Color coordinated!

Hi Kelly,
I generally don't care for donuts or any other pastries, (except for U.P. pasties) but I really liked going to Mike's Donuts with my father-in-law just for the coffee, the atmosphere and interacting with his many friends. He got me up every morning at the un-godly hour of 5:30 a.m. and, as an every day regular, he had special privileges to go inside before the shop officially opened. I enjoyed watching Mike and his crew make the donuts in the open-air kitchen.

When we were in Spokane last year, it was because of my father-in-law's death. I didn't get a chance to get down to Mike's. Since then, Mike retired and sold the shop to a young gal who was a long-time employee. She still calls it Mike's Donuts. She was awesome, and I look forward to visiting her shop this year. I also hope to see some of my father-in-law's old friends. I'll report back.

Your Tucson offer is tempting. I'll be in touch.

If you go to Spokane, you can eat donuts! I was of a weaker mindset in 2019 and thoroughly enjoyed Mike's Donuts. Perhaps my strong will concerning pasties means I will have to make a return trip and try them!

Or, if you don't have family obligations for Thanksgiving - you could fly out and join us for six days touring in the Tucson area. We might gather up a couple more, for a small, motel/restaurant tour.

Kelly

Thanks for the comments, Wayne. Regarding Big Bend, I think my only reason for choosing Santa Elena Canyon over the Chisos was that on my two previous visits to the park I spent most of the time backpacking up in the mountains. (I see you climbed Emory Peak. Me too, twice.) It's possible I could change my mind when I get there. It's even possible that I could be short on time when I get there which would mean just skirting the west side of the park. I'll be on a strict 4-week time limit and I just can't crank out the miles like I used to. Plus, I enjoy hiking on my tours too. If that were to happen, I would start planning a more thorough bike tour of the Big Bend area (as you did) sometime in the future.

Looks like a good route to me. The last couple days from Van Horn to El Paso is rather bleak and depressing. But it's necessary to complete the loop. Most of the route is quite scenic and rewarding.
Interesting that you chose to go to Castolon and Santa Elena Canyon instead of to the Chisos mountains. It's all good at Big Bend.
I've never done the route through Ruidoso. It should be great. Bravo for finding back roads from Roswell to Carlsbad to stay off of US 285.

Hi Paul, good to hear from you again. Have fun on your Florida trip. I see you have a journal started, so I'll be sure to check it out.

Glad to hear you're going on another longer tour. I look forward to the journals and your "most naive cowboy" experiences.
Last year, I also had a grand plan to cycle the Empire trail from Manhattan to Albany to Buffalo, and then make my way to Pittsburgh. That was Sep 2020 but yes, COVID hit and I decided it was not prudent to travel at that time, especially with the quarantine restrictions at that time. I ended up doing a 4-day "backyard" tour instead around my local Georgia. Now with both my wife and I vaccinated and travel restrictions being lifted, we have a 7-day tour in FL next week and planning a tour in New England this fall. So things are looking up. :-)

Hi Suzanne,
Yes indeed, I do hope to squeeze in a couple of shorter tours during the summer. Perhaps I'm a little overly-optimistic, but I'm feeling good about all the shots being given out these days. And I'm feeling even better about all the people who have gotten their vaccines and continue to honor mask-wearing protocols. It gives a sense of solidarity. I'll have no problem at all wearing one inside buildings or at public gatherings for as long as it takes.

Glad to hear you got your first shot. It looks like your October tour is within reach now. Looking forward to your journal. And can't you take off for the little four-day wild camping tour in the meantime?

Glad to hear it!

Thanks Bob. So far, so good on the side effects--nothing yet. And yeah, to me October seems like four years away.

And I'm glad to report that it has been four hours since the vaccine and my arm hasn't fallen off yet. NICE!

Hi Jeff, thanks for the message. And, speaking of irony:

I have a good friend who just happens to be a pretty staunch political conservative. When I told him about my getting kicked off Crazyguy for posting elsewhere, he said "Unbelievable--liberal cancel culture is everywhere."

He's one of the few friends who actually read my CGOAB journals, but I'm guessing he didn't read the forums.

Thanks Rocky, but don't get too excited yet. October is a long way off.

At first, I thought, "What's he thinking about? No way am I going to skip White Sands." Then I looked back up at the picture. Now I get it.