Day 47 - ending at Clayton, NM - The Great Plains Trail - Sort Of

June 30, 2023

Day 47 - ending at Clayton, NM

Day 47 - Nara Visa, NM to Clayton, NM

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I worked on yesterday's report when I got up, even though with no cell signal, I couldn't upload it. I write a rough draft of the text as an email, and like to have that done before the next day's events cloud my memory.

There's no restaurants or convenience stores in town, and today's 63 mile ride to Clayton won't have any services along the way either, so I ate breakfast from my lunch bag.

At 9:27am I rode the short ways west to get to NM-402, the highway I'd be on all day. It was a little hilly the first 10 or so miles, then flattened out. Clayton is north of Nara Visa. NM-402 goes mostly north, but does have a few sections that go west. Since the wind was from the southeast, I had a tailwind all day.

I was passing Fairview Cemetery at 11:55am and decided to stop and start my noon break a little early. I have 17.6 morning miles to report. One of the crumbs of the granola bar I was eating landed right in front of an ant. He was ecstatic and having to guard his find from his siblings.

At 12:33pm I came to an interesting rest area with bright orange picnic tables and a water tank. The water tank was dry. Its concrete foundation was set in 1963. I took a short nap on the bench of one of the picnic tables.

At 1:07pm I passed the road to Amistad, and at 2:51pm, the no-longer-there town of Stead.

I stopped for a break at the intersection with highway NM-562 at 3:55pm. The Kiowa National Grassland was now on my right.

When I arrived in Clayton, I headed to Clayton RV Park. All registered, I was at site #46 at 5:35pm. Rain was on the way and I was thinking I should go eat supper now. Hopefully, the place I go to will have an awning that I can park my bike underneath.

The campground hostess had recommended the Wild Horse Grill as the place to eat. I rode over there. They had a sign on their door stating they were closed Friday and Saturday. So I went back south a few blocks to 87 Restaurant. They have a nice canopy near their outdoor seating area that worked very well for keeping the bike dry.

Though there were others eating outside, I went inside the restaurant to eat. I had their pulled pork plate and several Dr Peppers. I had room for dessert, so ordered that. It's called a cookie skillet. I hadn't checked on the price ahead of time, but at $14.99, it was like ordering a second meal. Though, it was very good.

I was back at my campsite at 7:55pm. It looked like more rain was coming. I got the tent set up and filled with the gear by 8:30pm. The rain, lightning, and thunder were here at 8:50pm. The tent was doing pretty well at keeping the water outside. It was still raining at 10:30pm. That sound on the tent makes it hard for me to stay awake, so I went to bed.

Jeff

Spent: $24.51 (campsite) + $37.77 plus $8 (supper) = $70.28

Today's ride: 63 miles (101 km)
Total: 1,981 miles (3,188 km)

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