.

Above Right: Our tent gear is packed into that large green waterproof bag (2 down sleeping bags, 1 double-wide extra-long Therm-a-Rest closed cell sleeping pad, 2 deflated pillows). Dennis always warms up himself from the work of the gear packing effort. The tent is next.

Above Left: I interrupted Terry from packing work; she is placing the Bear Safe (food) into the right rear pannier. The Bear Safe is heavy-duty and cumbersome to carry. On the ground, clockwise from the bottom-left corner is the Tent Bag, Sleeping Gear Bag, Waterproof-Insulated Gloves, and the Handlebar Bag (ID, Wallet, Compass, Chapstick, Sun Glasses, Lighter, Sun Screen ...).

Above Right: This is where the Tent was located; it is the only dry spot around the valley.

Above Left: I paid my respect to the heavenly spirits - Thank You.

Above Right: Sunlight refracting in the feather grass dew - We're on the GO, now.

Above: Sunlight refracting in the feather grass dew.

Above Left: We just saw a large cow Elk! - No picture. Dennis in shorts, gloves, and warm rain jacket.

Above Right: Onward and forward.

Above: Flowers on the roadside.

Above Left: It's a beautiful morning.

Above Right: This is probably a Continental Divide Crossing (the reverse track of last evening's crossing).

We're Back On-Course!
(We Missed This Turn-Off Yesterday Evening)
We Will Ride West Briefly and Then NF-28 Turns North at Collins Park

Above Left: We're running downhill and we know that this is the valley with Collins Park.

Above Right: Here's the signage for our mid-way destination, Hwy 12. We're turning Left/West. We originally came from the Beaverhead Work Center. Notice that Collins Park is no longer on the sign. Today, we must cross Hwy 12 to reach the Valle Tio Vinces Campground (Spanish for Valley of Uncle Vinces).

Collins Park and the Northbound Turn for Highway 12

Above Left: Heading Due West on NF-28, Gila NF, NM.

Above Right: The signage for the Collins Park Road Intersection. We're turng right/north.

Above Left: The one and only Collins Park sign. There is a large coral and loading chute in the background. Th th that's all.

Above Right: This is clay! The ground still has some wet spots and one must pay attention to the wheel's track to avoid 'Slip and Slide'. We turned north on NF-28. It had rained a lot here three days ago.

Above Left: Looking West at the Tularosa or San Francisco Mountains.

Above Right: This is a Trail Marker for the CDT, i.e. the Continental Divide Trail. The CDT is much akin the AT (Appalachian Trail of the eastern US's Appalachian Mountain's crest trail). The CDT is much truer to following the actual continental divide than the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route.

The CDT crosses NF-28 here, see the marker on the other side of the road. The wanders through that field on the other side of the road.

Above Left: A close-up image of a CDT (Continental Divide Trail) Marker.

Above Right: Old Wood Sign nailed into a tree (Continental Divide Trail). 'Nail in Tree' actions are no longer allowed (since the 1980's I believe). Any new signs nailed to a tree will be pulled down by Forest Rangers (or even by righteous outdoor activists).

Above Left: Old Wood Sign nailed into a tree (Continental Divide Trail).

Above Right: This is a photograph of the actual Continental Divide Trail.

Above Left: Terry Struck and the Bee (da Vinci Touring Tandem) posing in front of a Continental Divide Sign, literally on the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) at the GDMBR's Divide Crossing #24.

Above Right: Dennis and Terry Struck try a 'selfie' with a camera on a tripod on the ground. There is too much grass interfering with the automatic focus lock of the camera.

Above Left: About 1 mile further north, we met-up with this young cycling couple. They were boiling water for tea and were riding the GDMBR south only to Collins Park (3 miles away) where they were going to take NF-141 west through the town of Reserve and then to city further west into Arizona. We shared some trail information.

Above Right: Our route north was pleasant.

We Have Entered La Jolla Canyon
(We're northbound on NF-28, Gila NF, NM)

Above: We have entered La Jolla Canyon.

Above: Cycling north on NF-28, La Jolla Canyon, Gila NF, NM.

Above: Cycling north on NF-28, La Jolla Canyon, Gila NF, NM.

Above Left: We have reached a cattle guard and the begining of private properties within the boundaries of Gila National Forest, NM.

Above Right: We're on a public access across private property.

Above: Roadside Flowers.

