This morning started off normally enough.  The alarm went off at 6, and Barb got up to head to the restroom, while I laid in bed for a few moments seeking motivation.  Barb came out fully changed into her biking clothes, and turned on a light.  Ok, ok.  I grabbed my shorts and jersey and headed in to change.  On my way out, I stopped by my bike to see how my patched tubes were holding up.  BOTH TIRES WERE AS FLAT AS PANCAKES!!  Jerome 11, Barb 0.  Well at least we were somewhere convenient.  So I flipped the bike and did two inner tube patches before breakfast.  One was causesd by a very small thorn, the other by a tire wire.  My previous patches had at least held.

Then we headed down to breakfast.  True to form, breakfast at the Grand Inn was a delight.   Food was delicious and the staff was anxious to please.  Both Barb and I have noticed that it wasn't the physical building that made the Grand Inn so nice, it was the people who were always looking for ways to make our stay special.  No real cost involved, just great service.

At breakfast a pair of deputy sheriffs noted that we had about 40 miles to cover with services, save for a rest stop about half way, so on the way out of town we stopped at a Walmart to pick up sandwiches and gatorade to pack along.

The morning's ride was a long gradual uphill with a slight tailwind. The road surface was great, where we were riding on the shoulder whenever traffic warranted less so. But all in all pleasant riding.

We happened across another freshly dead rattlesnake along the road and Barb stopped to take a photo.  She has her horseshoe affixed to her rear rack in plain view and seems  in no danger of encountering a live one.

We finally crossed a river in NM with water flowing, quite a beautiful sight with the blue sky refleeting in the water.

At mile twenty, we came upon a charming rest stop that someone local has taken a great tongue-in-cheek interest in.  There was a blue 'lake' painted on a collection of rocks, complete with a NO FISHING  and NO SWIMMING signs.  Picnice tables were sheltered from both wind and sun.  Apparently the NM legislature is constantly tring to close the place, so there was a prominently displayed visitors book to sign in an effort to keep the place off the chopping block.  We sat and enjoyed our sandwiches along with quite a number of visitors.

The next twenty miles into Hurley were basically more of the same gradual climb. Fortunately the wind was in a favorable direction as it picked up.  We stopped at the Gateway Grill in Hurley for a piece of pecan pie, this time of the Mrs. Smith's variety that was hardly anything a Las Cruses pecan grower would claim.  Still it was sugar and calories and a place to sit for a spell.

The last fifteen miles were more of what we've come to expect of the mountains,  a series of fairly steep descents and climbs that had us in and out of our granny gears.

We arrived in Silver City about 3:30 and sat at a table at a convenience store to find housing.  Our prospective warmshowers hosts were unable to host us, and we couldn't find a contact  for a cyclists-only house.  So we used the tablet to find a reasonable, but nice hotel.  We've ended up at the Copper Manor hotel.   Adequate for our needs and clean.  The restaurant next door, The Red Barn, was convenient for supper and turned out to serve fine food, a good draft ale, and a generously  filled glass of house red.

So we're showered, full, and settling down for the evening with a load of tub laundry hanging in the room with hopes that it will be dry in the morning.

Please note there have been no further flats to report, something that pleases me immensely.  

Well, safe, and happy.