Whites City, New Mexico

An early start as Bob had 22.5 miles to cover this day (22 November). Surprisingly, he was riding alongside a new 4 lane Highway, with very clean ditches, and not much traffic, so the journey was quite easy. The landscape along the way is very barren, the ground covered in praire grass, and not much else. There doesn't even seem to be much wildlife, as Bob has not reported seeing anything to me. The Guadalupe Mountains that he will be riding into in the next few days are now showing on the horizon, and I think he's looking forward to getting there.

Jim Ballard turned up during the ride with water for the horses, which was very kind of him. What would Bob do without these guardian angels ?

Later that day, Lois and John Carroll found him on the road. He is staying with them in Cornudas on 29 November, and they had been out looking for him the previous day, but where unable to find him. They are willing to drive out as and when it's necessary to ensure he has food and water for the horses, and have offered the loan of their trailer for Bob to sleep in when he's out in the open. People this way are so generous.

When I spoke to Bob in the early hours of this morning (my morning , not his)he had arrived at an empty house that Jim Ballard had arranged for him to sleep in. There was a cafe and small shop down the road, but unfortunately by the time Bob had seen to the horses, the shop had closed. He's now got withdrawal symptoms, as he' s got no candy bars left !!!!!!!!! Luckily for him, there is heating and electricity in the house, so at least he'll be warm tonight. As we spoke he was ordering some food in the cafe, as that was on the verge of closing for the day.

The Guadalupe Mountains are the highest point in Texas. As from tomorrow, Bob will be riding back into Texas, the last State on his ride.

My thanks to the person who sent the copy of the Dalhart Texan, with the article on Bob's long ride. I keep them all for him to read when he gets back.

Mine and Bob's heartfelt thanks to the wonderful people of New Mexico who have helped our Long Rider along the way. What would we have done without you.

CuChullaine from the Longrider's Guild had kindly forward a couple of photos, which link to Bob's long ride. The photo above is of Gary Davies and his horse Dandi, who has been an incredible help to Bob especially when he was setting up his long ride, in passing on his knowledge and expertise. Gary is a fellow Welshman, who had done extensive long rides around England and Wales in the 70's. He in turn was helped by another Welsh Long Rider Thurlow Craig, who spent his youth riding in Latin America, where he herded cattle, and took part in several mounted revolutions. A photo of him is below. Maybe there is another up and coming Welsh Long Rider in the making, who we will be able to help in turn.

I must say we both owe Gary, Allen Russell, and CuChullaine and Basha O'Reilly from the Longrider's Guild a deep debt of gratitude for all the help they have given us, not only at the beginning, but throughout the ride ...........without them we would have had trouble getting it off the ground, especially with our lack of expertise. Thanks fellow Long Riders. Also thanks to Sue, our friend in Tennessee, who pointed us in the direction of The Longrider's Guild

Here is Thurlow Craig on his Criollo horse , Bobby, in Patagonia.