Today was the first cloudy day of on our tour across America. The clouds were welcome as it kept the sun from beating down on us all day. I got on the road with one of the other cyclists around 7:50. After leaving Silver City we headed north on SR 15. Once we got on SR15 the elevation started to rise. After about 8 miles or so we reached the Continental Divide at 7080′. The landscape became quite rocky and the vegetation turned to Ponderosa Pine. By 9:30 we had travelled 14.5 miles and my GPS recorded an elevtion of 7239 feet. The next several miles involved downhill runs on a winding road with sharp switchbacks. Some of the turns were very sharp as we cruised downhill and I had to use my brakes to stay on the road. After riding 15.5 miles my GPS recorded the elevation as 7477 feet. At the 27 mile mark we stopped for a sandwhich on the side of the road at Lake Roberts. The remainder of the ride was pretty easy and after 52 miles we rolled in to the Mountain Spirits RV Park, 3 miles south of Mimbres at an elevation of 5781 feet.
No sign of Ben Cartwright and his sons.
