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Another West Texas Ride

Joined
Oct 19, 2006
Messages
8,250
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36
Location
Big sky country; Ronan, MT
First Name
Bruce
Last Name
Taylor
What does one do with 5 days and no work to get in the way? A road trip to Big Bend is always a good plan. We left at the end of the shift around noon on 10/14. Myself, Perry and Chris with his barely broke in '09 Street Glide in Black Pearl finish. It's a beautiful machine and that pearl paint really looks good in the sun.
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I caught a breif rain shower on the way to Chris's house where we met up to start the trip. We caught a couple more sprinkles on the way out west before the skies parted to give us a nice blue sky. First stop for a little mid-day snack was Burnet for a kolaches. Gude's is good!
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Perry and Chris
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Westward bound.
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We've been to Big Bend several times and we are always looking for new routes to get us there. This time we opted to ride out 29 to Mason and head southwest on 377 all the way to Del Rio where we would go west on 90. We try to avoid I 10 if possible and tend to cruise on the back roads. Here is the track for the first day on the road.
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Since it was after noon when we left we would arrive at Del Rio just before sunset. This is the first crossing of Amistad Res.
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We ran into town for food and fuel and pointed NW toward our destination for the night; Seminole Canyon State Park. It was already past sunset. I wanted to play with the Zumo some and caught this screen shot.
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The screen automatically switches to night mode at sunset, pretty cool. Just after the Border Patrol check point we were treated to this sunset for the rest of the ride to the park.

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It was dark arriving in the park but we were blessed with a full moon which was bright enough that we could pitch tents without much help from lights. Bright enough that we had to use rain flies for a little shade.

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Well, at least two of us did. Chris opted for the open air feel and stargazing through the roof of his tent. Around 0230 he was up deploying his rain fly in the rain. :doh: We caught a couple of showers through the night with temps dropping into a nice cool range for good sleeping.

The second day we would ride to Study Butte. That should wet your appetite. Next post may be delayed a bit. I'll post more when I get a chance. :trust:
 
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Nah, it ain't gonna rain. I'll be fine. lmao.

Hey keep the report coming and thanks.
 
The Second Day

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We awoke to overcast and cool temperatures. We loaded up and took the opportunity to check out the park. This windmill was along the park road.

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This statue is supposed to be inspired by the native American shamans.
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From the park HQ we took a short 1/3 mile hike down to the canyon. I'll have to go back sometime and take the guided tour that actually goes into the canyon but from the rim it's still a nice place to see.

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From the park it was only a few miles up the road to the high bridge over the Pecos River.

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There was some construction on the bridge which was shut down to one lane in each direction. They were repairing the decking in the east bound lane.

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The ride to Sanderson, about an hour, was cold, windy, and had some light rain. We were all chilled a little on arrival. Fuel first and we checked with some locals for a good diner. A couple that were there earlier in the summer had since closed up. We settled on The Eagle's Nest. Good cheeseburgers but not a whole lot of variety in the menu.

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Back on the road we continued west to Marathon where we took 385 south toward the park. Just outside of town there was a sign saying FM170 was closed ahead due to flood damage and that all except local traffic had to detour. :shrug: This made no sense from here so we rode on. Just before the park we took FM2627, the road to nowhere. This is a 30 or so mile trip to a closed border crossing bridge and the abandoned Mexican town of La Linda.
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The damage from the recent flooding was evident in the high water marks and the erosion of the river bank.

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While at the bridge we met up with a friend of ours, guy we met last trip out here, who invited us up to his place to sit a spell. We enjoyed his hospitality, cold drinks, from his picnic table.

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After about an hour we said our farewells and rode back towards the park. Time for a little requisite posing at the park entrance.

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Being a Wednesday both the entrance gate and the visitor center were closed so we rode on to Panther Junction. Either the elevation was getting higher or the clouds were getting lower or maybe a little of both.

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We gassed up at Panther Junction and opted to check out the Chisos Basin. This was along the road heading up to Panther Pass.

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Once over the pass and into the basin the clouds were doing interesting things. They would break for a minute letting the sun through. Then close up again.

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At one point before we left the clouds were pouring over the northern rim and flowing like a water fall into the basin.

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It was getting late in the afternoon so we went on in to Study Butte and on to Terlingua for dinner. Of course, we went to the Starlight.

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We got cold drinks from the store and took our seat amongst all the other liars on the front porch. We tried to get info regarding the condition of FM 170 after the flooding from the local experts. :rofl: We got every answer from "no problem, it's open" to "totally impassable, don't waste your time just ride around". Talking amongst ourselves at dinner we determined we would just have to go find the answer on our own. That would be the third day.

Edit: Adding track for second day. :doh:

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The Third Day; River Road to Presidio

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We spent the night at the Big Bend Motor Lodge. Morning brought scattered clouds but no rain. I can live with that. We opted for breakfast at the Chile Pepper Cafe across the highway from the hotel. Chiliquilles:eat:yummm.

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We met a guy that was up from Houston on his Connie, a sweet machine indeed.

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And Perry's riding partner was hangin' in there just fine.

