It was still chilly and overcast the next morning as we ventured out for breakfast and a quick stroll around town to check out the historic sites. We saw the Basillica of San Albino, as well as the courthouse where Billy the Kid stood trial for murder. Once on the road, we skirted Las Cruces on our way to Hatch, home of the famous and delicious Hatch chile peppers. We rode through alternating fields of peppers and cotton, and a pepper processing plant that smelled like hot pepper heaven!
Before we reached Hatch, we stopped and toured historic Fort Selden, famous for the renowned Buffalo Soldiers, mostly used during the Indian Wars. It is now mostly a ruin. The staff at the Fort were so kind and took our picture to put on their Facebook page! Our stop for the evening was the Caballo Lake Campground. We figured we’d have the run of the place as it was so chilly and overcast. HA! The RV Park was packed.There were only a couple of empty spots, one across from an incessantly barking dog chained outside an RV, the other next to a bickering couple. We chose the couple. Soon enough they both were staring at their phones and not bickering anymore. One thing about tent camping out west, most campgrounds are gravel. Since it was so windy and rain was still a threat, we pitched our tent in the picnic shelter to shield us against the weather. When we called the campground the lady said we could gather as much fuel as we would like for a fire. We were in the desert. We could not have gathered enough desert twigs over a 5 mile radius to have started a tiny ember pile. So despite temps in the upper 30s as the darkness descended, we bundled in layers and hunkered down to cook dinner while the bickering couple sat down by a roaring bonfire while staring at their phones! To top it off, the showers were cold and only ran for about 30 seconds at a time. Total cycling mileage: 63 Total hiking mileage: 4Â