Okay, here we go. The Furious Five have assembled in Las Cruces and the appointed departure hour has arrived. We make the final packing adjustments to our motorcycles and then head north on Hwy 185. It's a cool 55 degrees or so, the sun is shining, traffic is light, and it's going to be a glorious day.
Scott and JT discussing the particulars of the route.
One last check of the smartphone before departure.
Every year Chuy's restaurants celebrate Hatch chile peppers for about a month. In fact, Chuy's is the only reason I know the term "Hatch chile pepper" or that there is a Hatch, NM. Here's what chilipeppermadness.com says about them, "
What are Hatch Chile Peppers? Hatch chile peppers are actually a generic name for New Mexican peppers that are grown and harvested in the Hatch Valley region, New Mexico. Located in the heart of the Rio Grande agricultural territory, Hatch, New Mexico, is often referred to as the Chili Capital of the World." Got that?
For years I was aware of Chuy's celebration but only found out last year what the deal was with Chuy's and Hatch. As I understand it, someone in charge at Chuy's likes Hatch chile peppers a lot and so every year they buy a ton of them. They then add various Hatch peppers items to the menu - Hatch enchiladas, Hatch green chile sauce, Hatch salsa, Hatch tacos, whatever.
With all of that flashing through my head as we entered the town of Hatch, NM, we had to stop for a picture. The next time through here hopefully it won't be during a lockdown, thus giving us time to visit some of the local chile pepper establishments. For this trip, we simply motored slowly into town, turned left on Hwy 26 and continued on our way.
Hwy 185 to Hatch is one of Butler's rated roads and it was certainly pleasant enough. But the best riding of the day was definitely ahead. Hwy 26 west took us to Hwy 27 north, which took us to Hwy 152 west to Silver City. The terrain went from the desert of Las Cruces, to the rolling hills along Hwy 27, and then finally into the mountains of the Gila National Forest on Hwy 152, which is where things really got fun and interesting. What a wonderful road!
Our plan was to take 152 west to Hwy 36, then run north to Hwy 15 and on up to the Gila Cliff dwellings, but fuel was an issue. JT's 690 didn't have enough range to make it and we discovered there weren't any gas stations on the route between Hatch and Silver City. So we modified our plan and stayed on Hwy 152 west to Silver City for fuel and food before going to the Gila Cliff Dwellings. Just like the lock-down situation in Texas, the convenience stores are open but the restaurants are take-out only. Lunch was at Wrangler's Bar and Grill. We only indulged in the "grill" part as we have a rule about drinking and riding. We would indulge in the "bar" part at the end of the day's ride.
If you look closely you can see a bench on the left side of the photo inside the restaurant. There are several more just like it in that foyer area. While the restaurant is closed to indoor dining the staff took pity on us and allowed us to sit on the benches and eat.
Bench seating while waiting for the food. Colonel (Retired) Bob made that dude stand at attention the entire time we were there for wearing his headgear indoors.
They had a make-shift ordering area set up at the host station. Bud and Bud light were $1 each with your meal. The giant sodas were also $1 each.
I'm a fan of club sandwiches.
Bellies full and bikes topped off, we continued to moto-social-distance leaving Silver City headed for the Gila Cliff Dwellings.
Ken says, "Let's go, boys. My Lady in Red needs to stretch her legs."