Weekly East Texas ramble of Thrill-Billy & Baja Explorer

Me and BajaExplorer (Keith) set out today on a little ride.

We left my place in Brownsboro, and headed south east towards frankston.

South out of frankston we turned east on Anderson Cr309. After a few miles, it turns to dirt, and the fun starts.

The route turned north, but not before getting kinda gnarly. That's a subjective term, but there is now way I could've gotten through there in my 2wd pickup. It would've taken 4wd, and tires. For sure. The roads were washed out, some covered in water. Lots of mud, but strangely enough neither me or Baja were satisfied with the amount left on our bikes after the scoot. We caught some un-painted blacktop, and dirt roads all the way to Jacksonville.

We grabbed burgers at Legends old time burger barn. It was awesome. Huge burgers, you build yourself, like drud****ers.

We caught some more un-painted blacktop, and a little more dirt on the way back towards Tyler.

The roads could've been sportier. Actually, the dirt was all plenty of fun, but more of it is always nice.

Either way, the scenery was nice, and the weather was made to order.

We're already scheming next Tuesday's ride, if anyone else wants to join.

Some pictures.


There was a small gator in this pond. You can maybe see his eyes sticking up.



Some overlook on 69, North of j'ville


We came across this box turtle on some road South of Whitehouse.







Fun times!

Videos coming soon. Lots of gopro footage today

Re: Little East Texas ramble.

Nice. The weather has been great for riding.

Today, we headed south, into the hillbilly triangle. Lol.



As we proceeded South on FM 315, across the Anderson county line, we kept our eyes peeled for a dirt road to turn down. After doing some reconnaissance via Google earth, I knew there were plenty. Luck was on our side. We turned down one that just went on and on for miles. We came to a fork and took the one less traveled. Pretty soon, we were riding thru some ranchers pasture, then across a cattle guard, and into a town I've never heard of. More of a dot on the map. If you're familiar with willow city, it was about like that. We turned around, and headed several miles back to the fork, and went the other way. This leg met the same fate. We turned back, and set out for another turnoff we'd passed. This one also went on for a few miles, and T'd into a paved FM road. We decided to head back the way we'd come.

After some more jaunts down dirt roads, we found a good place atop a hill with a bit of a view thru the trees.
We scarfed down some chicken salad sandwiches, and pork n beans, and I had an ice cold Arnold Palmer. The afternoon was more of the prior, but with maybe a bit more un-painted blacktop whos rough-ness rivaled any dirt road. The scenery was oh-my-god nice, for East Texas.

A few pics from atop the hill during lunch, and a shaky video here in the next day or so.

I thought for sure we would find some low water crossing or least some stretches of wet nasty mud roads, but not to be. In order to prove that we had gone out, we had to settle for what was left in some of bar ditches and even then we only got a slight splatter out of them. Oh well, we well continue searching.

I think there's like 2 people that actually look at this thread, and if you're one of them, the prepare for a cool ride next Monday, maybe Tuesday.

It goes south, (as usual) but much further into Anderson/Leon counties. This is a one route to a from, with a loop at the South. Basically we ride home on the same track we took south.

I've ridden alot of the roads immediately South of frankston, but this route is about 90% dirt. I think the longest paved stretch South of frankston is maybe a mile or so.

Check it---


Also, this is an open invite kinda thing. If you wanna go, lemme know.

Also, y'all have any ideas for lunch menu. Two weeks ago was burgers in Jacksonville, last week was chicken salad sandwiches, and beans. I'd like to take something that packs better.

Spam tacos!!! Lol

Great post! thank you for sharing!
Would you happen to have the .gpx file i could download? i go to east texas quite often (inlaws) and would not mind trying one of the routes.

Cheers!

I have no clue how to post a GPX, but I can email it...

Maybe?

thrill-billy85 said:

I have no clue how to post a GPX, but I can email it...

Click to expand...

PM sent ...thank you so much for sharing!

lova said:

Great post! thank you for sharing!
Would you happen to have the .gpx file i could download? i go to east texas quite often (inlaws) and would not mind trying one of the routes.

Cheers!

Click to expand...

You go out this weekend and some of that stuff is going to be nasty.
I know one place I would like to go back.

thrill-billy85 said:

I think there's like 2 people that actually look at this thread, and if you're one of them, the prepare for a cool ride next Monday, maybe Tuesday.
*snip*
Spam tacos!!! Lol

Click to expand...

I B one.

Wx Weenies say Monday ain't gonna be cool, last I saw (as in I'm afraid to look with a camping trip set to start shortly - fortunately I have the "inside" track on alternative-to-a-tent sleeping arrangements). We stood in the doorway and watched 3 tornadoes drop out of a black cloud over Purtis Creek SP on Mem'l Day in '08 - video'd it! (dunno where that file's hiding) - and at least one of them (all 3 consolidated?) went on to give the folks in Chandler something to do over the next little while - prob'ly went right over your house, T_B.

