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1998 miles - Big Bend, Guadalupe Peak, Roswell NM

Shame about Boquillas; that used to be a really cool place to cross. The Mexicans would put you in an old beat up aluminum boat and take you across the river for about $2 each, then you would ride a burro into town. In Boquillas you could rent horses. Used to be a B & B there that was dirt cheap and included breakfast, seems like it was only $15 a nite.

Have a lot of good memories in that town drinking a cold Corona and watching the sunset beyond the Boquillas Canyon at the lil cafe in town. Sunset watching at the cafe was a daily ritual for the locals.
 
Closed tight. You can cross officially at Del Rio or Presidio. Nothing in between. There has been talk of opening the bridge at LaLinda, west of the park, but nothing yet . . .

Voni
no smile. so sad.

I don't know why they would open La Linda. The town is dead and there is nothing down the road for a couple hundred miles. I've heard the only reason it was there in the first place was the mine and when that shut down......
 
Shame about Boquillas; that used to be a really cool place to cross. The Mexicans would put you in an old beat up aluminum boat and take you across the river for about $2 each, then you would ride a burro into town. In Boquillas you could rent horses. Used to be a B & B there that was dirt cheap and included breakfast, seems like it was only $15 a nite.

Have a lot of good memories in that town drinking a cold Corona and watching the sunset beyond the Boquillas Canyon at the lil cafe in town. Sunset watching at the cafe was a daily ritual for the locals.

A HUGE loss to the all of the people who visit the park!

Wonderful memories. But no more.

Voni
 
Great trip report. Seeing that snow sure makes it a beautiful place in a different way than it already is.
 
The road to LaLinda is new pavement and it is roak and roll,,, Then turn around and do it again, Its FUN, Trust me!!!!
Mike
 
I woke up in Fort Davis, and spent an hour at the fort. Just one pic:

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Since I missed the star party at the observatory, I did the next best thing and attended their solar viewing at 11AM. The roads were great BUT, I didn't get to enjoy them due to scenes like this around every shady corner:

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This is the 2.7m (107") Harlan J. Smith Telescope in the service position. This telescope requires the user to show up on site to use it. This is unlike the Hobby-Eberly Telescope where users can phone in their requests and have their data e-mailed to them. The Harlan J. Smith Telescope still gets plenty of use because scientists need a vacation too.

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Hobby-Eberly Telescope

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After the telescope fun, I headed north to Guadalupe Mountains National park, on the border of TX and NM.

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Before dark I did a short hike to The Pinery Station remains. This was a stop on the Butterfield trail that linked San Francisco to St. Louis.

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I have a thing for highest points. I am almost finished with highest points for all Central American countries. I have only done a few of the US states, but never Texas. Guadalupe Peak is the highest point in Texas. I can now cross it off my list!

I started at 8AM. This was the first of many false summits.

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UP UP UP:

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Just before the summit I saw this guy:

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Three hours, 4.2 miles later, I made it! The top of Texas at 8,749 feet!

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To paraphrase wikipedia: The pyramid on top is from 1958. It was put there by American Airlines to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Butterfield Overland Mail. One side of the pyramid has the American Airlines logo. The second side displays a U.S. Postal Service tribute to the Pony Express Riders of the Butterfield Stage. The third side displays a compass with the logo of the Boy Scouts of America.

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I highly recomend this hike, but you must be in decent shape. I spent an hour at the top, and then hiked down. I broke camp and made it to Roswell, New Mexico by dark. WHAT A DAY!
 
I spent the morning in Roswell, NM. The town was a bit run down, and not very interesting.

I believe in aliens. I am always up for a good conspiracy theory. I figured the UFO museum and research center would be right up my alley. I was not impressed. The displays were not organized and the interactive ones were not working. Lots of info, just bad presentation. Then there was the cheese factor too (witch I kind of liked).

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The night before I had planed 300 mile loop in the mountains to the West. The news reported 40 MPH sustained winds, with gusts up to 65 MPH. Would this be a problem???

YES!

I made it 50 miles west of Roswell only to be turned around by the wind! :eek2: I stopped on the shoulder and could hardly keep the bike up. I felt like such a pansy, but it was not physically possible to stay in my lane. I made the decision to turn around and head for home :giveup:.

Here is the only picture I have from my retreat from the winds:

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Here is a quick shot of the windmills at sunset in Abilene, TX (still windy):

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I grabbed a motel 6 in Abilene, TX. I was so close to home but it had been a long day, I was exhausted from the wind. It was the safe thing to do.

The next morning I made the quick trip home to Grapevine. As I turned down my street, I checked the odometer. 1998 miles. I considered cheating and making the block for my last 2 miles....to heck with it...I am home! :-P

Thanks for reading! :sun:
 
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Great ride Jeff! Did you sell your CB750?

I still have the Nighthawk. She just got some new rubber last week. Some might argue that the larger bike would be better for touring, but I disagree. Different, but not better. I love that little ninja...although I have been checking out the used Concours recently. :trust:
 
I still have the Nighthawk. She just got some new rubber last week. Some might argue that the larger bike would be better for touring, but I disagree. Different, but not better. I love that little ninja...although I have been checking out the used Concours recently. :trust:

Yep, I know what you mean. I still prefer the lighter bikes. I sat on an FJR this morning. Very tempting.

You planning a ride to the Darien Gap anytime in the near future?

Mike
 
:thumb: On the December 2008 Jeff trip

where will the January 2009 Jeff trip be going?

Oh, congrats on the engagement to an Arlington gal! :clap:
 
Z nice report and congrats. Wished I had known you were in the hood. I have extra rooms you could have used.

If anyone else is planning on being in the Carlsbad, NM area....the spare rooms are available untill the end of May. Then I'm heading home to Texas. :clap:
 
Awesome Jeff! Loved the report and pics. :clap: Big Bend is close to the top of the short list of places I must ride.

Yeah, I've been to the museum in Roswell too and I'm convinced . . . . . . .




. . . . . . . that they're convinced! :rofl:
 
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