Water:
Water could well prove to be a problem, at all stages of the route - from lack of, to an excess of....! We can expect the water available to us to be less than pure, for any number of reasons, and we should consider the desirability of purification of all water used for consumption, that includes cleaning teeth!
I have experience of ceramic tower filters, which will obviously be impractical for this trip; Millbank bags (which only remove solids in suspension), and various chemical methods of purification. My current favourites amongst chemical procedures include Puritabs and iodine. However, I have recently taken delivery of a combined chemical/solids purifier for test purposes. Watch this space.
Chili
Chili is the national dish of New Mexico and is consumed in considerable quantities there and, to a lesser extent, in Texas. It is therefore worth bearing in mind that it is fiercely hot as there is a degree of machoism attached to the amount of chili present in a meal. For the inexperienced, proceed with extreme caution - you have been warned.
Chili is the national dish of New Mexico and is consumed in considerable quantities there and, to a lesser extent, in Texas. It is therefore worth bearing in mind that it is fiercely hot as there is a degree of machoism attached to the amount of chili present in a meal. For the inexperienced, proceed with extreme caution -
Wildlife:
We can expect to encounter some wildlife, although most of it will be extremely wary and disappear long before we see it.
However, not all wildlife recognises a human on a horse as a threat, we may therefore bump into the odd animal, numbered amongst which could well be pronghorn antelope, mule or white tailed deer, elk, Cinamon bears (Santa Fe area), Red New Mexico Wolves, coyotes, mountain lion, skunks, lynx, possums, javelinas, possibly buffalo and diamond back rattlesnakes.
There will be others of course, the list is far from complete....
Interesting Facts
Filming
It was always my intention to film this trip with the intention of passing it on to a TV company on our return. However, I have discovered an American production company who has expressed an interest in becoming involved. Negotiations will commence in earnest in December. In the meantime, all riders should be prepared to be filmed during the ride, and photographed for the book!
It was always my intention to film this trip with the intention of passing it on to a TV company on our return. However, I have discovered an American production company who has expressed an interest in becoming involved. Negotiations will commence in earnest in December. In the meantime, all riders should be prepared to be filmed during the ride, and photographed for the book!