GHOST RANCH, NM
Bones and I awoke to a nice morning for hiking. First we had to climb 1200 ft, but after that it was pretty easy. As we made our way toward Rio Chama the valley views were really nice. We made it to Skull Bridge after 15 miles and crossed the Rio Chama. The river was raging with all the snow and rain that recently came this way.
It was about 1:30 and we knew we could make the remaining 11 miles to Ghost Ranch today. We started the road walk for several miles and then got a ride from Bill and Margaret from Palo Alto. That got us there by 3:30. This was great, because we were really looking forward to the all-you-can-eat buffet that everyone talks about.
The not-so-courteous staff member at the registration table said you go through the food line once, and a monitor will inform you if you overfilled your plate. Hmmm! Being that this is a captive market, we bought our meal tickets ($9 breakfast, $11 lunch, $13 dinner) in addition to $20 per night to pitch our tent, and the $3 entry fee. I was happy to take a warm shower, but had to improvise as no soap or towels are provided.
Now with clean skin and clothes I went to dinner and found I could have all I could eat. I did not leave hungry. I ate a potato the size of a small baby. I feel like I may give birth to it tonight. I hope it doesn’t come out mashed. If the delivery is successful, we’ll name it Chip.
I spent the rest of the evening in their 24 hour library trying to get updated connections with the rest of the world and looking at Georgia O’Keefe books. I retired to my tent in the raindrops