June 16th - 22nd

First extended visit on the journey comes from my friend Peter from Denmark.

We left Houston and humid east Texas air the same night he arrived. Our aim was to make it to Big Bend on the west side within a few days, but the empty roads and continues hours of catching up kept us cruising all the way to the park in one stretch.

By the time we finally made it to a camp and was set up it was more the 24 hrs since we'd left the city behind and 36 hrs since I woke. Deliriously we checked out the surroundings and agreed to move on the following day as the park, this time of year, is rather inaccessible to longer hikes due to high temperatures and lack of water.

Before leaving the next morning we hiked into a canyon, swam crossing the Rio Grand to the opposite side - into Mexico.

A week has passed and we've made it New Mexico. Revisiting some places I passed a few weeks ago, spending another day underground in the lava caves and finding tracks where only a 4x4's can go.

It's been allot of driving. Tomorrow we set out on a 4 day hike in the mountains surrounding Taos in northern New Mexico.

cont. June 16th - 22nd

cont. June 16th - 22nd

June 15th - 16th, 2010

Arrived to Houston yesterday morning. The folks at AZ photo have done a great job with the processing of my film and be kind enough to let me do the scanning at their place.

A small sample of the work from the south west:

June 3rd - 14th, 2010

Spent a night and day indoors recuperating from the heat and end of North America leg. Rented a car to go north, but spent a day here in El Paso, intrigued by the border and all that follows having one of the most dangerous cities in the world side by side with one safest. Here is an odd vibe - the ever present boarder patrols and shared web of lights at night makes it impossible to tell where El Paso ends and Cuidad Juárez begins.

I left early the following morning - heading north from where I'd been riding just a few days before. Now in the comfort of A/C and plenty of water the landscape looked so different.

The following week is spent in New Mexico, with a brief pass though south east Utah and detouring the four corners that were closed for repair.

I've seen the milky way brighter then ever from Valley of the Gods, rattlesnakes in the brush, scorpions, ancient ruins, and dirt roads that seem to have no end. The highlight of the tour came as I was heading back to El Paso passing an area of lava fields and undeveloped caves. I spent the greater part of a day under ground trying to capture the magic of the underworld. No light or heat penetrates allowing ice to develop despite the summer heat above.

I returned to El Paso on the 14th, dropped the car and caught a Greyhound to Houston where I will process and scan my film before my friend Peter arrives from Denmark.

cont. June 3rd - 14th, 2010

Cont. June 3rd - 14th, 2010

Cont. June 3rd - 14th, 2010

Cont. June 3rd - 14th, 2010

June 2nd, 2010

Rode approximately 75 miles from Alamogordo to El Paso. Bike computer has died and I likewise need to have my batteries recharged to beat the zombie-like state that I'm in.

Plan is to rest a few days here. I've found a fellow biker who will store my bike and bags while I go exploring on four wheels, places the bike and heat didn't allow.

Edge of Texas - and America.

June 1st, 2010

Moon was high on the cloudless sky when I woke. The sand reflecting like snow lit up the surroundings. Like waking from a dream only to enter some world between between conscious. This place is not real. So pale, the temperature almost the same as mine, the sand so soft its hardly noticeable on my feet. Hope I'll have pictures to prove it wasn't just my imagination.

The sun rose and I crept back in my sleeping bag to get a few hours rest before the heat became intolerable. This wasn't long.

By the time I got out of the sun and found shade I was so hot it took me an hour to cool off. The ride to Alamogordo is only about 25 miles, but the straight road seemed to have no end. From here I continued to a state park another 12 miles south west.

By the time I reached the park I was so spent I only remember crashing on a bench - waking when it was all dark and quiet.

What ever I ate a few days ago, its still haunting me.

May 31st, 2010

Energy feels low and temperatures high. Afraid I ate something I shouldn't have. Been resting it out in the shade for a few hours trying to beat the heat, but I seems to have no end once it hits the 90's.

Left Las Cruses around noon - made it to White Sands national monument just before sunset. Fortunately I was able to get a backcountry camping permit and set up in the dunes of this bizarre landscape.

Moon will rise at 11:33 p.m. - my alarm is set for 2 am.

May 30th, 2010

Day of departure and practical work. The Larson's are at church and I sit engulfed in cyberspace, trying to work out the remaining route to El Paso and alternative travel options to South America.

The deadline for the exhibition in Copenhagen is becoming more apparent despite being over a year away. Traveling on bike the full stretch is not a option if I am to make back in time. Choosing where to fast forward is not easy - but my gut feeling tells me to get to Peru/Bolivia asap.

Returning from church we enjoyed dinner together before I was given a lift across the great divide and border to New Mexico.