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No matter how many times I travel out to the Big Bend area, I strive to visit some places I haven't been before. This year's trip included a ride to the end of FM 170, a hike into Santa Elena Canyon, and a visit to a unique architectural spot in Marathon.
Here we go ...
The goal of day one was to make maximum progress westward. A friend recommended a slight detour from the I-10 to Fort Stockton to Marathon route that I generally take. Ranch Roads 1217 and 2400 out of Sheffield to Sanderson had some nice curves and altitude changes. Just east of Sheffield on Highway 290 is Fort Lancaster, established in 1855 to guard the San Antonio–El Paso stagecoach route and to protect movement of supplies and immigrants coming to the area. The fort was abandoned March 19, 1861, after Texas seceded from the Union.
Crumbs from day 1.
After a nice night in at the Marathon Motel and a first-class dinner at the Gauge Hotel (cost more the motel room!), it was off to Ft. Davis via Alpine and Marfa. In Alpine, this old warehouse is now home to the Big Bend Cowboy Church where there was a rollicking good time going on this Sunday morning.
Off US Highway 90 is the Marfa Lights Viewing Area.
In 1971, artist Donald Judd rented a home in Marfa. The place hasn’t been the same since. Ultimately, he purchased essentially all of Marfa, and his minimalist, industrial aesthetic influence has become pervasive. While the Art Mob infusion has led to higher property values and lots of press about Marfa, I have yet to find anything here that interests me.
I set up camp in the Davis Mountain State Park (good to unload all the gear of the motorcycle) and headed back into Ft. Davis to look for lunch. Nel’s Coffee Shop served up an outstanding egg salad sandwich and with a happy stomach, I headed out to do the famous 118 loop through the Davis Mountains.
One of four research telescopes at the McDonald Observatory, the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) is currently the world’s fourth largest optical telescope. While I seemed to recall that November is one of the driest months in West Texas, these clouds around the HET would indicate otherwise.
Thankfully, the rain didn’t hit until I was almost back into Ft. Davis, where I was able to hide underneath the awning of the grocery store. My friends coming from Houston and Lake Jackson would later tell me that they had long stretches of near-monsoon rain. After picking up a well-deserved 6-pack of Shiner beer, it was back to the camp site which had seen not a drop of rain.
Camp site 68 is the closest to the Indian Lodge where everyone else was staying. I have learned that the Black Bear Restaurant at the lodge works best with simple things, particularly when there is a large group of half-drunk motorcyclist, so I dined on a very average cheeseburger and fries.
Crumbs from day 2.
Having already rode through Pinto Canyon as well as the dirt road parts of Highway 169 (Casa Piedra Road) on earlier trips (and having nightmares of narcotrafficantes on hijacked BMWs) I decided to stick to the paved road to Presidio. Jeff and Marc prepare for their trip to the Basin at Big Bend.
Just north of Presidio is the town of Shafter which started as a mining site in 1880. At one point, the population swelled to over 1500, driven by the nearby Cavalry Fort D. A. Russell and Marfa Army Air Field. Today the population is about 20. Like Marfa, Shafter has a claim-to-fame in the movies – in 1968, parts of “The Andromeda Strain” were filmed here. The Catholic Church was pretty quiet on this fine Monday morning, as was the rest of Shafter.
In Presidio, rather than head east on 170 (the River Road) like 99.99% of the travelers do, I turned right. 36 miles down the road is the town of Ruidosa, which serves as the southern terminus of Pinto Canyon Road. I blinked and missed Ruidosa, but continued on for 12 miles to the ranching community of Candaleria which is the absolute end of the paved part of FM170. In 1910, the population of Candelaria peaked at 543. Today there are around 50 people who call it home.
Southwest of FM170 I spot several of these strangely-eroded mounds which at first glance looked man-made.
Coming back through Ruidosa I stop at the ruins of the Church. Built around 1914, its three large arches are considered the largest existing round-structural adobe arches in the state. At one time Ruidosa had several hundred residents. Today, there are less than 20 – none of which I have ever seen.
An exhilarating ride on FM 170 to Lajitas and into Big Bend National Park, then down the Old Maverick Road, left me at Santa Elena Canyon. I took off the Sidi boots and slipped on some sneakers and headed across the river to the canyon viewing trail.
Last year about this same time, the water would have been about 20 feet over my head.
In some spots the canyon walls, formed from an uplifted block of Cretaceous limestone, soar 1,500 feet above the Rio Grande.
Heading to the Chisos Basin via the wonderful Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, I pass by Mule Ear Peaks, two rhyolite dikes that have eroded into the shapes of mule ears. In the 1930s, Army Air Corps pilots stationed in the park used to flying between the peaks – yeehaw!
Crumbs from day 3.
Day 4 is a hike around the Chisos Mountains. Marc and I get a chance to catch up on the 14.5 mile hike. While the trail conditions and weather were perfect, I still miss the 100-mile views we had 15 years ago.
Day five starts the trip back home to Austin, with a night planned at the Frio Canyon Lodge in Leakey. But first we had to visit Eve’s Garden in Marathon. This “Organic Bed & Breakfast” claims to combine “elements of art, architecture, and ecology … to provide a comfortable Bed and Breakfast environment and a conversational forum to address issues regarding the ecology we live in.” The place is rather amazing, with brightly painted strawbale walls, verdant patios, and Clyde.
Clyde T. Curry shows us one of the rooms. He was busy making strawbale bricks when we arrived but took a cigarette break and showed us around.
Across the street from Eve's is the St. Mary’s Catholic Church which moved into this building in 1909. The tiled Virgin Mary blesses our ride back home.
