Day 7: Abiquiu to Chama

September 18, 2017

Today is a long day, so I got up at 6:30. Ate breakfast at Abiquiu Inn when they opened at 7. It was very good but not big enough for a cyclist. Half a mile down the road I stopped at Bodes general store and bought a breakfast burrito.

Bodes General Store is the only store in Abiquiu. They have a good selection of burritos and sandwiches.

Today has an uphill trend, following the Chama river upstream from 6378 feet (1933 m) elevation in Abiquiu to 7871 feet (2385 m) elevation in Chama. The south tailwind will help a little bit.

Abiquiu was the start of Old Spanish Trail, a pack trail to the Pacific coast at Los Angeles. The trail did not make Abiquiu into a major town.

Old Spanish Trail sign at Bodes General Store.

North of Abiquiu US 84 crosses the Chama river and stays close to the river for 5 miles.

The first 20 miles of today's ride have spectacular red and multi-colored cliffs. One amazing view after another.

US 84 passes many colorful cliffs north of Abiquiu.

After a final hilltop view of the Chama river, US 84 turns east of the river as the river enters a canyon. In the canyon is a dam that I couldn't see from the highway.

Looking back at Rio Chama just before US 84 turns away from the river. Good view of bosque (woodlands) in the floodplain.

Beyond the canyon the highway has frequent views of Abiquiu reservoir in the distance to the west.

US 84 was mostly uphill all morning. The day's first summit is 1700 feet (515 m) higher than Abiquiu. The grade was gentle except for the short steep climb to get around the dam.

In a few places US 84 goes very close to the colorful rocks. Most of today's route is fenced but has no houses and few ranch gates and roads. The countryside is unpopulated until Tierra Amarilla.

This was the only area to have multi-colored badlands.

Today I'm really grateful to be traveling north, with the sun behind me. The best, most vivid views are ahead of me instead of behind me.

I saw a motorist park and walk into this canyon. Looks like a great place for a hike.

Trees are still scarce at 7000 feet elevation. High desert with mesquite, juniper, rabbit brush, and bunchgrass. I wouldn't want big trees because they would obstruct the view of the awesome cliffs all around.

Looking west towards Abiquiu reservoir and Cerro Pedernal. Rabbit brush in peak bloom.

Below is an image of one of Georgia O'Keeffe's most famous paintings, called Red Hills with Pedernal White Clouds, from 1936. It last sold for $4,533,000.

Today had fantastic weather. Blue sky all day. No threat of afternoon storms. 60F/16C early in the morning. High of 80F/27C. With a gentle southwest tailwind.

I saw surprisingly few roadside memorials.

Ghost Ranch is a popular tourist destination. They do tours that take visitors up close to the cliffs that were a popular subject of Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings.

Georgia O'Keeffe spent much of her time at Ghost Ranch.

The cliffs at Ghost Ranch are informally known as the Georgia O'Keeffe cliffs. They are quite impressive and have a variety of colors.

Georgia O'Keeffe cliffs in Ghost Ranch. It would be fun to see them up close.

As expected, I climbed above the red layer after about 20 miles. There were still many interesting cliffs after that, but not as colorful.

Echo Amphitheater campground looks inviting.

Over the course of the afternoon I saw 5 southbound bike tourists. First was a solo guy with front panniers and a seat pack. Much later was a couple with handlebar bags and big seat packs. Much later still were 2 guys with full loads of 4 panniers. The only other touring cyclists I saw during this tour. I waved but didn't talk to any of them.

View from the first summit looking north towards Chama.

I expected to have no services between Abiquiu and Tierra Amarilla. But there was a small bar/store at mile 32, then a gas station store at mile 45 in Tierra Amarilla.

The last 40 miles of today's ride don't have the multi-color cliffs, but have views of distant cliffs and mesas. Near Tierra Amarilla I had a distant view of the San Juan mountains in Colorado. Smaller nearby mountains obstructed the view by the time I arrived in Chama.

Near the second summit I climbed into pines briefly before descending to Tierra Amarilla.

Mexico's war of independence began in 1810. Spain granted Mexico independence in 1821. This region was the northern frontier of Mexico until 1848 when the United States seized half of Mexico's territory by military force.

Tierra Amarilla has a gas station/store. Also the famous Tierra Wools store which sells hand-dyed yarn and hand-made woolens.

There was a long and scenic downhill from the second summit to Tierra Amarilla (ah-mah-REE-yah). I didn't stop there. Tierra Wools is pretty far from the highway and I didn't need to stop for food.

Looking down on the village of Tierra Amarilla. Spanish for yellow soil. No shoulder but traffic is light.

US 84 is continuous uphill from Tierra Amarilla to Chama. Near Chama the landscape looks noticeably more green, with green hay fields in the valley and pine trees on the surrounding hills and mountains. Close to 8000 feet elevation now.

The first farms I saw during this tour. It's starting to look like Colorado.

The countryside was unpopulated until I was nearly in Chama. I expected Chama to be a bigger town. The population is only 1018.

Guest Ranch owned by the Jicarilla Apache tribe.

I saw the Chama river for the last time just south of Chama. Hadn't seen it since this morning.

Chama river again near the town of Chama.

I arrived in Chama just after 6 PM and got my reserved $85 room at Chama Trails Inn. The room is small and rustic but the motel is close to the supermarket and restaurants.

The owner told me bikes aren't allowed in the room. I told him I always take my bike in my room and know how to not damage stuff. After nearly threatening to leave he relented and allowed me to carry the bike into the room.

Chama is a sleepy tourist town. It has about 6 small motels and 3 restaurants. Sometimes the restaurants are open. I ate dinner at the only place that was open.

Today was long and had a lot of climbing. But the grades are fairly gentle and I had favorable winds. I was very tired but not miserable when I arrived in Chama.

Chama is the highest place I slept during this trip. 7871 feet (2385 m) elevation, slightly higher than La Cueva lodge. Chilly at night.

Distance: 59.3 mi. (95 km)
Ascent/Descent: +3681/-1854 ft. (+1115/-562 m)
Average Speed: 8.2 mph (13.1 km/h)

Today's ride: 59 miles (95 km)
Total: 251 miles (404 km)

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