ROUTE 66 (DAY 7)

Oddly enough this was the third KOA camp ground with trains nearby so, of course, it blew it's horn during the night. At 6:30 am I woke to barking dogs. Bleary eyed I peered out the screen window and saw a woman walking two big dogs on leashes with two unleashed little yappers leading the procession. I couldn't help noticing the weather had changed dramatically during the night. Black clouds blown by strong winds out of the north were rapidly pushing a cold rain front straight for me. I also noticed that the other tenters were starting to scramble to get their tents down and stowed in the car before all hell broke loose. I leapt out of bed realizing that the rain was only minutes away. The camper sides were flapping as the wind grew stronger. Trying to fold it away was like playing "Whack-a-Mole", once I had one side tucked in the other would blow out. Finally I was under way, rain suit on and braced for a downpour. I had not bothered with my usual slow breakfast and decided to treat myself to a sit down meal at a nearby restaurant.
My destination today was Santa Fe, New Mexico, about 250 mile ride. I stopped after a while for gas and spoke with another Harley rider, who was soaked to the bone not having any rain gear. He told me that things were clearing up about 40 miles west in the direction I was going. As it turned out he was right and the rain did eventually stop. Here are two shots, one looking back at the weather I had left behind and the other looking west.

The weather became absolutely gorgeous before long as I passed over the Texas/New Mexico border line. Before long I was shedding my rain gear as it was getting very hot again. Here are some photos.

I was closing in on Santa Fe dutifully following my trusty GPS. This turned out to be another wild goose chase because it took me into the downtown area which wound up being about 10 miles away from the actual KOA camp ground. When I finally got to the correct location the woman in charge told me that this happens all the time with their visitors but they don't know how to fix it. Apparently there is a note on their website telling travellers not to use their GPS for this very reason.
It was only mid afternoon because I had crossed into  the "mountain time zone" and gained an hour. I ditched the trailer and rode into the central plaza in Santa Fe to become a tourist for the first time. Here are all the various photos I snapped as I strolled through the streets of this old Spanish town.

There are over three hundred art galleries and eleven museums so there is creativity everywhere you look.

While sitting on a park bench just watching the people go by I met one of those guys who has a little bicycle powered carriages. We had a great chat and he took my picture and I returned the favour. I'm sporting my new Route 66 ball cap. He gave me his card so I could email him the photo that I took of him. He does this in the summer and then winters in Naples, Florida working in a high end art gallery.

Around 6:00 pm a band started playing in the plaza so I hung around and listened. The crowd had gathered and lots of people, young and old were out there dancing up a storm. Speaking of storms, a massive black cloud was coming in from the north and it looked like the concert might have to do a rain check.

I still hadn't had dinner and lunch was just a snack. The KOA people suggested I try Harry's Roadhouse just nearby. It turned out to be a great suggestion because the food was awesome and the patio garden was like an English garden with a southwest twist. I was half way through my meal and the lights flickered, the thunder boomed and the rain came pouring down. The patio crowd ran for cover and all I could think of was the wet three mile ride I had ahead just to get back to my camper. I managed to get back safely but I was soaked to the skin from the waist down (I had on my rain jacket but left the pants back in the camper). It was great to climb into my lovely spacious cocoon for a nice restful sleep as I listened to the rain on the roof.