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Janet
0
Day 1
Well, I took the weekend off from work with the intentions of meeting a bunch of riding friends in Ashland Missouri. As the time got closer, I found myself thinking about the county courthouse quest I have been on for a few years. I am not really in a hurry to get finished, but I think I was ready for a long solo trip. I had some of the courthouses in the panhandle area, but there were 34 that I didn’t have, so I planned out my first day and left out of DeSoto at 5:30 am for a run up 287.
My run across I-20 from DeSoto to Fort Worth and then out 287 in the dark during rush hour was as hair raising as it usually is. I only had five or six close calls and that is about normal. I got further out 287 and was feeling uncomfortable. I could not find a good spot in the saddle, my back and leg were killing me, my hand was going numb and I was thinking that this was going to be a very long trip. I was packed for 4 days and was thinking that at this rate, I would have to head back without finishing. I stopped for gas up past Rhome then got a scare when I almost hit a coyote when I was getting back on the highway, but all of a sudden, I was in the grove. Yep, that familiar feel I get when I feel like I can ride forever. I feel like I am ready for an Iron Butt run. All has settled in and I am off to the races!
I cut off of 287 in Vernon and head west to Crowell in Foard County, and then continue west to Paducah in Cottle Co. I then turn north and head back to 287 and go through Memphis, Clarendon and Claude. I turn and go up to Panhandle then head back northeast to Pampa and Miami. I back track a bit and then head northwest to Stennett, then across to Dumas, Channing and then back down into Amarillo. I do not stop to take any other pictures and I am not doing any sight seeing so far. It is very hot but I am only stopping for courthouse pictures and gas as I head south out of Amarillo to Canyon and then west to Hereford. It is 7pm when I get a room at the Best Western. I walk over to the little store for dinner and a beer. The end of day one finds me with 682 miles covered and 14 pictures taken. I am tired….but feel totally alive.
Day 2
On day two I find that it has rained during the night. There are a few showers around but nothing too bad, so I don’t bother with the rain gear. It is 7:15 when I head out of Hereford southwest toward Farwell, then back southeast to Muleshoe and Littlefield. After Littlefield I turn back west on Hwy 54. The highway turns south then back west again and hits 214. Out there in the middle of nowhere, east of Enochs was a huge old red brick school house. There was no roof and there were trees growing through the structure, but it was a big building out in the middle of the cotton and sunflower pastures. There were a few out buildings on the school yard, but it did not appear that there had been a town there. I wonder what happened here to a community that had vanished. Alas, I did not stop and take a picture of the place. I make myself mad sometimes because I don’t stop. The Handbook of Texas Online shows Enochs further west at the intersection of 54 and 214, but nothing about this big school building out in the pasture several miles to the east.
After heading south on 214 through the sunflower pastures, I get my picture in Morton and on south to Plains. In Plains I turn east and get on highway 380 for a while as I go to Brownfield. This is where I have my second encounter, (the first was with the coyote). The highway is two lanes and I can see a stream of traffic coming towards me being led by an 18-wheeler. We close to about 75 yards and a Fed-Ex truck pops out from behind the 18-wheeler to pass. I move to my right and am riding down the fog line when we pass, with me on the fog line, the Fed-Ex truck in my lane and the 18-wheeler in his own lane. I am pointing at the Fed-Ex driver when we pass in a “You are a fool and you could have killed me” fashion when we pass and he is mouthing “I’m sorry” over and over. Maybe he will be a little more careful next time. And yes, I was pointing with my index finger and not “the other one”<grin>. (I don’t do that.)
I head on to Brownfield, then southeast to Lamesa, then turn south and head al the way down to Stanton on I-20. I stop at the Sonic for lunch, then hit I-20 east to Big Spring where I get off and head back north. This is where I find one of “those roads” that we all love. I am on Highway 669 headed north through the countryside. I passed drillers, ranches working on fence, farmers and pickers along the roadside, and every one of them looked up and waved as I went by. I tooted the air horns and waved back and was smiling all the way. It was very secluded with my being the only vehicle on the road. I loved it.