Crumbs from day 5.
Crumbs from day 6.
Total miles was about 1550.
Cheers,
Ben
Here we go ...
The goal of day one was to make maximum progress westward. A friend recommended a slight detour from the I-10 to Fort Stockton to Marathon route that I generally take. Ranch Roads 1217 and 2400 out of Sheffield to Sanderson had some nice curves and altitude changes. Just east of Sheffield on Highway 290 is Fort Lancaster, established in 1855 to guard the San Antonio–El Paso stagecoach route and to protect movement of supplies and immigrants coming to the area. The fort was abandoned March 19, 1861, after Texas seceded from the Union.
Crumbs from day 1.
After a nice night in at the Marathon Motel and a first-class dinner at the Gauge Hotel (cost more the motel room!), it was off to Ft. Davis via Alpine and Marfa. In Alpine, this old warehouse is now home to the Big Bend Cowboy Church where there was a rollicking good time going on this Sunday morning.
Off US Highway 90 is the Marfa Lights Viewing Area.
In 1971, artist Donald Judd rented a home in Marfa. The place hasn’t been the same since. Ultimately, he purchased essentially all of Marfa, and his minimalist, industrial aesthetic influence has become pervasive. While the Art Mob infusion has led to higher property values and lots of press about Marfa, I have yet to find anything here that interests me.
I set up camp in the Davis Mountain State Park (good to unload all the gear of the motorcycle) and headed back into Ft. Davis to look for lunch. Nel’s Coffee Shop served up an outstanding egg salad sandwich and with a happy stomach, I headed out to do the famous 118 loop through the Davis Mountains.
One of four research telescopes at the McDonald Observatory, the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) is currently the world’s fourth largest optical telescope. While I seemed to recall that November is one of the driest months in West Texas, these clouds around the HET would indicate otherwise.
Thankfully, the rain didn’t hit until I was almost back into Ft. Davis, where I was able to hide underneath the awning of the grocery store. My friends coming from Houston and Lake Jackson would later tell me that they had long stretches of near-monsoon rain. After picking up a well-deserved 6-pack of Shiner beer, it was back to the camp site which had seen not a drop of rain.
Camp site 68 is the closest to the Indian Lodge where everyone else was staying. I have learned that the Black Bear Restaurant at the lodge works best with simple things, particularly when there is a large group of half-drunk motorcyclist, so I dined on a very average cheeseburger and fries.
Crumbs from day 2.
Having already rode through Pinto Canyon as well as the dirt road parts of Highway 169 (Casa Piedra Road) on earlier trips (and having nightmares of narcotrafficantes on hijacked BMWs) I decided to stick to the paved road to Presidio. Jeff and Marc prepare for their trip to the Basin at Big Bend.
Just north of Presidio is the town of Shafter which started as a mining site in 1880. At one point, the population swelled to over 1500, driven by the nearby Cavalry Fort D. A. Russell and Marfa Army Air Field. Today the population is about 20. Like Marfa, Shafter has a claim-to-fame in the movies – in 1968, parts of “The Andromeda Strain” were filmed here. The Catholic Church was pretty quiet on this fine Monday morning, as was the rest of Shafter.
In Presidio, rather than head east on 170 (the River Road) like 99.99% of the travelers do, I turned right. 36 miles down the road is the town of Ruidosa, which serves as the southern terminus of Pinto Canyon Road. I blinked and missed Ruidosa, but continued on for 12 miles to the ranching community of Candaleria which is the absolute end of the paved part of FM170. In 1910, the population of Candelaria peaked at 543. Today there are around 50 people who call it home.
Southwest of FM170 I spot several of these strangely-eroded mounds which at first glance looked man-made.
Coming back through Ruidosa I stop at the ruins of the Church. Built around 1914, its three large arches are considered the largest existing round-structural adobe arches in the state. At one time Ruidosa had several hundred residents. Today, there are less than 20 – none of which I have ever seen.
An exhilarating ride on FM 170 to Lajitas and into Big Bend National Park, then down the Old Maverick Road, left me at Santa Elena Canyon. I took off the Sidi boots and slipped on some sneakers and headed across the river to the canyon viewing trail.
Last year about this same time, the water would have been about 20 feet over my head.
In some spots the canyon walls, formed from an uplifted block of Cretaceous limestone, soar 1,500 feet above the Rio Grande.
Heading to the Chisos Basin via the wonderful Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, I pass by Mule Ear Peaks, two rhyolite dikes that have eroded into the shapes of mule ears. In the 1930s, Army Air Corps pilots stationed in the park used to flying between the peaks – yeehaw!
Crumbs from day 3.
Day 4 is a hike around the Chisos Mountains. Marc and I get a chance to catch up on the 14.5 mile hike. While the trail conditions and weather were perfect, I still miss the 100-mile views we had 15 years ago.
Day five starts the trip back home to Austin, with a night planned at the Frio Canyon Lodge in Leakey. But first we had to visit Eve’s Garden in Marathon. This “Organic Bed & Breakfast” claims to combine “elements of art, architecture, and ecology … to provide a comfortable Bed and Breakfast environment and a conversational forum to address issues regarding the ecology we live in.” The place is rather amazing, with brightly painted strawbale walls, verdant patios, and Clyde.
Clyde T. Curry shows us one of the rooms. He was busy making strawbale bricks when we arrived but took a cigarette break and showed us around.
Across the street from Eve's is the St. Mary’s Catholic Church which moved into this building in 1909. The tiled Virgin Mary blesses our ride back home.
Crumbs from day 5.
Crumbs from day 6.
Total miles was about 1550.
Cheers,
Ben
