March 23, 2012
Day 27: To Cloudcroft
Today's distance is short but it won't be easy.
In the morning I used the motel laundromat and did various chores. On the way out of town I stopped at Quizno's for an early lunch. I turned east on US 82 at 11:50 AM, starting the climb to Cloudcroft.
The first half of the climb is in desert with good views of desert slopes ahead and the Tularosa valley to the rear.
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Eventually the road climbs in a desert canyon high above a creek lined with bare deciduous trees. Sparse junipers start to appear on the slopes.
The last third of the climb is in pine forest. The forested region is almost continuously inhabited. Frequent driveways lead to cabins in the woods.
Traffic was heavy and the road has little or no shoulder. I made sure the flasher was on.
Cloudcroft is a rare town at the top of a mountain pass. It's a low-key ski town and mountain resort. Much smaller than Ruidoso which is 20 miles north at still higher elevation. Cloudcroft and Ruidoso attract most of their visitors from Texas.
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I arrived in Cloudcroft at 5:40 PM. The climb took nearly 6 hours. I looked around town for a few minutes, then continued on to the Aspen motel and got a room for $77. I knew it wouldn't be cheap in a mountain resort.
I ate dinner at the motel's restaurant. $10 for all you can eat fried catfish, hush puppies, cole slaw, french fries. A traditional Texas feast. To my ear, everybody speaks with a Texas accent even though I'm still in New Mexico.
I expected Cloudcroft to have considerable residual snow on the ground. But the snow was all gone except for small shady patches. I learned that the past winter had very little snow. The Cloudcroft ski area never opened, so the town had few visitors during the winter.
Today was sunny all day with a high of 75F. I'm sure it was much warmer down in Alamogordo.
Distance: 23.4 mi. (37.4 km)
Climbing: 4183 ft. (1267 m)
Average Speed: 5.0 mph (8 km/h) !!!
Today's ride: 23 miles (37 km)
Total: 1,433 miles (2,306 km)
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