The gravel road seemed in pretty good shape. And that made me suspicious. I vaguely remembered some wet arroyo crossings on this road.
Sure enough. We soon came upon a wet crossing with tire ruts over a foot deep in the muck. I stopped and walked the ruts. They appeared to have good traction.
I got so much satisfaction at being patient with this crossing! Why does it take so much effort for a driver to 'look before they leap?' Of course there is a big off-road 4WD industry out there who pushes just the opposite approach: be in a hurry, be on a macho and noisy rampage, and solve your transportation problems by spending huge amounts of money.
Further on, there were hopeless wet spots as suspected. I didn't even challenge them. Instead I used another road that resulted in one of the most satisfying bike rides in years. It was satisfying because it was close enough to see some marvelous scenery, but not too close, where the road gets too steep and rocky.
My mapping apps helped out some, but they didn't 'spill the beans' entirely. There was just the right amount of uncertainty in my route. Surprisingly it turned out to be a nice loop.
No wonder I have so little interest in mountain bike culture, forums, equipment, and technical single-track trails. There is nothing more boring than hearing somebody talk about 'how far' and 'how fast.'
But to slip into the mindset of a nine-year-old who is out exploring with his bike; trying to find a shortcut or connecting path; trying to cross a ditch and wondering if he is going to get so muddy that Mom will yell at him; trying to find a hole in the park fence that he can just squeeze through without tearing his clothes...that is a great experience. The little rascal is always thinking, "That shouldn't have worked, but it did." I was experiencing that bliss again, 60 years after it first occurred.
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This was his trip down the River Of Doubt in the Amazon.
My ex-wife would tell her friends that I acted like a boy when on a trip. She thought she was criticizing me but I thought it was confirmation of how I felt - being young again!