Day 5 September 22 Amarillo, TX to Palo Duro Canyon to Ft Sumner 218 miles
Day 5 Route Amarillo, TX to Palo Duro Canyon to Ft Sumner
LT & LC at the Palo Duro Canyon visitor center.
Today is day 5 of our Million Dollar Highway Motorcycle Ride. We rode from Amarillo to Canyon and rode through the Palo Duro Canyon. As always the Palo Duro was spectacular as usual. LT said, Shirley (LT’s wife) liked Palo Duro (previous trip) the best of all the places we had ridden in Texas. We didn’t spend a lot of time in Palo Duro, it was misting rain and we didn’t want to get stuck there. We ate lunch at the little restaurant in the park and then headed on out of the park. Since we were making such good time we decided to ride on to Ft. Sumner, NM where Billy the Kid is buried and maybe we would ride as far as Santa Rosa, NM. Riding to Ft. Sumner we rode in the wind again but it wasn’t blowing as hard today. It was misting rain but it wasn’t enough for us to stop and put on the rain suits. The scenery, between Canyon and Ft. Sumner, was for the most part flat ranch and farmland. We toured the museum at the site of old Ft. Sumner where Billy’s grave is. It was interesting to explore all the history and controversy surrounding Billy. Billy didn’t get much rest even after his death.
View of Palo Duro Canyon from the visitor’s center
At amphitheater in Palo Duro Canyon
When we left the old Ft. Sumner on our way to the town of Ft. Sumner it started to rain harder. We had considered riding on to Santa Rosa 45 miles away but decided to stay in the town of Ft. Sumner and tour the Billy the Kid Museum there also. It was probably a good decision, because by the time we got checked into the motel it was raining pretty hard.
LT & LC at Billy the Kid’s grave
After checking in and getting settled we walked to the museum just down the street a ways in the rain. It was larger than the museum at the old fort and had all sorts of historical displays. We visited with the owner of the museum before leaving. His father started the museum back in the 50’s. He was a biker too and bikers always enjoy talking to other bikers. It was raining pretty hard by the time we left to walk across and down the street to the restaurant were we ate. The Museum owner gave us garbage bags for ponchos so we wouldn’t get drenched. We made our way to the restaurant in the rain. It was a good thing we had the garbage bag ponchos, the water was running pretty deep in several spots and we had to dodge the big trucks to avoid being splashed. We had some good Mexican food. I love small towns and all the little locally owned restaurants and this was another one worth noting. Then it was back to the motel in the rain and getting ready for the next day.
Tomorrow we ride to Santa Fe, NM and then on to Bloomfield, NM. Come follow along and enjoy our ride, the sights and scenery. See y’all there…
Below are the posts from each day of our ride. Come follow along as we ride to enjoy the fun and beautiful scenery…
Million Dollar Highway Motorcycle Ride introduction
Day 1 & 2 Million Dollar Highway Motorcycle Ride 2010
Day 3 Million Dollar Highway Motorcycle Ride 2010
Day 4 Million Dollar Highway Motorcycle Ride 2010
Day 6 Million Dollar Highway Motorcycle Ride 2010
Day 7 Million Dollar Highway Motorcycle Ride 2010
Day 8 Million Dollar Highway Motorcycle Ride 2010
Day 9 Million Dollar Highway Motorcycle Ride 2010
Day 10 Million Dollar Highway Motorcycle Ride 2010
Ride safe and I hope we see you down the road somewhere…