DARRELL ON THE CDT, 2016    -  Mile 0 to 85

 

The 'Shuttle'...road is too rough for normal vehicles
....of course you pay for this!

 

'John' the driver
......says he's a 'white man' with a really good tan!

 

The CDT 'tribe' at the Crazy Cook border monument

 

Good, Bad or indifferent it all starts now!

 

The trail.....

 

More of the trail.....

 

Somebody tried a bike.......
That didn't go too well!

 

Water....scuzzy as it looks it's actually pretty clean
.....Luckily didn't have to test it...still had water

Plant life 

Yucca plants ....The scenery is actually quite beautiful in it's own way

 

Barrel cactus (flowering?)

 

More cactus....flowering for sure!!

I believe these are 'LYT's'
(little yellow things)

 

Not sure what.... but pretty in a subtle way

 

'Jabba the Hutt'  as a youngster!

 

A Horny toad....

(Oh...pardon me...a 'Horned toad')

A rattle snake!....at least a reasonable facsimile of one!
(Darrell was too busy cleaning his shorts to take a picture but he definitely saw one!)

 

Afternoon showers...get used to it!

 

Followed by a pleasant sunset

 

Camp...in the morning.....pretty!... but dam cold!

 

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COACHES CORNER

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Heading out....April 02,2016....Wish us luck
 

Hate to say it!....Our oasis on the road
You know what you'll get & you'll get it quickly!
(and the coffee's good)



Bonnie & Clyde...Blissfully unaware of their imminent demise!
(Actual it's a defunct Studebaker on route 66)

 



Cliff house...Mesa Verde Nat. Park
occupied until approx. 1200-1300 AD



Finally made it!...we now have all of our 'Quad-points'
( where the borders of four states meet at one point )
-To be fair you need to realize there is only one!

 

A petrified tree....solid rock....petrified Forest Nat. Park

 

A sad sight to see in New Mexico......
........abandoned buildings and businesses
(unfortunately....way too many)

 

Even the Catholic Church didn't escape that fate

 

A ubiquitous New Mexico sight

 

The original water cooler!
A porous clay jug hung in the open window
.......evaporation cools the jug

 

We'll be crossing the divide many times on this trip

 

Hiking in to meet Darrell.....He does twenty miles...we do 6 miles
When we meet him we hike back out again...get to see quite a bit of the trail this way!

Until the next post!

JSD