Santa Fe - New Mexico

March 14th - March 15th

After Rike dropped me off, I had a long climb up on Interstate 25.  I had to ride on this road most of the way to Santa Fe.  Many vehicles zooming by again, but not as bad as I-10.
I had not really spent anytime in Sante Fe before, so I was excited about going there.  This was also true of Albuquerque.
I arrived in Santa Fe at the later part of the afternoon.  I was going to stay at the youth hostel there, but decided against it as it did not look very appealing from the outside.  I reread some of the reviews about it and decided I wanted a better place to stay for the night.  I have stayed at some youth hostels in the past, that I would not stay at again(even for $18.00). 
I decided to backtrack to the Motel 6 and pay 33.99 plus tax for the night.  I rode down to the Sunflower Market(a healthy food store chain in the west), but was not too impressed with it.
No problem, since I knew that I would go to good old Trader Joe's to stock up on some good food the next day.
I caught up on letter writing and my journal.  I was missing my friends in Albuquerque though.
When I woke up I rode to TJ's and then to REI to exchange my sleeping pad, as it had a hole in it from sleeping in the desert.  Thanks to the Santa Fe REI for their great customer service.  They exchanged the pad that I had used on previous trips also, with no problems.  Great customer service is the way to go!!!

I then rode to the Round House, as they call it in New Mexico.  This is what the capital building is called.  It is a beautiful building, inside and out.  There was a lot going on.  I checked out the session that was going on in their great hall.

Then it was time to go to the Plaza at Santa Fe.  Sort of like our Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall in Boston.  It was very nice and beautiful, with many shops and places to eat.  Similar to Albuquerque's Old Town Plaza.  I loved it!!!

After that I went to Congressman Tom Udall's office to talk with either him or his staff about the importance of healthy living for all.  They were very nice and receptive to me there.  Thanks for being teammates on the mission for all of us to be healthy.

I left Santa Fe at about 3:00 and headed north again.  I had a steep climb up and then I went downhill for awhile.
I went through a few small towns and then Espanola.

After Espanola, I found State Land to set my tent up for the night.

I found shelter behind some bushes and had some dinner.
Shortly after it getting dark, I heard the first shot.  I had seen on the sign at the entrance to the land that there was a target shooting area.
I listened to someone shooting for a good hour that night.   Then it was the howling of coyotes and dogs across the highway.