Where do we draw the line?  Is this acceptable behavior by teenagers in a school setting?  Many of you are no doubt thinking "heck no," but you might be surprised how many parents would classify this as more clever than it is inappropriate.  Is our society becoming so crass and crude that 'free speech' arguments and/or the 'graying of intended meaning boundaries' will defend examples of "spirit" such as these?

The airport in San Diego is centrally located near downtown.  Planes buzz right over homes located on the hill between Balboa Park and the airport's main runway.  It is amazing how low they approach directly over these homes.  Ted and Nancy once had an incredible view of this approach from their porch and windows, but condos have been built directly adjacent to three sides of their home.  I was reminded of the movie "UP" because they refused to sell so developers enveloped them in condos.  No matter, their home is still a special place.  Ted has completely renovated it with all kinds of custom touches.  Because planes fly almost directly overhead, it is also outfitted with special windows, climate control systems, and other features subsidized by the airport to minimize disruption from the potentially intrusive flight path. 

During my time in San Diego, Ted & Nancy lent interesting perspective on some important issues relating to government, education, responsibility, giving, and adult accountability.  I intend to elaborate in an upcoming post.

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Riding Stats: Day 63---207 miles traveled, 3 hours and 46 minutes of moving time, 4 hours and 6 minutes of stopped time, 52.5 miles per hour average moving time, 25.7 miles per hour overall average, and a max speed of 83.4 miles per hour.  Day 64---159.2 miles traveled, 3 hours and 35 minutes of moving time, 2 hours and 22 minutes of stopped time, 44.2 miles per hour average moving time, 26.7 miles per hour overall average, and a max speed of 85.2 miles per hour.  Day 65---133 miles traveled, 1 hours and 5 minutes of moving time, 3 hours and 9 minutes of stopped time, 42.1 miles per hour average moving time, 31.4 miles per hour overall average, and a max speed of 84.2 miles per hour.  Day 66---91.12 miles traveled, 2 hours and 25 minutes of moving time, 54 minutes of stopped time, 37.7 miles per hour average moving time, 27.4 miles per hour overall average, and a max sped of 85.8 miles per hour.  Days 67, 68, 69---Days of rest.

The reason I didn't make it to Deming on Day 56 is because---about 30 miles short of El Paso on I-10, where the speed limit is 80mph---the iPhone mounted on my handlebars suddenly popped off.  I looked in my rear view mirror just in time to see it bouncing off the pavement and onto the shoulder of the interstate.  I quickly pulled over, jumped off the bike, and ran back to retrieve it.  Obviously, it was shattered!  Obviously, I felt shattered.

Lucky for me, I had purchased the Apple Care warranty plan.  My iPhone's sudden death would be a mere inconvenience.  Little did I know what an inconvenience it would be.  I thought I'd simply get into El Paso, find a Sprint store, and trade the carcass for a newborn! 

Dilemma---> the iPhone has become my primary communication AND information source.  It used to be, back in the 80s and into the 90s, that I had a dozen or so phone numbers memorized.  I could easily call a family member for assistance by dialing their number.  No longer!  I know my phone number and no others!

In those decades and before, it was an effort to find basic information about companies---such as phone numbers, addresses, locations, hours, etc.---but no longer....we have "smart" phones.  We are always connected.  Well, almost always.  My iPhone was shattered.  I was traveling in west Texas.  I was not connected.

Lacking these information sources, after arriving in El Paso and exploring for a Sprint store for quite awhile, I found one only to be redirected to an Apple store at the local mall.  Before going to the mall, though, I had one other mission in El Paso.  When I was in the second grade I lived in this city.  We were the first owners of a home in the Vista Hills area of El Paso, an area that has changed dramatically over the years.


The house can't be seen well through all the overgrown, even dead, landscaping I suspect we planted back in the 70s.  The original large lava rocks outlining the planted area are still there.  I recognized the house and the neighborhood, but it has changed.  Most of the houses now have bars on the doors and windows.  It was a theme I saw in other parts of El Paso.  The city is much more fortified than I remember it being.


Vista Hills Elementary School is right around the block from my old home.  I was in the school "safety patrol" during my time there.  At the time, the school seemed plenty safe.  I wonder if now it is as safe as it seemed back then.  Signs of a less safe El Paso were present each place I went in the city.

I made my way to the mall, where security was thick.  There were numerous patrol cars circulating around the parking lot, as well as security officers on hydraulic lifts looking out over the parking lot.  I looked over to Juarez, Mexico, a city we visited relatively freely back then that is now---by all accounts---much less safe to visit.  There has always been a stark contrast between the relatively affluent El Paso on the higher ground versus the city of Juarez which is very visible in the lower ground just south of I-10.

It took nearly half of the day to get the iPhone replaced.  I couldn't believe it when, while waiting for service, I touched the power button and it came on!  It was fully functional even in its shattered state!  Even so, I received my brand new device and was happy it only cost $54 to replace.  The day was late and I decided Deming NM was too far away to make that night.  I picked a Holiday Inn which, consistent with what I saw in other businesses around the city, had a visible security presence.

