El Lobo Lupus - Day 6 - Loop Around Escudilla Mountain

After a long night's sleep, we woke up ready to head down the shoulder of the highway in order to do a loop around Escudilla Mountain.  The shoulder was wide and welcoming for cycling as I recalled from riding it years earlier on the Luna Lake Tour with the Greater Arizona Bicycling Association.  We peeled off on a side road through Nutrioso, stopped at the red old Post Office, spied the town's small lumber mill, and then pushed on to rejoin the highway and continue descending until we were back in the juniper-pinyon grasslands.  El Lobo Lupus swung right, taking us off the highway and onto some of the best hardpack hero dirt I've ever ridden...