And if Monday ain't good, Toozday ain't gonna be much better, certainly not on the dirt (/sticky red slimy concrete) around here. Also, I might not be back from the wknd until late Monday. As a potential date, Tuesday would be a possible, Monday prob'ly not. The 625's ready and tho' D606's may not be the best tarz for mud, they have lotsa knobbz.

7B Restaurant in Frankston is not open on Monday and, besides, Thursday is Chicken 'n' Dumplins Day. There are a couple of little eating places in Maydelle, usually with a truck or two parked there.

Run it back'ards - start in Rusk - and there's a fine little seafood place (!!!) there, and a couple others, + the usual fast food (best Sonic Large S'berry Malts are in Rusk, IMO).

Add pineapple and academy nuts to your concoction and call 'em Hawaiian Tacos!

Here's a link to mymaps on Google with all my gpx routes

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1u07OTOvXsxBWlz-WeKo_4bkaA1I&usp=sharing

3 of us watching it. lol

Make that four. I loves me some East Texas..

Right on! I'll HOPEFULLY have some GoPro footage up tonight. I've been really busy with a house that I WAS renting out, and am now selling buyers are using a VA loan, and its FSBO, so I've got a ton of hoops to jump through. I think I'm done dabbling in the real estate market, after this

thrill-billy85 said:

... I've been really busy with a house that I WAS renting out, and am now selling buyers are using a VA loan, and its FSBO, so I've got a ton of hoops to jump through. I think I'm done dabbling in the real estate market, after this

Click to expand...

It can get "interesting," can't it. Piece-a-cake for those who've been into it a long time but a potential disaster for a dabbler. Having rented out my townhouse in Va. Beach a couple of times, using highly-recommended but worthless Agents who were only interested in their 10% rakeoff, I learned my lesson - D O N 'T!

Funny story . . . well, mildly amusing, I think . . . bought my place in TX, put my 4BR raised custom built A-frame in the 'Chafalaya Swamp on the market in November, and moved, going back frequently to check on it, essentially camping out in the house which was a lot roomier without all my junk in it. Used the same Agent I'd bought thru, 8yrs earlier.

No takers at a good price, no dreams of getting rich on a house in which I was sweating out hurricanes every year, sometimes more than once - Ground Zero for Andrew, then Katrina (I was long gone), then Ike, then ???

Got a call from the Agent, Miss Mary, in June, said she had a cash offer, $10K below my asking price. I told her to call them back and make a counter, $10K above Listing price. She said, "You can't do that, can't raise your asking price when there's an offer on the table!" Says I, "Check our contract; it expired two weeks ago."

Five minutes later she called back, laughing. SOLD, cash, for asking price!

Sometimes it's fun, though I did have to have the 3-Stage Aeration Septic System pumped out.

Pro Tip: NEVER use powdered laundry detergent if you have a Septic System; those granules are little plastic balls that just accumulate.

Really ON-TOPIC: Nothing on the agenda for tomorrow and the 625's still got a full tank of fuel - plenty in cans, too. I may take a look at Beard Mountain Road and see how bad the mud it; it was still raining here at 2A, yesterday, but we've had good sun all day today so it may be hardening up, except probably down by the creek.

Awesome ride today! BajaExplorer couldn't make it because his cush hub needs some love.

Today, I rode my "Anderson County Dirt" route. A few hiccups with the route. One of which was fuel management. I really didn't plan well. I should've topped off in frankston, but instead, I topped off in brownsboro. Then rode 30 miles to frankston and started the route.

This route is very remote, with NO fuel available. Boo.

So South of Frankston, I hit up some familiar dirt roads. These are pretty fun, but once you've seen them a dozen times, they loose their lustre.

Fifteen miles or so South of frankston however, I venture into foreign territory. IT. WAS. AWESOME.

The roads were about 90% dirt. They ranged from well kept dirt, to...... Uhh. Well maybe at one point 30 years ago it was a county maintained road, but those days of half-*****ed county maintenance are long gone.

The road I was following paralleled the neches river for a bit. Suddenly, the road rewarded me with a really nice place to stop and take a picture, and have a cig.









Down the way a bit the road was flooded. Lots of water to splash around in.



After a few miles, I came upon this old house. Or cabin. Or whatever. It may not actually be old, but rather one that someone started building, and gave up on. Who knows.








**** good place to have lunch. Vienna sausages, and triscuits.



Back down the road I came to this crossing. Let's just say, it's deeper than it looks. The banks of the neches were breached by the floods, and are now washing across this road, and taking the road with it.







