Last stretch into Springer

A landmark on the Santa Fe trail












It was amazing - we could finally see the whole mountain range. There was even snow on a few in the distance.












A mesa and mountains, and most importantly, a downhill.












Apparently I am not a real person.

Since Clayton
After posting at the library in Clayton, we went in search of a coffee shop, not really expecting to find anything. Much to our surprise, we found one, Cornerstone Coffee, and the owners, Roger and Rebecca, invited us to their house for the night. Roger used to compete in some amateur cycling races, and they opened up the coffee shop just a few months ago. We enjoyed a great evening at their house, slept well, and got our laundry done! We went by the coffee shop in the morning to eat breakfast and say bye, and then took off for Springer, 83 miles away.

Matt got a flat tire 11 miles outside of town, and the going was slow as we were climbing most of the day. We got to the Gladstone Mercantile about two hours before sunset, but knew there was no way we could make it to Springer before dark, so we got permission to camp there and spent most of the afternoon eating and chatting with the owners. We could hear coyotes and some strange bird throughout the night, but slept well. As we packed up to leave, Matt realized his rear tire was flat again, and we changed it and patched the hole. We climbed for about 10 miles outside of Gladstone, and then rolling hills started again. Matt got another flat (a shard of glass this time) right at the "View of the Rockies" marker, elevation 6300 feet. He patched the hole and we kept going, enjoying the expansive views of the mountains and the perfect weather. The wind wasn't nearly as strong today, so we got into Springer about 2 pm. We're looking for camping options now.