Rain at the City of Rocks

      A rainy day! Amazing. It's been raining all day. There was some hard rain in the morning, and then a steady drizzle into the afternoon. I've been making arrangements to have my mail forwarded. It's quite a process, but hopefully I'll be able to receive mail on a regular basis. But...does anyone send letters anymore? That's a point to ponder. It's only since I've cancelled my data plan that I've become more involved with "snail mail." It's actually been fun. I have not received mail back from anyone yet, but maybe if I keep at it I will.
      It's been pretty slow at the Park recently. The electric hook-up sites are staying full, but the remote, "developed sites", are only sparsely used. Developed sites have a fire ring, a picnic table, and an area for parking and setting up a tent. Most people using the developed sites stay for a few days, then leave. There's no provision for dumping waste tanks at the park, so people are limited as to the length of their stay.
    I met a camper who was trailering a brand new 2014 BMW R1200 GS. Though he didn't need to be trailering, he'd been pulling it around the western states with a Toyota pick-up. It was an interesting home-made trailer that off-loaded the motorcycle with an electronic remote control device. It was pretty noisy, but effectively removed the bike from the trailer in minutes, without lifting more than a finger. Chatting for awhile, we'd both been looking forward to riding up to the pass. Emory Pass is the high point in the range running north and south between Silver City and Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. It's about 9200 feet. The City of Rocks is at 5200. The road has been closed for a number of months as the result of a washout following some severe rains earlier in the year. It opened again November 1st. It was obvious that many repairs had been made to the road. Huge arroyos had formed and obviously washed over the road, taking much of the road with it. The climb was twisty and damp in spots. Though I was pushing the Guzzi pretty hard in areas, I was braking quickly for areas of loose gravel. The wet spots in the road made me fear ice patches, but the temperatures stayed above 50, so we were actually safe from ice. The view from the top looks down onto the city of Hillsboro and beyond. Lots of scorched rolling hills. This was an area I had hiked 6 years ago on my first trip to Silver City. That would have been the year I started blogging. It was fun to see the same roads again, but it's obvious that fire had damaged much of the area. And sad that as a result, the land could not handle the rainwater and thus the damage to roadways.
    Motorcycling in the rain hasn't been fun. But it's not more than an inconvenience. I get some pretty funny looks at the grocery, with all of my rain gear and gloves and helmet. I even get some silly comments, but it's a small town. Some people grow up in small towns, and never leave. I can't imagine what kind of life that would be. I like travel, and seeing new things. And I like writing about the people and places I come upon. It's a great life. Will I settle down one day? I'm sure that will happen. It won't be in Florida though. And I still want to explore Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. In the spring...