Eventually, I decided it didn't have enough gas to make the loop. I've barely scratched the surface of all the gnarly dirt roads in this area. It's just a never ending web of poorly maintained dirt roads.

One the way back I took a wrong turn. The Garmin backlight sucks. I need to look into it. By the time I realized I'd made a huge wrong turn, I was too far to turn back. Remember... Gas is an issue at this point.

I'm still on a "county road" and headed the correct vector, I press on. The road was like this. I could've stopped and taken 100 pictures of different sights, but did not.



This continued, and the road conditions deteriorated



This tree had fallen across the road. No way to go around... Break some limbs, and go under....



Pretty soon, the roads are becoming overgrown, and are no longer wide enough for any other vehicle other than a dirtbike to pass. Maybe an ATV.



This was still showing as a county road, and there's no way I could turn back. I had to press on. This, to me, is the very idea of ADVENTURE riding. I have no idea how this is gonna end, or where I'm even going.... Other than North...ish

The highlight up to this point would be this old wood bridge. Probably been decades since anyone's been across it.



Amazing




Another couple miles through washed out heinous remnants of a county road of yesteryear and I get to this monstrosity. Dang. The picture does no justice as to how steep this climb is, and how impassable it is to ride up on the shoulders. The only way up was right up the dang middle.... Johnny Walker style. Once I was at the top, I looked back, and felt as if I'd just conquered something. Truly a confidence inspiring experience.





From the top, looking back down at the scooter. Before the climb, obviously. I'm not gonna lie, I moved some tires out of the way, and a few into the way, to act as a step up onto some taller ledges



After this, I was really lost. The road didn't get much 'roadier' for MILES. I was super lost and on a road that wasn't on either my updated Garmin map, or Google maps. I knew which way was North, and that the way I went. Lots of unlocked gates, and finally I made it to a road that registered.

Rolling into frankston, it Dawn's on me I SHOULDVE hit reserve a LONG time ago. I pull into the gas station and rol up to a pump.

After removing the cap I see there's about a pint of gas left in the tank on each side. Maybe more on the petcock side. It is at this point I realize I've had it on reserve all day.

Man, this could've gotten crappy.

Or maybe just more adventureyer.

thrill-billy85 said:

Today, I rode my "Anderson County Dirt" route. A few hiccups with the route. One of which was fuel management. I really didn't plan well. I should've topped off in frankston, but instead, I topped off in brownsboro. Then rode 30 miles to frankston and started the route.

This route is very remote, with NO fuel available. Boo.


Remember... Gas is an issue at this point.


Man, this could've gotten crappy.

Or maybe just more adventureyer.

Click to expand...

Tell me again how much better that smaller tank is.....

Seriously though it looks like a great ride. Thanks for sharing.

bwdmax said:

Tell me again how much better that smaller tank is.....

Click to expand...

but it looks so purrrty. Lol

_

Lol. The gas wouldve been an issue with the old tank too. .7 gallons on a 650l which gets about 40mpg is equates to what, an additional 30 miles? I still wouldn't have made the whole loop but would've actually tried... Which means I would've been walking. Lol. That .7 gallons gives a false sense of security.

The real issue is that I didn't incorporate ANY civilation into about 160 miles of this ride. Unless you've got the Acerbis tank, and a weak wrist, fuel will be an issue.

On the other hand... Keith's tank holds like 6.8 gallons. If he goes, and I bring a siphon tube... No problemo!

thrill-billy85 said:

Lol. The gas wouldve been an issue with the old tank too. .7 gallons on a 650l which gets about 40mpg is equates to what, an additional 30 miles? I still wouldn't have made the whole loop but would've actually tried... Which means I would've been walking. Lol. That .7 gallons gives a false sense of security.

The real issue is that I didn't incorporate ANY civilation into about 160 miles of this ride. Unless you've got the Acerbis tank, and a weak wrist, fuel will be an issue.

On the other hand... Keith's tank holds like 6.8 gallons. If he goes, and I bring a siphon tube... No problemo!

Click to expand...

And I suppose my bike is suppose to be the fuel tanker for yours now?
Wonder if we can transfer fuel like the air tankers do, on the fly.

Bajaexplorer said:

And I suppose my bike is suppose to be the fuel tanker for yours now?
Wonder if we can transfer fuel like the air tankers do, on the fly.

Click to expand...

We're wasting everyone's time if we don't at least try....

thrill-billy85 said:

We're wasting everyone's time if we don't at least try....

Click to expand...

And that deserves a big ROFL ROFL!

Remind me to install the Rotopax stuff before going on a ride with you, and to pack the Arkysaw Credit Card! Or to ride the 690T(anker)! Or BOTH!

Great writeup! Those "deteriorating" sections remind me of similar sunken roads in the Mississippi woods, remnants of troops heading to/from Vicksburg during "The Late Unpleasantness."