GDR blog update from Pie Town

From the GDR blog Monday afternoon:

Simon called from Pie Town at about 2:30 p.m. Monday. He said the Pioneer Cafe was closed, but he has a 69-cent pie that he bought in Cuba, "so that will have to do." He said the weather was nice and overcast, but the last stretch of road was rough with washboards. "300 miles to go, yee-haw," he said.

500 kilometers to the border [that's roughly the same as Rotorua to Wellington]

And earlier:

Simon called from just outside Grants at 6 a.m. Monday. He said he arrived at 10:30 p.m. Sunday. He said he was going to roll down Route 66 and 117 to Pie Town. He said he had the "usual roller coaster ride" Sunday, with beautiful scenery and a bit of rain.

South Of Grants, NM through the desert

Here's a weather forecast for Hachita NM (Elevation 1433 m, compared to the Desert Road summit which is 1074 m):

This Afternoon: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 91 [33 degrees Celsius]. Light southeast wind. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Tonight: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly before midnight. Partly cloudy, with a low around 64 [18 degrees Celsius]. Light wind becoming east northeast between 13 and 16 mph [26 kph]. Winds could gust as high as 23 mph [37 kph]. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Tuesday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms after noon. Partly cloudy, with a high near 90. East northeast wind between 7 and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Tuesday Night: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64. Northeast wind between 8 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.