I stayed on 669 into Gail and got a picture, and then on to Post, (I already had the courthouse in Post). In Post it switched to highway 651 as I continued north through the beautiful landscape with zero traffic. It remained that way until I reached Crosbyton. I got my picture and headed on north toward Floydada.
As I was coming into Floydada (the pumpkin capital for those of you that are interested), I can see that there are a lot of thunderheads popping up all around. It looks like the regular afternoon heating type of storms but it is still mostly sunny. I pull in to the Allsup’s in Floydada for gas and more water. I went to the register with my bottle of water and there was no cashier standing there. I looked up and saw that the four store employees were standing around in a little circle around a radio that they had set up on a counter. One of the girls breaks away from the huddle and comes to the register and I ask, “Is there something going on that I need to know about?” The girl says that they are saying on the radio that there is a tornado coming. Oh really? Coming where? To Floydada. From where? From Plainview. Tornados don’t go southwest. I don’t know but they are saying on the radio that there is one south of Plainview and it is coming this way. Oh great….I am heading to Plainview next.
I headed back out to the pumps and look around at the sky again. Some more thunderheads are around and it’s a little darker toward the northwest as I make the five block run north to the square for a picture. After taking the picture I am looking down putting the camera back into my windshield bag and all of a sudden, things look “funny”. I look back up and the sky has “that tint to it”. Y’all know what it is. We have all lived here long enough to know when we see “that funny tint” to the sky. Crap. I sat down on the curb and put on my rain gear. I look at the courthouse wondering if it had a tornado shelter. It is about five minutes after 5, and as I am sitting on the curb looking, one last lady comes out of the building, locks the doors, and goes to her car. Crap again. Oh well, maybe I can get some cool pictures.
I am now a suited up for rain and I turn on the weather man on my CB as I hit Highway 70 northwest to Plainview. The sky is getting dark in a hurry. The NOAA man is talking about tornados, storm spotters, flooding, the hail and all sorts of havoc going on. I am passing just to the east of the storm and I am in dime size hail. I can see the storm just barely to my left, but I can not see a funnel due to rain. I am probably 1 mile from where the heavy rain is blocking the view. I stopped and took a few pictures of the cloud and then continued on to Plainview. The big black cloud had already passed through here just a few minutes earlier but the sky is still dark and there is water standing all around. It is sprinkling rain as I tried to get a picture of the courthouse, but the sky is still too dark and it is causing the flash to fire on the camera. The flash was messing up the exposure so I turned off the flash and took several with it off for a lighter exposure.
I got back onto the bike and started north toward Tulia and as I got onto Interstate 27 I saw that there was another line of storms ahead. There was almost continuous lightning coming out of it and I thought about heading back into Plainview for the night. I ended up having to go another several miles to the next exit and by then had decided to head on to Tulia. I went through the line of storms with pea size hail and torrential rain but the bike kept running great. With an exposed intake, I can sometime start having a miss when the rain is very heavy. It doesn’t like sucking water into the carb much, but I can put my right foot on the highway peg and cover most of the intake with my leg.
I exited the highway in Tulia and found myself on the back side of this second storm. Like in Plainview, there was water standing in the streets but just a light sprinkle. I went down to the square and got my picture than headed back out toward the highway looking for someplace to spend the night. It was 6:30 pm. As I am heading back toward the highway I passed a county squad car and waived him down. It turned out that it was Emmett Benavidez and he is the chief deputy there in Swisher County. After talking for a while, he directs me to a little motor lodge on the corner of US 87 and hwy 86. He said it was a nice, clean place with good owners. I asked him if he would stay there and he said yes, so that was good enough for me. I have my owl little lodge with a garage for my bike. It was a very clean and updated room and she gave me some old towels to clean up my bike. If you are ever in the neighborhood, I recommend the Lasso Motel in Tulia.
I spent the evening listening to the Weather Channel people talking about the flooding in Canyon just north of me, and checking out the pictures in my camera. I could tell that the pictures in Plainview where I had turned off the flash were blurry. Crap. I guess I have to head back to Plainview.
