We got up early this Tuesday morning and had breakfast prepared by our hostess at Hotel Garza. It was delicious: eggs, thick perfectly cooked bacon and toast. Great start to the day. She nicely got us our breakfast early so we could try to beat the heat and the impending winds. We headed back 20 mile to where we stopped yesterday and got on our bikes. The weather started warm and only got warmer. At 8:30am it was 70 degrees and we finished 30 miles at noon and it was 84 degrees by then. The day topped out in the 90s. The day started off with some rollers but after 20 miles it was flat. We had hoped to ride 40 miles again today but we stopped at 30 miles as the heat was wearing me down. I also had my chain derail at about 18 miles but fortunately Kay knew how to fix it and I am prepared to do it myself in the future if it happens again. We saw a lot of cotton fields and farms today and very few cattle. It is surprising to me that cotton grows well in West Texas with dry heat as well in Alabama and Mississippi which both have lots more humidity.

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped and got some groceries and had a delightful lunch in the courtyard. We showered and decided to spend the afternoon walking around Post. What a fun afternoon. Our first stop was an antique store where we nosed around and then spent about an hour talking to the proprietor. Her husband is a cowboy and manages a ranch of about 2000 head of cattle. We learned a lot about her life and enjoyed her positive energy. We asked where her customers come from since the town is only about 5000 people. We were fascinated to learn that two interstates go through town and as it's the only route from Dallas to Lubbock they can get roughly 40,000 people daily passing through. A lot of people stop in and shop on their way through. We verified that with another proprietor that we met in another store in the square. Everyone we spoke to was very generous with their time and information. We really enjoyed our afternoon in Post.

The wind started picking up this afternoon and currently it is a constant 30 mph. By 4pm the sky began to turn a dust color as the dust is being whipped up by the wind. We continue to receive wind advisories and they warn you to get off the roads since visibility is so low. It is expected to continue through noon tomorrow. We are going to ride tomorrow afternoon instead of the am so that we have visibility, fresh air to breath and an enjoyable ride. The temperature is starting to drop tonight and tomorrow's high is forecast at 66 degrees.