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Breakfast on board and patches of blue sky ahead we pointing the bikes west towards Lajitas and FM 170 beyond. We were ready for and adventure. This is my view from the Intruder LC.

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We passed through Lajitas without incident. The only indication of the flooding was the road down to the general store was closed. As we left town we stopped and looked back toward the town to see the high water mark of the river.

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It really was turning out to be a nice day.

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Looking back east toward the rest stop.

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And of course we had to stop at the top of the big hill to take in the vista.

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We rode on. There were many indicators of the recent flooding in the low lying areas. The road had been cleared of most of the mud and all that remained in the bottoms was a fine coating of silt. I'm used to eating the dust from these two when we are out riding dual sport bikes but this time I had to drift back to avoid the dust being kicked up on the street. This was the worst of the wash out areas. We actually had a water crossing. :rider:

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We rode on. Finally, west of Redford, we saw where the county had made a detour. We stayed on 170 just to see. A little further we came upon the road closed barricades. As luck would have it there was an old man walking along the road with his dogs.

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This is the kind of guy you want to hit up for information. He was walking to Presidio like any other day. Perry asked him if that was a long walk and he said, "not too bad. I walked to Six Flags before." :eek2: He would tell us that the road was indeed not safe for cars. However, no problemo for motorcycles. So, we rode on.

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There were more barricades but there was always a gap wide enough to get the bikes through. The bad section of road had cracks about 3 inches wide where the base had been undermined and the surface had begun to pull apart. All of this was in the eastbound lane. There was plenty of room along the shoulder of the west bound side to pass without worry. As we got closer to Presidio we rode through sections where the high water mark was above our heads along the sides of the highway but the road surface was fine.

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Finally made it to Presidio, no problemo.

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We rode north toward Marfa but first made a stop at Shafter to see the cemetary. This is interesting for the shallow grave sites covered with piles of rocks. An appropriate stop for this time of year.

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We had to do a little dual sport riding to get back in there. A dirt road with a slimy water crossing. So, like all good dual sport riders, I went ahead and set up to catch any water related incidents on the camera.

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Sorry, nothing to report here. All passed without incident. :yawn: On to Marfa and a stop for lunch. We chose the Pizza Foundation.

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I had read good things about this place but had yet been able to give it a try. Last time there was a two hour wait and we didn't have the time. Time wasn't a problem this trip and there was no long wait. We place our order and took our seat. The joint is a converted service station. Not exactly on the level judging by my glass of tea.

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We moved to a better spot when one became available and all was better. Pizza soon arrived and I was a happy biker. :eat:

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I thought it was really good. A very thin and crispy crust with just the right amount of sauce and fresh toppings. Almost as good as my all time favorite pizza place in Salida, CO; Amica's. Amica's wins out since it is also a micro brewery. :trust:

After lunch we took 90 east to Alpine and caught 118 north to Ft. Davis. The clouds were breaking up, the sun was shining through and it was really turning in to a beautiful day.

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At Ft. Davis we went south a bit to catch 166 and 118 to ride the scenic loop around the Davis Mountains. You could not have asked for better weather.

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We paused for a break at the picnic area to stretch a bit and enjoy the area since we had plenty of time.

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McDonald Observatory

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It was around 5 when we arrived at Davis Mountains State Park. We had a room at the Indian Lodge and went to check in. Along with the javelina we had this guy as a visitor.

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The view from our front porch.

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After dinner at the Black Bear Restaurant we rode up to the overlook for the sunset.

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A great day with a little adventure thrown in. Topped off by a neighbor at the lodge that provided our cold beverages for the evening. :clap: Perfect!


I'll continue at a more reasonable hour of the day.

Edit: Added track for this day.

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So cool! learned more from this report than... well, I live here and I did not know!!! I will go check it out... in a few minutes...
Be well... Ara & Spirit
 
Great report and pics, keep it up.
We went to west Texas for the Pie Run to the Black Bear resturant at the SP. Rode some of the roads you did, and did a Star Party at the observatory.
We also went in '06 rode the river road all the way from Strudy Butte to Presido. Rode past Presido to Candelaria at the end of the paved part of RR170. Then turned around and came back. Saw the Marfa Lights that evening on the way back to Alpine. We also rode 166 and went for a tour of the observatory one day.
Marty
 
So cool! learned more from this report than... well, I live here and I did not know!!! I will go check it out... in a few minutes...
Be well... Ara & Spirit

Thanks Ara,
That's quite a compliment coming from such an accomplished adventurer as you are. Enjoy your exploring. :mrgreen:
 
Great report and pics, keep it up.
We went to west Texas for the Pie Run to the Black Bear resturant at the SP. Rode some of the roads you did, and did a Star Party at the observatory.
We also went in '06 rode the river road all the way from Strudy Butte to Presido. Rode past Presido to Candelaria at the end of the paved part of RR170. Then turned around and came back. Saw the Marfa Lights that evening on the way back to Alpine. We also rode 166 and went for a tour of the observatory one day.
Marty

It's all good. If you make the trip to Candelaria again make sure to stop at the store in Ruidosa. Nice guy runs the place and a cool drink is always welcome in that part of the world.
 
