Wichita Falls to Santa Fe

I am posting this a couple of days after the fact because I have been too tired to post when we finished each days ride. 

We decided to get moving a little earlier this morning. The "free" breakfast hadn't even been served yet, but we did manage a cinnamon roll and some fruit. Jeff and I were packed and ready to roll by 7am... But not Dave. Dave only moves at two speeds: slow and stop, needless to say we were waiting on Dave! So, Jeff took the advantage of the extra time for a photo opportunity. By the big water tower

Dave finally got on his bike and we headed N.W. on Hwy 287 towards Amarillo. 287 is a nice ride with some fun sweeping curves. Had fun with the train engineers as we passed the trains, they gave us a honk on the horn as we passed. Rolled into Amarillo about 10:30 and stopped by the Harley shop to feed Jeff's addiction. Jeff paid $60 bucks for a blue poker chip and they gave him two tshirts for free. 

We headed west for just a few short miles and stopped at the Cadillac Ranch. Many years ago some guy burried a bunch of old Cadillacs front first out in a dirt field. Since then people have been spray painting graffiti on the cars for years. Just a part of history we had to see! 

From the Cadillac ranch we headed west on I-40.. Only about 40 miles to the Midpoint Cafe. It is the exact geographic middle of Route 66, half way between Chicago and Los Angeles. 

Good food, nice people and a nice bit of nostalgia!  Jeff even made a new friend while we were there.

We bought some Route 66 trinkets and hit the road towards Santa Fe..  

We were fighting a head wind the whole way, but wanted to find a more scenic route into Santa Fe other than I-40. So, I turned north on Hwy 84 towards the NM mountains and I-25. Hwy 84 is has a few long stretches and a few nice sweeper curves as it climbs up into the mountians. Jeff said he wanted a pic of him and the bike on a lonely open stretch of highway. So, we stopped along the road for a few pics. 

You can see the mountains in the background. 

We got to I-25 and gassed up for the last stretch in to Santa Fe. I-25 is a beautiful road through the mountains and down into a valley where Santa Fe sits. We checked into the hotel and then Victor met us there and took us to dinner at a New Mexican Resturant. It was a great day!!