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  Silver City, New Mexico, United States
Tuesday, May 5, 2009

It has been too long since I've written, so much life has happened. We came to Silver City with our friends we met in Desert Hot Springs, Leah ( a professional bike racer) Rhonda and their daughter Malina. Leah was racing in the Tour of Gila race. Others have mentioned to me that we should check out Silver City... How right they were. It is a magical little town full of friendly, caring people. Set high in the desert it is surrounded by history and legends. Originally a silver mining town it is the birth place of Billy the Kid. National Geographic describes it as the town that is what Santa Fe used to be... Not certain what that means having never been to Santa Fe but I like the sound. 
It is also the town where we brought our new long awaited puppy Lola.. She is commonly referred as a stuffed teddy bear. She is so cute with a personality a mile long. She loves/adores everyone and everything. She isn't afraid of any dog, (except the great Dane dressed in a clown suit.) adores Isa and loves to go hiking/walking and biking with us

How do I hold this dog?

.
There is much to see here, we went to the Gila Cliff Dwellings. It was amazing to imagine the generations of people who climbed those walls to hold their ceremonies.
We went to the Cat Walk where they constructed pathways to get to the mines. 
While Leah trained Rhonda and I loaded up the kids and took Chimeranda and went on a trip to Bisbee and to Tombstone Arizona. We stopped at the Karchner Caves and spent some time on Roper Lake. A beautiful oasis in the middle of the desert. 
Isabelle and I liked Roper Lake so much that when Rhonda and Malina needed to go home, we drove back to the lake and stayed another five days.
It was there that Ranger Sammy taught us how to fish.  We now travel with fishing poles although I realize I just can't use worms for bait... I like worms too much!
Weaving. Riding our bikes one day we passed by a woman sitting outside spinning so we decided to stop. Hosanna is a weaver, making tapestries of color and design. We made a date with her to teach the girls how to spin and weave. It was that day when someone from the newspaper came by and asked to take our picture. So there we were on the front page of the paper learning how to spin. Isa is a natural at it, she and Hosanna developed such a special bond. It was hard to say goodbye to her.
The Race. This isn't just any race, this is a big race. It is often considered the precursor to the race in Italy which leads up to the Tour De France.  It also turned out to be a big name race, on the men's side Lance (as in Armstrong) Landis, and the reigning rider Levi all showed up

Ahh Lola and Isa first day home

. On the women's side Kristen Armstrong (no relation to Lance) who won the Beijing Olympics showed up as well as a couple of other very strong women riders including Leah. 
But the rider I was most impressed with was Isa. She got to go in her first race. She had so much fun, the boy in front of her fell and she waited patiently for him to get up then off she went training wheels and all. She loved telling people she raced the Tour of Gila!  Her next words were, "mom,  can I race again? "
We leave today, we head to Truth or Consequences, then up thru to Santa Fe...across and over and on our way to Oregon and Washington.
We are seven months on the road. Seven. Amazing. I asked Isa if it was hard traveling from place to place. "No mom, I love it". 
Gypsy's of the Road. Renee, Isabelle and Lola

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

Our hike at Roper lake in Arizona	Fishing with Ranger Sammy	Okay, where is the fish?	My first fish!
And this is what their hair usually looks lik	Easter Bunny from Leah	Malina and Isa	Playing
The Gila Cliff Dwellings	The Cliffs	The Gila Cliff Dwellings	Hiking up to the Gila Cliffs
A stop in the creek after a good hike	Treasures	Old Mining Store	Playing in Mongollon
The high ledges of Mongollon	Isa's first Bike race day

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