Update 3/8
We awoke to cooler temperatures, overcast skies, and almost no wind. What a relief. After a hearty breakfast of granola and home-made bread, Charley and Kamala, avid tandem cyclists, were kind enough to escort us through some road construction to the main road we followed out of town. The road was a good one: flat, smooth, and an adequate shoulder for most of the way. We made good time, departing at 7:30 AM and arriving 40 miles south in Fort Hancock at 11:30. There we stopped for lunch at Angies's Cafe, a place that a Texas travel magazine claimed to have the best salsa and chicken fried steak in the state. We tried both and had to agree. A motorcycle club which had passed us earlier on the road had invaded the small cafe, and when we entered asked us what had taken us so long. Sue replied that we were fighting off a couple of dogs, which was, in fact, the truth. After lunch we again got on I-10 and headed east. We had originally planned to stay overnight in the ONE motel in Ft. Hancock, but the weather was so good that we decided to press on to Sierra Blanca, about 34 miles down the road. We were glad we made that decision because we again were able to make good time and even had a tail wind for part of the journey. We completed our total trip of 77 miles and arrived at Sierra Blanca at 4:30 PM, in time to check in at a motel and eat at the local restaurant before dark. The weather forecast for tomorrow called for the possibility of showers and moderate winds, so we'll see how tomorrow goes.