The following day, Day 57, I made it to Deming NM after stopping for a visit to Las Cruces NM along the way.

I only spent one day in Deming before heading on to Tuscon AZ, then Phoenix AZ, and onto Yuma AZ for Days 56-61.  In each of those stops, the issue of school safety repeatedly came up.  Each person I spoke with about education in New Mexico and Arizona expressed concern about school safety.  These conversations will be the subject of a coming post.

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Riding Stats: Day 56---245 miles traveled, 4 hours and 7 minutes of moving time, 3 hours and 55 minutes of stopped time, 59.4 miles per hour average moving time, 30.5 miles per hour overall average, and a max speed of 86.2 miles per hour.  Day 57---162.4 miles traveled, 3 hour and 51 minutes of moving time, 2 hours and 6 minutes of stopped time, 42 miles per hour average moving time, 27.2 miles per hour overall average, and a max speed of 85.4 miles per hour.  Day 58---228.2 miles traveled, 3 hours and 26 minutes of moving time, 44 minutes of stopped time, 66.2 miles per hour average moving time, 54.5 miles per hour overall average, and a max speed of 83.4 miles per hour.  Day 59---134 miles traveled, 2 hours and 31 minutes of moving time, 1 hour and 18 minutes of stopped time, 53.1 miles per hour average moving time, 35.1 miles per hour overall average, and a max sped of 82.1 miles per hour.  Day 60---241 miles traveled, 5 hours and 2 minutes of moving time, 6 hour and 35 minutes of stopped time, 46.8 miles per hour average moving time, 20.3 miles per hour overall average, and a max speed of 87.3 miles per hour.  Day 61---203.1 miles traveled, 3 hours and 29 minutes of moving time, 1 hour and 42 minutes of stopped time, 58 miles per hour average moving time, 39.1 miles per hour overall average, and a max speed of 84.7 miles per hour.  Day 62---40 miles traveled, 1 hour and 11 minutes of moving time, 1 hour and 59 minutes of stopped time, 32.2 miles per hour average moving time, 12.1 miles per hour overall average, and a max speed of 74.6 miles per hour.

You will cross the Pecos River Bridge, which is much higher than these pictures may suggest to you. 

This bridge (seen in the two pics above) and Eagle Nest Creek (below) are spots to stop and take in the scenery.

2) Quite possibly the most challenging, most scenic road in all of Texas is "The River Road" between Terlinua and Presidio, TX---> FM170.  Go the speed limit!  There are many, many blind hills that immediately curve off to the left or right just as you crest the hill...and there may be animals such as cows, goats, javelinas, or the like milling about the road. 

You are riding/driving right along the Rio Grande River and some beautiful mountains.  The cyclist below will greet you right before you arrive in Terlingua!

3) Do this one on a loop from Fort Davis and back to Fort Davis, which is a neat little town and an EdClick customer!

I pictured it on two maps because I had an impossible time highlighting both roads on one map!  Leave Fort Davis on TX-118.  This is a road full of rises and the famous McDonald Observatory, which I highly recommend!

You can see the second road of the loop on the map above, but it is highlighted on the map below, TX-166.  Return to Fort Davis on this road.

Following the assembly, the students all had an opportunity to view the Cycle of Education and have their picture taken by it.  Some even had their picture taken on it...including the very gracious Principal of Santa Maria MS, Ms. Elizabeth Garza (pictured below).

I had a super time in Santa Maria ISD.  It is always fun to have interaction with young people!  Thank you so much faculty, staff, and students of Santa Maria MS.  In particular, thanks go out to Ms. Kelly Cotton for arranging the visit and chronicling it in their school newsletter, which can be viewed by clicking here.

Thank goodness for the enjoyable time at Santa Maria, because the ride itself from San Antonio to Santa Maria, then on to Laredo, was a soaking wet beat down.  In the last substantial town before riding the last hour to Laredo---in total darkness along the Texas/Mexico border, on uneven surfaces, and continuing rain---a Chrysler 300 kept edging into my lane for 50-70 feet before I backed off only to see him veer across my lane, clip a car in the turn lane, then hit yet another car head-on that was traveling the opposite direction.  It was a bad scene.  Thankfully there were no fatalities, but it reminded me just how precious and unpredictable life is.  It also reminded me how crucial it is to stay ultra-aware while traveling on a motorcycle...a lesson that may have paid off a few dozen miles down the road when my slower speed allowed me to react safely to a (four-legged) coyote crossing the road about forty feet in front of me.


It was a day of extremes---> the joy of trying to make a difference with young people enabled by braving the risks of the road!  Onward I travel! 

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Riding Stats: Day 48---458.1 miles traveled, 8 hours and 50 minutes of moving time, 4 hours and 10 minutes of stopped time, 51.8 miles per hour average moving time, 35.2 miles per hour overall average, and a max speed of 83.9 miles per hour.