Day 3
It is 8:15 when I head out back to Plainview. There are showers around but the weather is cool and relatively clear. I head the 20 something miles back down and snap a few pictures then head back north. I head east to Silverton then on toward Caprock Canyon State Park. I am in and out of showers all morning, and when I get to the entrance to the park it is raining. I take a few pictures of a rainbow then head back east to Turkey Texas. Y’all know what Turkey is famous for don’t you? It is the home of Bob Wills.
It is a cute little town with ranchers standing around their pick-up trucks in their starched Wranglers. It was very nice indeed. I took a few pictures in town and then headed south, stopping for my picture in Matador and then on to the square in Dickens.
Dickens is the home of Bob’s Oil well and the famous TC’s Ponderosa Mesquite Smoked Bar-B-Q. I had a jalapeño and cheese German sausage sandwich that was great. I had heard of TC’s but had never been there and it would be worth the trip.
Lunch was great but it was time to hit the road again. It was south to Jayton then on to Aspermont, back north to Guthrie, east to Benjamin. After leaving Benjamin I headed south to Haskell with a stop at the Brazos on Highway 6 for the gratuitous shot of the bike with the iron bridge.
With the picture in Haskell, I am done for this trip. I head on in 380 through Throckmorton and into Graham where I stop for water. When I come back out of the store I see that the thermometer on the bike says 110.It is 5pm. What in the heck possessed me to put a thermometer on the bike anyway?
I head south on the famous Hwy 16. There is almost no traffic and I head through Graford and on down to highway 180. I see quite a few bikes and wonder if any are Two Wheeled Texans. (I figured the 2 old guys on Harleys in their t-shirts with no helmets were not…)
I got home at around 7:15. I was hot tired and brain dead, but I had a good time and enjoyed the little ranch roads with no traffic. The final tally is 1755 miles with 682 on day 1, 541 on day 2 and 532 on day 3. I got 35 courthouse pictures which gives me a total of 240 with 14 to go.
It is good to be home.
Well, I took the weekend off from work with the intentions of meeting a bunch of riding friends in Ashland Missouri. As the time got closer, I found myself thinking about the county courthouse quest I have been on for a few years. I am not really in a hurry to get finished, but I think I was ready for a long solo trip. I had some of the courthouses in the panhandle area, but there were 34 that I didn’t have, so I planned out my first day and left out of DeSoto at 5:30 am for a run up 287.
My run across I-20 from DeSoto to Fort Worth and then out 287 in the dark during rush hour was as hair raising as it usually is. I only had five or six close calls and that is about normal. I got further out 287 and was feeling uncomfortable. I could not find a good spot in the saddle, my back and leg were killing me, my hand was going numb and I was thinking that this was going to be a very long trip. I was packed for 4 days and was thinking that at this rate, I would have to head back without finishing. I stopped for gas up past Rhome then got a scare when I almost hit a coyote when I was getting back on the highway, but all of a sudden, I was in the grove. Yep, that familiar feel I get when I feel like I can ride forever. I feel like I am ready for an Iron Butt run. All has settled in and I am off to the races!
I cut off of 287 in Vernon and head west to Crowell in Foard County, and then continue west to Paducah in Cottle Co. I then turn north and head back to 287 and go through Memphis, Clarendon and Claude. I turn and go up to Panhandle then head back northeast to Pampa and Miami. I back track a bit and then head northwest to Stennett, then across to Dumas, Channing and then back down into Amarillo. I do not stop to take any other pictures and I am not doing any sight seeing so far. It is very hot but I am only stopping for courthouse pictures and gas as I head south out of Amarillo to Canyon and then west to Hereford. It is 7pm when I get a room at the Best Western. I walk over to the little store for dinner and a beer. The end of day one finds me with 682 miles covered and 14 pictures taken. I am tired….but feel totally alive.
