I had a wonderful dinner at El Cafecito with Michael last night as we shared some good laughs about our journey so far. I am hoping to see him later when he arrives to Pie Town. As a side note, I may have been a little disappointed since the restaurant did not serve alcohol, no Negra Modelo for this guy.

For some reason I did not want to leave the motel this morning. I mean, I got on my bike and rode about a mile and a quarter down the route and thought I should return. When I got back to the motel, I slid the door key in the key drop by the office door. I figured the two and a half mile warm up was sufficient to start the day appropriately.

The morning ride would include an amazing scenic ride through the El Malpais National Monument area. I have been excited about seeing the La Ventana Natural Arch and the Narrows. The Narrows is where an ancient lava flow came very close to the base of some high bluffs and essentially a road is barely able to be placed between the two features. One one side of the road is towering bluffs and the other side is lava flow within a few feet of the road at times.

The ride through the National Monument area was very pleasant and it seemed I had the entire place to myself. I even found a road side treasure.

Malpais is a Spanish term for badlands. This area obviously had the barren vibe going on for itself and it kept my head on a swivel.

I definitely took time to explore around the natural arch as it was magnificent. I actually saw a smaller arch just before the La Ventana Arch that was also beautiful and intriguing and perhaps will be a road side attraction in the future.

The next spectacular part of this route section was the Narrows. It was amazing just how close the lava flow came to the base of the bluffs. I do not think the road would have been built so close to the bluffs otherwise. It really allowed me to see the details on the sides of the bluffs that were carved out via erosion over the years.

Soon after the Narrows, I found myself on the gravel and dirt roads that lead to Pie Town. I was equally excited about tasting some of the famous pie made in Pie Town.

I soon found myself in Pie Town and was perhaps just a little too early as the pie shop I went to expecting to be open was closed. I panicked and went to the only other pie shop in town and it was closed also. I quickly called Erin all in a tizzy. I knew that one of the two is closed on Thursdays, but damn it, not both.

As I am crying to, I mean talking to, Erin, I noticed more cars at the first place I visited and I hurried down and boom! Bingo, now open!

I ate my delicious Las Cruces Honey Pecan Pie topped with ice cream as I talked to a local man that makes horse saddles. He also informed me there are more mountain lions around this area than black bear. He showed me a picture of his friend attempting to hold a mountain lion that was killed and it was way bigger than the adult human holding it. Anyway, the pie was indeed super delicious.

I sent Michael a text with the address of the Toaster House and he should be arriving soon and we will go back to the eatery and I may try a chicken sandwich. The Toaster House is a place where the lady that owns it has opened up her home to CDT hikers and GDMBR riders for years. She has recently passed away so nobody is really looking after the place. Sad. We will stay here tonight and are super appreciative of what this house represents and thankful the family has not shut it down.