Pie Town to Elk Mountain camp I slept well, and was the last one up at the “toaster house”. Being hard of hearing has its benefits sometimes! I moseyed downstairs to the kitchen where the coffee was already on, and got another chance to catch up with the other people there. There was a couple in their 60s, originally from Dublin but both had been veterinarians in Australia for many years. They had just retired this spring and were doing the divide at the urging of one of their sons (they have 4 kids). They were fun, full of life, and really enjoying the experience. Then there was a young man originally from Seattle who now lives in Steamboat where he works in the winter and has summers off to explore. He had done the divide hike a couple years ago, and wanted to try the bike. He was fun, gregarious and full of good advice having hiked the route before. A little about the “toaster house”. The house is owned by a family of avid hiker/biker supporters, and when the parents were no longer able to stay in the house independently, the family decided to “donate” the use of the house to divide hiker/bikers. The house is open spring to late fall with a volunteer caretaker, then is winterized. It is truly a refuge for those on the divide, and has been decorated with memorabilia of the divide. At some point, old toasters began to be the main decorations—no idea why, but hence the name. Operations are donation based, and I hope they get enough to continue—what a gift to those on the trail. There was one cafe in “town” that opened at 8 a.m. so as soon as I had my gear loaded I pedaled over there. I ended up sitting with the couple from Australia, and we chatted some more over breakfast. I had a standard breakfast of eggs, sausage, potatoes and toast, but was hoping they still had some pie I could have. Lucky me, they had these small personal pies so I got one called New Mexico apple pie—apples and green chilies. It was so good! Especially with ice cream on it. I seriously could have eaten another pie, but I had to get on the road sometime, right? I had an idea where I wanted to go this day, and it wasn’t exactly a “rest day” given the miles of the day before. Longer term, I wanted to take a rest day in Silver City, and wanted to bank enough miles so I wouldn’t have a long day over the Gila mountains into Silver City. So I hit the road again about 10, full of pie and content with a modest pace on good roads. The first 20 miles were pleasant; rolling hills through mixed desert forest, and plenty to look at. I saw another small tarantula and took some pics and we let each other be. After a while I caught up with the Australia couple again and we chatted and rode along together for a while and then wished each other a continued great adventure, and I pedaled on. The route was interesting; several times it would drop down into a small valley with no trees, and I would battle a headwind. Then, it would climb slightly into the relief of trees and more scenery. Water was scarce on this section, so I had packed some extra and was glad I did! The last valley section was many miles across, with bad roads and a stiff headwind, so it was really a slog for a couple hours. I still felt physically fine, so just tried to make the best of it until I could get in the trees again. Just as I reached the trees, there was an old rock school or church right beside the road, so I took a good break and snapped a bunch of pictures of it. The road then tipped slightly upward through a nice little canyon with interesting scenery that helped the miles tick by. To my dismay, I popped out of the trees one last time to battle the headwind. I had looked ahead on the map, however, and noticed a favorable turn in the road, so had some hope of improvement ahead. Sure enough, as soon as I made the turn the wind was a cross/tail and the road surface dramatically improved as well! I raced the last few miles back into the trees and when I neared the area I wanted to camp, I slowed so I could pick a good spot. I found a great little spot to camp about 100 yards off the road near a gnarled old tree. New Mexico forests are so nice; really there are unlimited wild camping options. I quickly set up camp and got dinner going. It was a beautiful evening, and I sat there recovering from the day and watching the first stars of the evening come out. I had some hot chocolate and checked in with Jill and once again felt like the luckiest person on the planet just then. I was content, fortunate and grateful for it all. It was a good day. Now if I just had another pie…