Day 2
On day two I find that it has rained during the night. There are a few showers around but nothing too bad, so I don’t bother with the rain gear. It is 7:15 when I head out of Hereford southwest toward Farwell, then back southeast to Muleshoe and Littlefield. After Littlefield I turn back west on Hwy 54. The highway turns south then back west again and hits 214. Out there in the middle of nowhere, east of Enochs was a huge old red brick school house. There was no roof and there were trees growing through the structure, but it was a big building out in the middle of the cotton and sunflower pastures. There were a few out buildings on the school yard, but it did not appear that there had been a town there. I wonder what happened here to a community that had vanished. Alas, I did not stop and take a picture of the place. I make myself mad sometimes because I don’t stop. The Handbook of Texas Online shows Enochs further west at the intersection of 54 and 214, but nothing about this big school building out in the pasture several miles to the east.
After heading south on 214 through the sunflower pastures, I get my picture in Morton and on south to Plains. In Plains I turn east and get on highway 380 for a while as I go to Brownfield. This is where I have my second encounter, (the first was with the coyote). The highway is two lanes and I can see a stream of traffic coming towards me being led by an 18-wheeler. We close to about 75 yards and a Fed-Ex truck pops out from behind the 18-wheeler to pass. I move to my right and am riding down the fog line when we pass, with me on the fog line, the Fed-Ex truck in my lane and the 18-wheeler in his own lane. I am pointing at the Fed-Ex driver when we pass in a “You are a fool and you could have killed me” fashion when we pass and he is mouthing “I’m sorry” over and over. Maybe he will be a little more careful next time. And yes, I was pointing with my index finger and not “the other one”<grin>. (I don’t do that.)
I head on to Brownfield, then southeast to Lamesa, then turn south and head al the way down to Stanton on I-20. I stop at the Sonic for lunch, then hit I-20 east to Big Spring where I get off and head back north. This is where I find one of “those roads” that we all love. I am on Highway 669 headed north through the countryside. I passed drillers, ranches working on fence, farmers and pickers along the roadside, and every one of them looked up and waved as I went by. I tooted the air horns and waved back and was smiling all the way. It was very secluded with my being the only vehicle on the road. I loved it.
I stayed on 669 into Gail and got a picture, and then on to Post, (I already had the courthouse in Post). In Post it switched to highway 651 as I continued north through the beautiful landscape with zero traffic. It remained that way until I reached Crosbyton. I got my picture and headed on north toward Floydada.
As I was coming into Floydada (the pumpkin capital for those of you that are interested), I can see that there are a lot of thunderheads popping up all around. It looks like the regular afternoon heating type of storms but it is still mostly sunny. I pull in to the Allsup’s in Floydada for gas and more water. I went to the register with my bottle of water and there was no cashier standing there. I looked up and saw that the four store employees were standing around in a little circle around a radio that they had set up on a counter. One of the girls breaks away from the huddle and comes to the register and I ask, “Is there something going on that I need to know about?” The girl says that they are saying on the radio that there is a tornado coming. Oh really? Coming where? To Floydada. From where? From Plainview. Tornados don’t go southwest. I don’t know but they are saying on the radio that there is one south of Plainview and it is coming this way. Oh great….I am heading to Plainview next.
I headed back out to the pumps and look around at the sky again. Some more thunderheads are around and it’s a little darker toward the northwest as I make the five block run north to the square for a picture. After taking the picture I am looking down putting the camera back into my windshield bag and all of a sudden, things look “funny”. I look back up and the sky has “that tint to it”. Y’all know what it is. We have all lived here long enough to know when we see “that funny tint” to the sky. Crap. I sat down on the curb and put on my rain gear. I look at the courthouse wondering if it had a tornado shelter. It is about five minutes after 5, and as I am sitting on the curb looking, one last lady comes out of the building, locks the doors, and goes to her car. Crap again. Oh well, maybe I can get some cool pictures.
