Grants has just about anything you need. There are several motels, gas stations and restaurants. A laundromat. A large Walmart & a Pizza Hut is out near the expressway. We stayed at the Sands Motel, just off Santa Fe Ave. - inexpensive & included a continental breakfast. There is an internet cafe just up the road from it. An easy worthwhile side trip is to the Ice Cave & El Malpais National Monument from here.
BETH writes - Today we woke to a beautiful sunrise reflecting off the banded sandstone. After packing up the campsite we took a much better road out of Chaco Canyon and I started back on the paved road, around 10am, for my 54 miles of riding to Grants, New Mexico. The day remained cool and I managed to finish before the thunderstorms hammered through. The road crossed the Continental Divide four times today, so even though the elevation gain was small I felt like I climbed for the first 30 miles of the day. The scenery today was monotonous and there was very little human presence or wildlife. I spent most of the day traveling through th Navajo Reservation. It make me sad to realize the extent of the poor quality land that was given to the Native Americans by our forefathers. The last 18 miles today was a gradual downhill where I powered through at a speed of 17 miles per hour - It was wonderful!! Shower and a real dinner were a great reward for the day.
JAN writes - we packed up and headed back to where Beth left off riding on Saturday. Again the day was partly overcast with rain threatening on and off. We were again on the Navajo reservation and in spite of the fact we were on a paved road, we seldom saw a sole! We wnded in Grants, NM today - in a motel. We are learning that after 3 days we really crave a shower and real food! Picture is of a collared lizard who was just hanging out.
BETH writes of Aug. 9th - Grants is the largest "city" we will be in for the next 6 days, so we took the day off to do laundry and food shopping. While we were here we decided to be tourists as well. Grants sits in the middle of a field of 21 volcanos whose eruptions ceased as early as 1000 years ago. We spent the morning and early afternoon exploring the Bandera Cider Cone and the ice cave near by. Very COOL!! The Bandera Volcano is known for its 23 mile long lava tube, where lava flowed and the outside hardened before the middle, part of which has caved in and is an ice cave. The ice cave has ice that is 20 feet thick and remains at a constant temperature of 31 degrees year round. The ciders, lava that cooled in chunks before reaching the ground, are a variety of colors depending on the minerals found in them. Some of the most common minerals found in the ciders are Calcium (white), Iron (red), Sulfur (yellow), and Sodium (orange). We also spent some time in El Malpais National Monument (the badlands in spanish) looking at sink holes and Java Cave which is a lava tube 3,000ft long and over 100 ft deep where if you had the proper equipment you can go into. I see a very fun trip in the future with high school students!!
JAN writes - As I type the rain is threatening and we are sitting in the laundromat washing our dirty clothes in a machine, for a change. We had a nice day exploring El Malpais National Monument. A large park encompassing over 20 volcanoes-cinder cones, lava tubes and lava flows, sink holes and an ice cave. The picture is of Bandera Volcano. It erupted only 1,000 years ago and is now filling in with debris that has fallen from its sides and blown in. Amazingly, trees and plants are growing in the cinder. We explored an ice cave in the park. 31 degrees inside year around! We were helped by two lovely ladies at the park visitor center. They showed us pictures of flash floods and cars stuck on roads that we are supposed to drive on tomorrow, so we may alter our plans. We will stop at the BLM office tomorrow for the final word on road conditions. It is not hot today as they are having their "monsoon" weather. It stays partially overcast and then the thunderheads build and let loose. After laundry is pizza - amazing what you miss when camping!
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