We slept in until 7:00 A.M. to eat the hotel breakfast. Betsy spent time on the hotel computer finding a bike shop and motel near the El Paso airport for next Thursday. Betsy will fly back to Denver while I continue east across Texas. We finally got on our bikes at 8:30 A.M. and headed east on Main Street in Mesa but abandoned it because of construction of the light rail line. University Ave was much better for 15 miles to the eastern end of Mesa where we got water. Back on US Hwy 60 for 10 miles to Florence Junction through desert shrubland. We cImbed 1500 ft to Gonzales Pass passing by fine desert scenery (see photo). We descended to Superior, a former copper mining town, for lunch at the Circle K convenience store. We each drank a half-gallon of liquid and ate cheese and tortillas. The highway climbed steeply from town, passing through the shoulder-less, 100-yards long Queen Creek tunnel. The noise inside the tunnel was deafening. We emerged feeling that hell would have more appealing. We climbed some more to the Top of the World, a small settlement in an oak forest then climbed some more to a pass. Then a speedy descent to Miami, Claypool, and Globe, all former copper mining towns. Huge piles of spoils testified to mining on a massive scale. Completely beat, we checked into the Day's Inn motel because the RV park lacked showers. After cleaning up, we ate pizza and beer for dinner. 75 miles today.
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