Part 1 (36 pics) - Part 2 (29 pics)

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1). On September 18th 2000 we fly from Amsterdam to Orlando, Florid. Our bikes are boxed and travel with us without problems. This home made emblem is on our promotion t-shirts.

2). Florida, 09/21/2000. Hontoon Island State Park offers a beautiful piece of authentic Florida vegetation. It lays close to Orlando. That night tropical storm Helena passes and many trees fall down in just 20 seconds. Fortunately, the friendly rangers upgraded our tent site to a cabin without extra charge!

3). Florida, 09/22/2000. Florida has more than 100 'hot' springs. The water is year round 70 F (21 C). Not really hot, but nice enough. Here Rene is floating in Juniper Springs. We would visit a whole string of such beautiful spots. A Florida highlight!

4). Florida, 09/25/2000. Where available, we ride 'Rails to Trails'. These are old railroad tracks that are converted to recreation trails. Perfect cycling! Since (most) Americans don't fancy non-motorized transportation, we have these splendid trails to ourselfs. Together with many big turtles.

5). Florida, 2000/10/02. Where possible, we ride the 'back country roads'. This photo was taken from old Owens bridge, the sand road here runs through Tate's Hell Swamp. Tate got totally nuts at his hide-out in this swamp. Now it is in Apalachicola National Forest.

6). Florida, 2000/10/04. Florida has 2 time zones: Eastern Time en Central Time. Here in the Florida panhandle we enter the Central Time zone. The clock goes one hour back (we are cycling to the west).

7). Florida, 2000/10/04. "He, here comes a house rolling by", Jolanda shouts. Is she nuts?
No! Many Americans have a mobile home.
Here comes the first half of such a home (2nd half is in the distance).

8). Florida, 2000/10/07. Cactus figs! Now they are ripe (fall). Funny enough, many locals don't know you can eat them and what great taste they offer! The fig has many needles of the fish hook type. If you wipe these of with some cloth, you can cut them in two, and eat them empty with a spoon.

9). Florida, 2000/10/13. Great food, great wine, great friends. In Pensacola we stay in the lovely old home of Robert and Darleen. We had met for the first time in Apalachicola National Forest. They invited us to stay in their home for a few days; we did! Thanks again Robert and Darleen!

10). Florida, 2000/10/12. Problems! The hydrolic disc break is leaking. In the shed of Robert
and Darleen ik try to fix it. I am using the wireless phone headset of Darleen to call with the
help line of SRAM. After a tough struggle, the problem gets solved.

11). Florida, 15/10/2000. These two characters are CJ (Cody Johnson) and BJ (Boxer Johnson). The dogs loving owners are RJ (Robert Johnson) and DJ (Daleen Johnson). RM and JM sure love to play with them! (Photo by DJ).

12). Florida. We are riding the coastline of Florida in the lovely autumn sun.

13). Louisiana, 2000/10/19. A daytrip to New Orleans with the taxi bus from the camp site.
Many jazz and blues bands are playing on the streets in the French Quarter .
This band gives an amazing performance and we enjoy their music for several hours.

14). Louisiana, 2000/10/19. New Orleans, French Quarter.

15). Louisiana, 2000/10/20. This 'Rail to Trail' path is not finished. The 'Rail' has been removed, but the 'Trail' is not completed (Rail to no Trail). We follow the rough pebble/sand track. Here we cross an old railway bridge. An nice stretch of back country roads!

 

16). Texas, 2000/11/01. Diane Cox (left, in green) has a second hand bookstore in Jasper. She ordered for us the Texas Road Atlas (we had all maps, except that one). In the mean while we camped in her yard. In the middle is her mother (here 85) and at the right her sister Yvonne.

17). Texas, 2000/11/08. According to the forecast, a cold front with snow is moving in. At the gas station I ask for a camp site. Willard (left) invites us to stay with him and his wife Linda in their home. We gladly accept this kind offer and are having a great time. Thanks again!

Cross Plains: a Texan village.

18). Texas, 2000/11/17. In west-Texas the scenery changes. A dry country side with rolling huge 'grass' lands and many cactus plants and lots of barb wire. Few people live here. This is the largest little store in west-Texas.

19). Texas, 2000/11/19. In Hylton, 8 citizens, we ask permission to camp at a friendly
looking house (11/17). Sonny and Linda say "yes" immediately. We stay a few days and the
food tastes great in Hylton. Thanks again Sonny and Linda!

20). Texas, 2000/11/19. In the backyard of Sonny is our tent and in the thin winter sun
I do some work on the bikes. Protected from the sharp northern wind, it is nice outside.
(Photo by Sonny Watts).

21). Texas, 2000/11/19. Sonny has manny hobby's. As a genuine former cowboy,
one of them is raising cattle. Here Jolanda helps feeding his ghoats.

22). Texas, 2000/11/20. On the road again! After a few fine days we have
two more American friends, but we must move on again. Thanks again Sonny and Linda!
(Photo by Sonny Watts: "I'll be darned!").

23). Texas, 2000/11/25. In west Texas is a little water spring. For the colonists and Indians that was an important stop. But this is Texas, so this place is called Big Spring. We camp in the backyard of friendly Orville and Rita. (Photo's by Orville and Rita Spradling).

24). Texas, 2000/11/25. Happy campers in the backyard of Orville and Rita. (Photo by Orville Spradling).

25). Texas, 2000/11/26. In west-Texas are many oil pumps, that form an important pillar
of the local economy. It also creates environmental problems. The drilling causes a mixing of
earth water and salt layers. The water here is to salt to drink (everybody buys bottled water).

26). New Mexico, 2000/11/30. We climb slowly to Roswell (1.085 Meter, 3,580 feet). The land looks mysterious. A car stops with 2 people: Joe and Anna. They are friends of Diane from Jasper. They know us (but we don't know them). We get invited at their mountain cabin in Ruidoso.

27). New Mexico, 2000/12/04. On the camping in Roswell. Jolanda cuts my hair. We visit the interesting UFO museum about the UFO crash that is supposed to haven taken place here in 1947. (Photo by Karen Bonnet).

28). New Mexico, 2000/12/05. Leaving Roswell. Our nice neighbours Karen and Jim Bonnet from North Dakota make this picture and send it later.

29). New Mexico, 2000/12/05. The local economy deals clever with the 'green man' image
of the UFO-incident.

30). New Mexico, 2000/12/06. On our way to Ruidoso at 2.280 meter (7,524 feet).
At the mountain cabin of Joe and Anna (the couple that stopped us on our way to Roswell)
we are more than welcome. What a beautiful and mysterious landscape in New Mexico!

31). New Mexico, 2000/12/09. White Sands National Monument. We stay in Alamogordo (Spanish for 'fat trees') at Mildred, a sister of Texas Orville. With Nancy, the other sister of Orville, we make a nice daytour to White Sands.

32). New Mexico, 2000/12/15. Here the dessert starts, that goes all the way to California. We're cycling pipeline road and we're alone. The coming two months we will spend in this dessert, a highlight! In the daytime it's 15C to 25C (60F-76F). At night as low as -12C (11F).

33). New Mexico, 2000/12/18. To bike and to camp in this extremely empty and very pretty
environment: what a delight!!

USA End of part 1.
Copyright 2002: René Maassen     rene_maassen@zonnet.nl

Nederlandse versie

Part 1 (36 foto's) - Part 2 (29 foto's)
 
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