Santa Fe, NM to Pagosa Springs, CO

We got a late start leaving Santa Fe. Breaking camp took longer than expected so it wasn’t before too long that the dreaded thunderstorm clouds started forming again. Yes, I know I sound like a broken record but afternoon thunderstorms can really take the fun out of riding. Based on weather forecasts it looked like the chance of rain was reduced further north.No such luck. It rained off and on during the last two hours of our ride. We even got hail – that was a first for both of us on the motorcycle. I pulled over onto the shoulder when it started but when I heard loud thunder directly above us I figured this might not be the best place to stay ;-). The hail was very localized, about one mile down the road it stopped just as suddenly as it had started. Freaky.

The weather was very mixed in Pagosa Springs. Since we didn’t want to go through another day of camping in the rain we decided to get a hotel. At least that allowed us to catch up on e-mail and the blog.

Here’s the route.

Distance traveled: 172 miles.