As we watched the dust/wind storm last night and the weather indicating that it would continue until noon today, we made the decision to have a relaxing morning. We had another wonderful breakfast at the Garza Hotel B&B. The wind was settling down further west before it was forecast to settle in Post so we decided to drive west and bike back rather than waiting for the storm to clear Post. I posted a picture of the wind/dust storm that we went through this am and the same road we travelled later in the day, post storm. It was a good decision. The dust is caused by wind blowing the top soil off all the cotton fields which causes erosion. Between Post and Brownfield, it is one cotton field after another, miles and miles of rich red soil. All the conditions for biking were good today: the weather was cool (55-65 degrees); the road was relatively smooth; wide shoulder so Kay and I could ride side-by-side most of the day; and very flat. We left Brownfield at 1pm and rode 43 miles and finished around 4:50pm. It was a really nice biking day.

We had an interesting traffic experience today. We see several wide loads on the highway each day, usually modular homes or wind turbine blades. There is always a lead car with a sign that says wide load which is followed by the truck with the wide load and then followed by a tail car. Today the lead car with the Wide Load sign had its super bright headlights flashing. It was followed by 3 policemen on motorcycles travelling in the wrong lane. The truck then followed with a load so wide it filled both lanes. It was covered by a blue tarp but had the shape of a fighter jet. We assumed that is what it was due to the shape, the police escort and the proximity to Lubbock Air Force base (about 40 miles). Marie was ahead of us on the road and forced to pull into the breakdown lane to let it go by. It was a fun interlude to the ride. We also stopped at 2 historical markers - see photos, including shot gun holes!

As we came to the edge of Brownfield, we came upon Reddy vineyard. It was huge and apparently has many award winning wines. It also has 38 varietals of grapes. It was fun to see something other than cotton fields.