Yesterday I finally managed to take the almost new TE610 on an all day ride. I'd planned a looping route to the west of Belen, New Mexico that would skirt north of Ladron Peak, pass through Riley (Santa Rita), take a back road into the Alamo Navajo Tribal Lands (TL), continue west into the Acoma TL, head north to the Acoma Pueblo after passing the Acoma Sky City, and then come back through the Laguna TL, pass through Los Lunas back to Belen.
As it turned out, I needed a permit that I didn't have to go through the back country of the Acoma TL, so I had to cut that portion of the trip short and head north from the Alamo TL to the Laguna TL and pick up the route there. It was a good thing, because after stopping for photos, running out of gas (carried extra so no big delay), and general goofing around I barely made it home in the twilight. I hate riding my TE610 after dark (I've got a new headlight setup, but it isn't installed yet...).
Here's a map and some photos:
This is the route (sorry about the poor resolution - I need to experiment more with map output for our 800x600 size limitations). The green portions are dirt and the black portions are paved.
A morning shot of Ladron Peak from the east. While it was bright and sunny the temperature was still in the high 20's and I almost turned on the heated jacket (now that's why a TE610 has a 320 watt stator)!
After passing to the north of Ladron Peak and heading south along its western flank I arrived at the only rural bus stop in Socorro County. This sign is a classic - it's been here for at least 15 years that I can remember and probably never been visited by a bus. It must be a respected part of local lore because it's one of the only signs that hasn't been shot at least once...
A mile or so to the south of the bus stop is Santa Rita where this great old building is located (maybe a school house?).
And the nearly 130 year old Santa Rita Church. There are only about 10 to 15 homes currently within 10 miles of the church, but families with ancestral ties to the Santa Rita / Riley area maintain the church and cemetery around it.
After leaving Santa Rita I headed east towards the Alamo Navajo TL. Along this section the route crosses the Rio Salado several times. It looked like I might have been the first one through this crossing since the last snow. The Rio Salado is usually a small stream like this. However, it drains a tremendous basin into the Rio Grande just north of Socorro and once or twice a year severe thunderstorms occur in the basin and the flooding Rio Salado can have twice the flow of the Rio Grande that it runs into. Lots of old car bodies long the banks downstream from these crossings...
A shot of Ladron Peak's western side, taken just before entering the Alamo Navajo TL. The peak is just over 9,200' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladron_Peak).
North of the Alamo TL there are several different ranches that graze cattle on private and leased public lands. This fence line shows the effects of different grazing management strategies...
This was one of the few side roads that wasn't posted where it left the main road. I hoped it would take me up to the top of one of the mesas for a view of Mount Taylor to the north. Unfortunately it had a locked gate about a 1/2 mile beyond this spot. But is was a great road while it lasted!
So I had to settle for these two views of Mount Taylor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Taylor_(New_Mexico)) before heading home and running out of gas (I can't wait for those Aqualine tanks...).
I'm going to try and get a permit for the Acoma backcountry routes, so if you're ever around central New Mexico and want to go on a long ride let me know.
Howard L. Snell
As it turned out, I needed a permit that I didn't have to go through the back country of the Acoma TL, so I had to cut that portion of the trip short and head north from the Alamo TL to the Laguna TL and pick up the route there. It was a good thing, because after stopping for photos, running out of gas (carried extra so no big delay), and general goofing around I barely made it home in the twilight. I hate riding my TE610 after dark (I've got a new headlight setup, but it isn't installed yet...).
Here's a map and some photos:
This is the route (sorry about the poor resolution - I need to experiment more with map output for our 800x600 size limitations). The green portions are dirt and the black portions are paved.
A morning shot of Ladron Peak from the east. While it was bright and sunny the temperature was still in the high 20's and I almost turned on the heated jacket (now that's why a TE610 has a 320 watt stator)!
After passing to the north of Ladron Peak and heading south along its western flank I arrived at the only rural bus stop in Socorro County. This sign is a classic - it's been here for at least 15 years that I can remember and probably never been visited by a bus. It must be a respected part of local lore because it's one of the only signs that hasn't been shot at least once...
A mile or so to the south of the bus stop is Santa Rita where this great old building is located (maybe a school house?).
And the nearly 130 year old Santa Rita Church. There are only about 10 to 15 homes currently within 10 miles of the church, but families with ancestral ties to the Santa Rita / Riley area maintain the church and cemetery around it.
After leaving Santa Rita I headed east towards the Alamo Navajo TL. Along this section the route crosses the Rio Salado several times. It looked like I might have been the first one through this crossing since the last snow. The Rio Salado is usually a small stream like this. However, it drains a tremendous basin into the Rio Grande just north of Socorro and once or twice a year severe thunderstorms occur in the basin and the flooding Rio Salado can have twice the flow of the Rio Grande that it runs into. Lots of old car bodies long the banks downstream from these crossings...
A shot of Ladron Peak's western side, taken just before entering the Alamo Navajo TL. The peak is just over 9,200' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladron_Peak).
North of the Alamo TL there are several different ranches that graze cattle on private and leased public lands. This fence line shows the effects of different grazing management strategies...
This was one of the few side roads that wasn't posted where it left the main road. I hoped it would take me up to the top of one of the mesas for a view of Mount Taylor to the north. Unfortunately it had a locked gate about a 1/2 mile beyond this spot. But is was a great road while it lasted!
So I had to settle for these two views of Mount Taylor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Taylor_(New_Mexico)) before heading home and running out of gas (I can't wait for those Aqualine tanks...).
I'm going to try and get a permit for the Acoma backcountry routes, so if you're ever around central New Mexico and want to go on a long ride let me know.
Howard L. Snell
because that happens a lot out here in Southern California, too. I've also had local hayseeds drive out on public access roads and tell me that there is no "offroading" and when I point out that I am driving a street legal motorcycle, they seem more than a little bit disappointed.
Sometimes, the locals will padlock a gate that is supposed to be unlocked.