America's Best Value Inn & Crossing the Rio Grande 3 xs in one afternoon

Well where should I start. Up early and on the road at 6:30am. Set out to do 75 miles going from Columbus, NM to El Paso, TX. All was going very well. Stopped at the Dairy Queen for a chocolate shake, rumored to be the best restorative drink. Wanted to stop at the dollar store for flip flops and nail file,George not interested in either stop. Derica was going to go with me but John, her husband had a flat tire. So I got separated from all and was riding the last 6 miles alone. I was a little Leary of the directions but forged on. When I got to the Rio Grande The cue sheet said cross the Rio Grande so I did. Unfortunately I was a tad premature. I kept riding , looking for the next turn which never came. By now I am in the full force of ElPaso traffic heading for the Inter state, passing the intersection of the fair grounds where 6 policeman and 4 police cars with their red light blurring were directing traffic. There were so many police car I first thought there had been a bad accident, but was soon relieved to see the police were just directing traffic. By now I am beginning to realize I have done something wrong, so I pull off the road at another hotel and call WEB, leaving a message to call me , when I get no answer. Then I call Chandler, who picks up immediately and says he will drop off the riders he has taken to the bike store and then come for me. Because neither he nor I really knew where I was it took a while and a helpful policeman to hook us up. In the mean time I was able to reach Lou and Jane, and leave messages for Marnie and JJG. Anyway in order to get to our hotel Chandler and I had to re-cross the Rio Grande to get back to where I had made the wrong turn and then cross it again further down river, which incidentally has no water in it. When I got back , Polly, my roommate for the night had my key and helped me get my bike and several of the guys, including , Matt, Joe, and Ed helped me with my bags. I was very touched by all the thoughtfulness . Took a cold bath because I could not figure out how To get the hot water on and then went to dinner at the Golden Coral. I didn't expect to like it because it was a buffet, all u can eat cavernous restaurant. It was surprisingly very tasting and half of el paso was there, really a perfect place for dinner with 40 people after a long bike ride. Tomorrow we ride 55 miles. Not sure whee we are headed because do to my bonus miles (how we refer to getting lost) I missed the ride meeting.