Above Left:La Jolla Canyon.

Above Right: Telephone Lines and Fencing.

Above Left: This is the Gila NF Boundary and Gateway.

Above Right: The last Hoodoos for us northbounders.

Above Left: Ahead are the heavyduty powerlines located near Mile 57 on our GDMBR Map.

Above Right: We're leaving the last of the forest for the Plains of Saint Augustine.

Welcome to the Plains of Saint Augustine
We Have Departed Gila National Forest and La Jolla Canyon

Above: The Plains of Saint Augustine. All creeks are now Bone Dry between here and the Mangas Mountains. That far mountain range (Mangas Mountains) to the north is our destination for the day.

Above: We're still on NF-28 all the way to NM-12.

Above Left: Looking due east with max telephoto.

Above Right: Roadside Flowers.

Above Left: We met Doug who is heading south on the GDMBR. He has his daughter running vehicle support and his daugther is presently on a hike in the Mangas Mountains.

Above Right: Our northbound view, note the telephone junction box with the fence post rub protectors.

Above: Rael Ranch, since 1931.

Above Left: Cycling north on the Plain of St Augustine (on NF-28).

Above Right: We were about to have lunch on the roadside.

Above Left: Stationary, looking north on the Plain of St Augustine (on NF-28).

Above Right: Same position, looking south on the Plain of St Augustine (on NF-28). The photo is catching a peek at our rear bag carrying our sleeping bags and pad.

Above Left: Biking north on the Plain of St Augustine (on NF-28).

Above Right: An old adobe structure with a partial mud plaster.

New Mexico Highway-12

Above Left: This is NM-12 ahead. Terry and I had 2 partially used bottles of water remaining. We discussed the water situation and decided to ask the residents at this intersection if we could get some water from their hose. We biked up to the house, rang the door bell and asked if we could get some water from their hose. The residents said Yes and stated that the area was unusually dry. We obtained water from their hose and thanked them profusely. That task probably saved us another hour of water filter work and obtaining water gave us great peace of mind. We also filled up the water bladder (about 3 more Gallons of Water).

We were now heavy with a total of 5 gallons of water and ready to begin our assent up to the Mangas Mountains. Water weighs 8.3 pounds per gallon, 5 gallons of water weighs 41.5 pounds or 18.8 kilos. We just added 41.5 pounds of weight to our uphill climb.

Above Right: We headed east on NM-12 for about 80 yards and it was time to turn onto NF-214 towards Valle Tio Vinces (our destination) but we have no intention of going that far today.

We Turned Left/North onto NF-214 to Head Toward Valle Tio Vinces

Above: We Turned Left/North onto NF-214 to Head Toward Valle Tio Vinces.

Above: We saw this critter sun-bathing in the middle of the road. It is NOT a Rattlesnake but has Psuedo Diamondback Markings (it is a non-poisonous constrictor, perhaps a Goher Snake).

Above Left: We're climbing up NF-214 (not in the National Forest yet).

Above Right: A side view, we're eying the terrain for camping.

Above: The gate and cattle guard at the entryway to Gila NF.

Above: We are in the National Forest and have already performed most of the hard climbing.

Above Left: Long Shadows - We're now just looking for a place to camp.

Above Right: We have found a place to camp that actually has water.

Above Left: The bike is unloaded.

Above Right: Terry is already boiling water in the kitchen.

Above: Dennis pegged the four tent corners, raised the tent, then set-up the sleeping pad and bags.
All we have to do is eat, cleanup, put out the bear safe, and then turn in.

We started the day 2 miles off-course near the junction of NF-28 and NF-30 (Gila NF, New Mexico). We saw a cow Elk early in the morning ride. The riding for the day was without incident. We met a nice bike touring couple just before they departed the GDMBR. We had a lovely ride through La Jolla Canyon and the ride through the Plain of St Augustine was long, it seemed to go on forever. Meeting a southbound GDMBR biker was pleasant. Meeting the home owners where we asked for water from their hose was enjoyable. Obtaining their water saved us at least an hour of water filter pumping work. We saw a non-poisonous snake sun-bathing on our hillclimb road during the late afternoon bike ride up the Mangas Mountain slope. We found a good campsite early in the evening and that allowed us to catch-up on bike maintenance as well as camp maintenance. Everything went well on this day; it is always good when the day works out as planned.