Gingerbread Village

Last night we went to a holiday party in La Mesa. The theme of the party was gingerbread building. The organizer of the party (Kelly) throws this event each year in the upstairs floor of a friend's restaurant. There were several bottles of wine and about ten teams of gingerbread builders. I just took photos, ate candy, and drank wine the entire time which was fine by me.

Photos

I've taken a bunch of photos, but only posted a few. Here are a few more that I've collected over the drive.

Catalina Mountains (Tucson, AZ)

I just left the trails and am now updating in a Tucson Starbucks. Today's ride was possibly the best of the trip, except for maybe Asheville. Anyway, I camped out last night in Coronado Park and woke up this morning to a very pleasant surprise - warmth! Yesterday in Las Cruces I woke to a bunch of frost on everything.





The road through the Catalina Mountains is an almost constant uphill, so I pedaled from the lower trailhead to the upper, probably a total of about five miles on the road. The Bug Spring trailhead climbs to the peak of a ridgeline (which I walked) and then meanders down to the creek and back up again (which I also walked) to another ridgeline. The last three or four miles of trail are mostly downhill. The rocks and loose dirt make keeping traction very entertaining. The sights at all points are breathtaking too.





About one mile from the end of the trail, you can begin to see the road again. The trail switches back and forth a few more times before dumping you back onto the road and into the camping area where I met an excited dog ready to get out and stretch his legs.

"A" Hill (Las Cruces, NM)

I'm camping at a place called "A" Hill. It's a rather large hill, but small compared to the MASSIVE range of mountains behind it. I blew through El Paso and decided to stop here in Las Cruces for the night.



I picked up several thorns this morning in Ft. Davis, so I'll be repairing those flats and hitting the trail here tomorrow morning. I did like the ride in Ft. Davis though. It was a short 3.5 mile out-and-back so I got to bring along Dignon. He kept up for the "out", but I beat him by several minutes on the ride back to the bus. He came strolling into the parking lot eventually though, with that "shit-eating grin" and hopped right in his spot - and off we went!


Another view from "A" Hill

Davis Mountains (Fort Davis, TX)

Pulled in to the near-empty Davis Mountain State Park this afternoon, set up camp (read: hung out in the back of the bus), and will be hitting the trails tomorrow morning. The drive here was beautiful. I had no idea that Texas had such large mountain ranges! The weather is great other than the wind and the temperature's somewhere in the 70's I'd say. I may be able to ride here and in El Paso tomorrow if the drive isn't too arduous, but for today I am planning on relaxing in my hammock back at the campsite.





Oh my God! It snowed in Texas! On my drive out of Ft. Davis it began to snow. Here's the proof:

Greenbelt (Austin, TX)

Although crowded, my ride on the Greenbelt through Austin's downtown was actually really fun. It wasn't the ride itself, but taking in the sights around town that I enjoyed. Near town, the trail follows the river on either bank and is primarily a gravel path. Needless to say, I was a bit over-prepared with my full face helmet and all-mountain bike. I just took the ride easy and snapped a couple photos instead of trying to mash the pedals, which worked out much better in the end.

BBQ at the Saltlick (Austin, TX)

Cara put it best when she said "I wish I could lay down and eat this at the same time. It's so good!" I didn't bring my camera to the restaurant, but did snap a shot of our monstrous beef BBQ sandwiches with my phone. It was a great meal and some of the best barbecue I've ever tasted.