CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN

Kelly is grilling the night before we leave.

Saying good-bye at the drop off point.(Kelly saved us some uphill miles.)

Kelly hauled us about 40 miles in his pickup. (We never said we wouldn't take rides, did we?) At the drop off point, we met a great group of young people, who are cycling from Maine to CA, stopping at points along the way to help build housing for people who need help.

The BikeandBuild.com crew, serving Habitat for Humanity.

Since Kelly dropped us off yesterday morning, we've come around 30 mi, 25 of which were uphill (serious uphill). We're now sitting at a rest stop in Quemado, getting ready to climb to the continental divide. We hope to get there in two or three days... I am really out of shape, so it should be noted that Aggie is pulling more weight than I am. (He always says that we are one, so what does it matter.

Aggie gets ready to head to Quemado.

We seem to have the loads pretty well balanced now.) We are having fun, getting back in shape, pleased with our progress, and meeting lots of interesting people. We just had our first real meal snice Kelly's house (Kelly can cook!), chicken fried steak, salad, and mashed potatoes. We were in a dead spot last night, so there was no OOMPH  and no phone calls this morning, but that shouldn't happen too often. Here are a few pics.

Last night's camp, approaching Quemado, NM.

THINK GREEN
BLESSED BE
COUGINA and AGGIE

UPDATE ON THE ROAD

HERE ARE A FEW PICS OF OUR LAST COUPLE OF DAYS. We camped our first night on the side of the Midway Station in Vernon. The campsite photo below, looking through the two trees, was right next to the store. Carol, behind the counter, and her friend Barbara, in the red, took good care of us. Barbara brought us a small jar of the strawberry jelly she had just made, and Carol supplied me with a toothbrush (the Sonicare was too heavy to keep) and all sorts of help.

We have been staying out with Kelly Oby in the White Mtn grasslands and it is beautiful. This photo doesn't do it justice, but imagine open space like this in all directions as far as you can see, and that is the place you sleep every night. Kelly is getting a master's degree in theology and is open minded, so we have been having fun discussing Hermetics. // The photo shows two of Kelly's four dogs. The one with the bared teeth is smiling. She looks so fierce and is sooo mellow. The dog on the right passed away yesterday. She had been attacked by horses who came up to the porch to eat the dog food. A storm appeared at the time of her passing, and at the moment of her burial there was a magnificent double rainbow in the sky.
We go to Springerville tomorrow, then into New Mexico//WHAT A WAY TO TRAVEL NO RUSH/WONDERFUL PEOPLE/NO HASSELS SO FAR AND A WONDERFUL RELAXING JOURNEY//I WOULD ENCOURAGE ALL TO TRY IT FOR AT LEAST A SHORT TIME//we will conduct our Hermetics class for Covina Hermiticia here this evening and our Saturday class went off without any major problems.

THANK YOU, KELLY!!!
THINK GREEN
BLESSED BE
COUGINA