Felt good enough to check out of casino hotel and ride 70mi to El Malpais. Along the way, in Laguna Pueblo, I had a delicious Pueblo taco (glee over guts - everything was fine, totally worth the risk), saw some wild xmas trees, mailed a bunch of xmas post cards from the local PO, which was a lovely experience, even rode a random bit of rail trail. Fairly long day in the saddle and lots of beautiful desert scenery. At El Malpais, the campsite was full. I think it was too late, too cold, I was still recovering from illness and there wasn't anywhere to stealth camp that didn't seem like a significant hike, from where I was. I remember feeling frustrated. Booked another motel in Grants, another 20mi away and remembered my mood lifting those 20mi back in the right direction towards 66, into the warmth of town. I usually enjoy a final 20mi push after a long day, after dark, for whatever reason. Bed and hot shower were nice and from my pictures, its evident that I still had sink laundry to catch up on (couldn't do any in ALB, staying in my friend's trailer).