We enjoyed breakfast at a different cafe in Mandalena this morning. The cafe was for sale, but Marie wasn't interested in setting up shop there and still plans to move to Florida... so we headed out on our bikes and left our new favorite little town of Mandalena.

Our incentive today, especially for Dale, was to bike to a town we'd heard all about on Sam's two cross-country bike experiences: Pie Town, New Mexico. This little town of just over 100 citizens was named for the treats an early entrepreneur had sold to guests and it is still known far and wide for it's pies. At one time there were 3 pie stores (and few other buildings) in town but Covid-19 has changed that and two are currently in operation today. Pie-o-neer's pie store was open and we pedaled against a strong wind to get there for a pie lunch. We had a slice of every kind of pie they had available and an hour and $50 later we staggered out with full bellies and continued our journey west.

Pie Town is also at the edge of the Continental Divide with an elevation of just under 8000. It separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those that drain into the Atlantic Ocean. I realized that, having started at Sea Level back in South Carolina, that I've climbed nearly 8000 feet in elevation with lots of up and down hills in between.

The hills continued as we crossed the divide onto the other side and with it was the wind. Pedaling was difficult and it wasn't just because we were weighted down with pie. For the first time in this eight week adventure I agreed to try to draft behind another rider (I'd almost always gone first so I could go at my speed and not have to try to keep the pace of another rider). I was surprised at how it really did help to stay closely behind another rider and Dale bravely charged into the wind in front. We stopped and met Marie at a historical marker near Datil, NM that told of a mother, Ada McPherson Morley, had run a ranch and raised three children and been active in many social issues. The other side of the marker told of her daughter, Agnes Morley Cleveland, who had become an author that wrote about their lives.

The wind got stronger as we moved on but we ended up biking 42 miles, 7 miles from the next town, Quemado, where we had reservations at a bed and breakfast. Quemado is a town of just under 200 people where we had reservations for the night. We stayed with B&B owner, Katerina. Katerina is a twice widowed German woman who moved here as a young woman, partially drawn by Europe's fascination with the the American Cowboy (actor John Wayne had a ranch a little farther west in New Mexico). She married a cowboy, (which was fine, but she said better advice would be to marry the rancher who the cowboys worked for), and when he passed she continued running guided trail rides with her 8 horses until she married a builder 25 years her senior who helped convert her current home to the B&B. He passed a year ago. She now lives here running the B&B with her 3 cats, 2 dogs, and remaining 2 horses (One of which is 42 years old!). Katerina has a big personality and we wondered how this little town in the middle of nowhere could contain her but she loves the visitors that come through her B&B and was not worried about what the next chapter in her life would be like. "My friends in Germany ask me if I want to move back, but I tell them this is my home now".

On her table we noticed one of the books written by Agnes Morey Cleveland. Katerina also had a couple that were staying there this evening and we stayed up late and chatted (and drank wine) with them. We had a great visit. They had lived in VT for awhile and now live in Colorado. They'd met in the Peace Corp and Pat, the husband, had done consulting and worked with The Nature Conservatory for many years and they had traveled the world. They were next planning on moving and living in Thailand for a year.