It's all good. If you make the trip to Candelaria again make sure to stop at the store in Ruidosa. Nice guy runs the place and a cool drink is always welcome in that part of the world.

Funny thing we did stop there for exactly that, and a pic of the church ruins next to it. We had to get a pic of the church in Candelaria also. They were check points for ride we were doing. There was a old lady at the store then, we got a cold drink and talked with her a bit. Seems like I heard she was trying to sell the store or her son took it over? I don't remember which.
Marty
 
Her son has been running it for the last couple of years. She's been sick and unable to do much. He's been adding some cool tamped earth walls using old tires and doing a lot of stucco and tile work around the place.
 
The fourth day

The plan for today was to make it to Junction for one more night on the road before heading home. We had called ahead to reserve a room since it was Friday night. A nice bright sunshiny morning, but it was cold. Perry had some frost on his luggage which he left outside overnight. We bundled up and rode into town for breakfast.

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The Drug Store in Ft. Davis is always a good choice. :eat: This morning for me it would be a couple of eggs with fresh blueberry pancakes. :eat: Perry had a monstrous omelet with just about everything imaginable in it. I cant' recall what Chris had. :shrug: It's all good in there. After gorging on the food we got ready for the ride. This is when we had the first real problem of the trip. Something about Ft. Davis: last trip my GPS locked up in Ft. Davis. :ponder: As Chris went to get the insulated gloves out of his saddlebag, the lid nearly came off in his hand. :eek2: Here's the deal: There are five screws that hold the hinge onto the lid of the side bag. When the dealer was prepping his bike they had gouged the finish on the left side hard bag. When they replaced the lid they obviously did not reapply the lock-tite to the screws. Now there was only one holding the lid on. You can see the problem in this photo.

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He found one wedged into the hinge so he had two. That would be enough if he could get it put back together. Problem: The screws are #15 torx heads. And, of course, there is not such critter in the factory tool kit. :doh: Perry asked an old guy about an auto parts store and got directions and a couple good stories of his days riding and Indian Chief between Ft. Sill and Waco back in the day. The auto parts store was a strike out. No wrench and no additional screws. The local high school shop had bought their wrench inventory. But we got directions to the hardware store. :clap:

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They had the right size torx socket and a small 1/4" driver. They did not stock any of that size screw so the two would have to do. A tube of lock-tite and time to get to work. Perry lent a hand while I documented the whole occasion.

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The first one went in no problem. The second was a different story. The hinge would not swing open enough to get the driver into a position to be used. Plan B was using a pair of pliers to turn the socket and tighten the screw. It worked and all was tightened up and secured.

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And now since everything was going to be OK for the ride home it was time to bring out the jokes about parts falling off of Harleys. :rofl: Something about needing a length of chain and a magnet to drag behind to catch the parts as they fall off. :lol2: Chris took it all in good spirits and vowed to not let the dealer's "technicians" ever touch his bike again.

Ready to roll again it was time to head east. Our only goal for the day was Junction so the hour plus delay wasn't a big deal. But the only real option to get there was slabbing it along I 10. Not the best way but better than some roads I've ridden. First was a scenic and quite enjoyable ride north through Wild Rose Canyon.

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As we dropped elevation and the sun gained elevation it was getting noticeably warmer. Just in time we arrived at Balmorhea State Park. time to stop, shed some layers, and get a drink before hitting the super slab.

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It was a nice ride as interstate highways go. Not much traffic and awesome riding conditions. Absolutely no wind this whole day. Wonderful.

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One of Perry's favorite little hills. Guess it's name. ;-)

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We rode pretty steady with a break at this famous rest stop.

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Finally arrived in Junction with time to spare and a room at the Hills.

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Time for some relaxing with some Medelo Especial before the catfish special at Isaac's.

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We ended the day with a walk around downtown Junction after dinner and after they had rolled up the sidewalks and turned off the lights. The old truss bridge was undergoing sandblasting and repainting. Interesting to see. An easy day of riding. It's all good.

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The Fifth and Last Day...of this ride.

We were blessed with another morning that brought bright blue sky and very little wind. At this point in the ride, the last leg of the trip, it's always a challenge to come up with a route that we had not been on before on previous trips. I pulled out the paper backup GPS and we put our heads together. A plan was hatched and after breakfast at Isaac's we were on our way. Here is the track from our day. Not exactly the most efficient route but where's the fun in that? ;-)

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This turned out to be a great way to get here from there. :rider: Lots of winding country roads through the hills. LOTS of deer. Overall very nice.

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And as fate would have it we ended up here right at lunch time. :eat: I love it when a plan comes together.

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We needed more adventure so we opted for a little more dual sporting on the mega pigs. Chris and Perry have a friend with a small ranch in the area so a call was made and a plan was thrown together. And, down the dirt road we went.

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OK, time to head home.

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We made all the requisite roads on the way home. Park Road 4 and 1431.

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And finally back to where we started and the last chance to see Chris drop his new Harley. Not today. He had made it through water crossings, dirt, gravel, a little mud and some green algae slime without incident. We need to get him back on dirt where he falls down more. :-P

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It's all good. :zen:

What's next? :shrug: Stay tuned. :trust:
 
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