Raton, NM - Vernon, TX Motorcycling

The sweet morning ride between Raton and Clayton on Route 287.

27. Riding on Route 87 for 125 km between Raton and Clayton is the sweetest ride so far in our long-haul Calgary - New Orleans trip. The air is still and 18 degree C cool at 08:00. Sometimes light breeze from the south greeted me, but it was never uncomfortably fast. The asphalt feels awesome and butter smooth. Combined desert and greenery scenery accompanied me along the route; it's so peaceful. It's pure heaven when the engine growl is the only sound I could hear.

28. When my wife and I stopped for a quick run to the washroom (i.e., rest room as it's called in the US) in Clayton, a woman with two kids greeted me outside the gas station, after looking at our license plate. "Alberta ... We have a family in Red Deer. Are you from near there?" Yes, I'm from Calgary. "Right on." Stopping at different places in many places I've been in the US, I come to respect Americans as people who are hard workers, self-reliant, and proud of what they do. They're friendly and exude confidence; I like that.

29. We lost one hour when we crossed the New Mexico - Texas border due to the Central standard time. We reached Amarillo in about 3.5 hours, covering 350 km from Raton. The road from Dumas and Amarillo is hilly but brief 70 km. The road condition between Dumas and Amarillo is not as good as that of the 280 km between Raton and Dumas.

30. We saw several State Troopers work diligently to catch highway speeders. From Amarillo to Vernon. Outside Clarendon, a State Trooper car suddenly was on the left lane, came up behind the SUV in front of me, and stopped the SUV. I used a GPS unit to keep track of my motorcycle speed; the unit literally paid for itself by preventing me from getting speeding tickets.

31.  The big crosswinds showed up again between Washburn and Vernon along Route 287. It's no accident that I saw many wind turbines in the area. The temperature soared to 40 degree C and we had to stop for DQ milkshake and orange juice in Clarendon to cool down.

32. We covered 640 km today (Thursday, June 23) between Raton and Vernon. The shorter 450 km trip the day before as a way to have a rest worked well. I was thinking of continuing to Wichita Falls, another 80 km along Route 287 southbound, but I thought the motel rate there has got to be more expensive. We decided to stay overnight in Vernon.

I use my GPS unit to monitor speed in miles/hour. It proves useful when we entered towns and had to reduce speed.