If it were not for California, New Mexico would have been my favorite state. New Mexico had two HUGE highlights.
First, there was the whole Gila Wilderness area. I include Silver City into this area, since it is right before the Gila. Our time in Silver City was great due to some amazing people we met. Even before we got into the Silver City limits, we had met Homer and his riding partner, and Paul Ward. All were very friendly and intrigued by our adventure. Homer even offered assistance if we should need it, which we did the next day when Ryan's bike decided to start acting up.
Even at the RV park in Silver City, where we camped, we got to meet Sassy...our favorite pet from the trip, Stina, and Mick and Ange. Mick and Ange were a couple from Wales touring the Southwest who we spent a wonderful evening with. And who could forget our man Phil from Blimpies!!
Alright, now on to the scenery! The Gila Wilderness is a beautiful mountainous...and I stress mountainous area. It is so mountainous there that Paul Ward, who was a competitive cyclist and all around awesome guy we met, had moved there to train. The mountains are absolutely beautiful though. There are even natural hot springs, which we got the chance to soak in. Believe me, after climbing a hill all day to get to them, and knowing we had to climb a hill the next day to get out of them, the hot springs were an amazing treat! The area is just so preserved and offers so much as far as activities and beauty....a definite must see for anyone who is even close to the area!!
The one other highlight in New Mexico was reaching the summit of Emory's Pass, 8,828 ft above sea level. What a feeling!!! What a view!!! Emory's Pass was our highest point elevation wise on the trip..and it did not disappoint. Being about 4 times higher than any point in PA, I had never been that high. It was an amazing sense of accomplishment.