I am now a suited up for rain and I turn on the weather man on my CB as I hit Highway 70 northwest to Plainview. The sky is getting dark in a hurry. The NOAA man is talking about tornados, storm spotters, flooding, the hail and all sorts of havoc going on. I am passing just to the east of the storm and I am in dime size hail. I can see the storm just barely to my left, but I can not see a funnel due to rain. I am probably 1 mile from where the heavy rain is blocking the view. I stopped and took a few pictures of the cloud and then continued on to Plainview. The big black cloud had already passed through here just a few minutes earlier but the sky is still dark and there is water standing all around. It is sprinkling rain as I tried to get a picture of the courthouse, but the sky is still too dark and it is causing the flash to fire on the camera. The flash was messing up the exposure so I turned off the flash and took several with it off for a lighter exposure.
I got back onto the bike and started north toward Tulia and as I got onto Interstate 27 I saw that there was another line of storms ahead. There was almost continuous lightning coming out of it and I thought about heading back into Plainview for the night. I ended up having to go another several miles to the next exit and by then had decided to head on to Tulia. I went through the line of storms with pea size hail and torrential rain but the bike kept running great. With an exposed intake, I can sometime start having a miss when the rain is very heavy. It doesn’t like sucking water into the carb much, but I can put my right foot on the highway peg and cover most of the intake with my leg.
I exited the highway in Tulia and found myself on the back side of this second storm. Like in Plainview, there was water standing in the streets but just a light sprinkle. I went down to the square and got my picture than headed back out toward the highway looking for someplace to spend the night. It was 6:30 pm. As I am heading back toward the highway I passed a county squad car and waived him down. It turned out that it was Emmett Benavidez and he is the chief deputy there in Swisher County. After talking for a while, he directs me to a little motor lodge on the corner of US 87 and hwy 86. He said it was a nice, clean place with good owners. I asked him if he would stay there and he said yes, so that was good enough for me. I have my owl little lodge with a garage for my bike. It was a very clean and updated room and she gave me some old towels to clean up my bike. If you are ever in the neighborhood, I recommend the Lasso Motel in Tulia.
I spent the evening listening to the Weather Channel people talking about the flooding in Canyon just north of me, and checking out the pictures in my camera. I could tell that the pictures in Plainview where I had turned off the flash were blurry. Crap. I guess I have to head back to Plainview.
Day 3
It is 8:15 when I head out back to Plainview. There are showers around but the weather is cool and relatively clear. I head the 20 something miles back down and snap a few pictures then head back north. I head east to Silverton then on toward Caprock Canyon State Park. I am in and out of showers all morning, and when I get to the entrance to the park it is raining. I take a few pictures of a rainbow then head back east to Turkey Texas. Y’all know what Turkey is famous for don’t you? It is the home of Bob Wills.
It is a cute little town with ranchers standing around their pick-up trucks in their starched Wranglers. It was very nice indeed. I took a few pictures in town and then headed south, stopping for my picture in Matador and then on to the square in Dickens.
Dickens is the home of Bob’s Oil well and the famous TC’s Ponderosa Mesquite Smoked Bar-B-Q. I had a jalapeño and cheese German sausage sandwich that was great. I had heard of TC’s but had never been there and it would be worth the trip.
Lunch was great but it was time to hit the road again. It was south to Jayton then on to Aspermont, back north to Guthrie, east to Benjamin. After leaving Benjamin I headed south to Haskell with a stop at the Brazos on Highway 6 for the gratuitous shot of the bike with the iron bridge.
With the picture in Haskell, I am done for this trip. I head on in 380 through Throckmorton and into Graham where I stop for water. When I come back out of the store I see that the thermometer on the bike says 110.It is 5pm. What in the heck possessed me to put a thermometer on the bike anyway?
I head south on the famous Hwy 16. There is almost no traffic and I head through Graford and on down to highway 180. I see quite a few bikes and wonder if any are Two Wheeled Texans. (I figured the 2 old guys on Harleys in their t-shirts with no helmets were not…)
I got home at around 7:15. I was hot tired and brain dead, but I had a good time and enjoyed the little ranch roads with no traffic. The final tally is 1755 miles with 682 on day 1, 541 on day 2 and 532 on day 3. I got 35 courthouse pictures which gives me a total of 240 with 14 to go.
It is good to be home.
I've started my court house tour of Texas. let's see, that only leaves me aahhh..251 to go get! 
