Day 15 Silver City to Kingston, NM

Welcome to Black Range Lodge! "It's massive stone walls and logbeamed ceilings - built from the tumbled down ruins of Pretty Sam's Casino and the Monarch Saloon - were completed in 1940. The original construction of multi-layered bricks dates back to the 1880's, when it housed miners and calvary." (brochure) This place is charming - rustic and funky. Everyone seems delighted. The rooms are like a rabbit warren - in every nook and cranny.. . . This was our toughest day of riding to date. We climbed about 4800 ft. to a high of 8828 ft. at Emery Pass. The climb wound round and round. There were times when my stomach was queasy as I looked out and saw how high up I was. Other times I was between sheer cliffs of rocks. We were in the Gila National Forest which I understand is the largest national forest in the U.S. at about 5 million miles. (that sounds outrageously large, doesn't it?) It's beautiful, too. Specifically, we were going thru Railroad Canyon along Iron Creek. The mountains were the Black Range which is part of the Rocky Mtns. I stopped several times for short breaks - always on a flat. It's funny but every time it seemed I couldn't go on, there would be a brief flat that allowed some recovery time. I, of course waltzed all day or would have never made it. Finally at mile 39 we saw a sign to Emery Pass Vista off to the left. What a treat. That was the most exquisite site I have every seen. After staying at the vista site for several pictures, I started down hill which turned out to be 8 miles of switchbacks! Since I don't like downhills, I was miserable the entire time going down. My average speed was 9.5 for the day. I've decided that I'd rather go up than down - a real departure from my earlier days of cycling. Vegetation today was mostly cedar and pine trees making the mountains look very dark. For those interested in the route we were on Hwy 152 beginning 7 miles out of Silver City. . . . At the lodge the innkeeper had a massage table which Michelle put outside. I was first in line for a 15 min. massage which helped my shoulders tremendously. . . . This morning shortly after leaving Silver City we saw the Kneeling Nun which is a rock formation. Indian legends have it that the nun fell in love and forever repented for her "sin".. . . . Soon after the nun we passed by a working copper mine that was awesome in an ugly sort of way. Kingston pop is 15 which must be why I never found it on the map. I wish I could have stayed there at the lodge for at least another day. I really enjoyed it.