Today we made good our depasture from Texas and are staying in Las Cruses NM at the warmshowers home of John and Donetta Demirjian.

We ate breakfast at the hotel in Anthony TX.   We both laughed when we saw the waffle iron in the shape of the state of Texas and took a photo so you too could appreciate it.  The raisin marked our position this morning.

We left the hotel and were shortly across the Rio Grande river, such as it is in this part of the state, and finally entering NM in earnest.  So we stopped to take photos at the border once again.

The trees you see in the background are pecans, and , much of today's ride was along and between pecan groves, sometimes large enough to form a canopy over the road.  Many of the fields were being flooded with irrigated water as the pecans are still ripening.  Neither of us realized the extent of the pecan crop here, but locals were constantly referring to the area as the pecan capital of the world.

About halfway through today's ride, cycling suddenly seemed difficult,  and I looked down to find my rear tire going flat.  I tried to simply pump some more air into it, and ride the 2 miles to the next small town, but it was not to be.  Score Jerome 7, Barb 0 since she picked up her lucky horseshoe.

After repairs, the riding was much easier and we got to Las Cruces near the campus of New Mexico State University about 11:30.  So we ducked into DG's Deli just before a crush of students and staff arrived.  Sandwiches and fruit cups were great and it was easy to understand the noontime crowd.

When we finished we rode the remaining half mile to John and Donetta's home.  John is a former touring cyclist who rode many times from southern California to his parents' home in Ohio, and back.   Though retired from riding he still takes a strong interest in touring cyclists and has hosted several groups of folks on the Southern Tiers route recently.

We unpacked our bikes and rode them down to the local bike shop. Barb replaced the rear tire on her bike, and I picked up a few new inner tubes.

Then we continued toward downtown Las Cruces were we found a bistro serving pecan pie.  Who could resist? On the way back to our warmshowers host, I suddenly felt that weird softness in my bike, and looked down to find my rear wheel flat again.  So one of the new inner tubes was immediately put to use.  Jerome 8, Barb 0.  I need to find a horseshoe.

As long as we're reporting scores, the final tally on Texas roads was Texans 11, Snakes 1.

We ate tonight at a Golden Corral, not somewhere I've been for a while, but tonight it really hit the spot.

We'll be up tomorrow morning, heading for Deming on I -10.   We have directions from John for getting out of Las Cruces,  complete with his recommendation for breakfast.

Happy and doing well, except for my preponderance of flats.