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Big Bend III

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Ross Maxwell Drive

Yea baby, we were going to burn up the sides of the knobbies on some asphalt.

Gotta work on those chicken strips, don’t ya know!

I’m sure many of you have traveled the route, but for those that have not, we swept southward like a formation of jets, rising and falling and twisting with the change in the landscape as we plunged deeper into the park.

Looking east down the giant S curve that drops you off the upper plateau into the river basin.

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I stopped and Skinny didn’t, so it wasn’t long before he returned.

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I asked him to head to the bottom to give some scale to the photos, so off he went. I think I said in his introduction that he admits to being a frustrated road racer and this road was made for racing, assuming one did not run across any constabulary.

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Who could ask for more beautiful weather?

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We grabbed a quick Coke (Dr Pepper for me, thank you) at the Castolon Store and headed out for Santa Elena Canyon.

Let me backtrack for a moment ...

Remember the group from yesterday morning ... they had received tickets for going around a closed gate on Old Maverick Road, so we had asked and been assured that we could use the road, but ... the road between Castolon and Santa Elena would likely be flooded.

Now, flooded roads should not be a problem for a dual sport, but there is a problem when Terlingua Creek floods ... septic systems overflow. Yep, you read that right ... sewage ... yum, so ... don’t hurry and dang sure don’t fall down was the word for the moment as we crossed the low spots. It did force the Harleys to turn about, which was a good thing and they were wobbling down the road like a bunch of Weebles. Well, maybe not, because I believe many of them would have fallen over from the weight of the leather, if forward motion got too low.

In any case, we got to the parking lot to find a few rentals ... that fits ... and a few camper/pick ups.

A quick look see to confirm that the creek was too soggy of a mess to attempt in full gear and we were soon on Old Maverick Road heading north to the west entrance to the park. Skinny pulled up on my left and we set sail. The DR made me proud. Skinny clearly had more horses under the hood, but I made up for my weaknesses with my general diregard for potential punishment that I might have to absorb, should I use the ground for a body stoppie.

It wasn’t long before we gobbled up the 15 miles between us and the West Entrance and we cooled our jets awaiting Gary’s arrival.

Regrouped, we headed to Study Butte and the Motel.

Gary had not seen much of the area as this was only his second trip to Big Bend, so after a shower, we headed out and traveled the best part of SH 170 ... to the big hill and back.

Looking up at the big hill from the up river side.

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Group shot ... my bad, I should have stood beside Gary.

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The camera does not do the slope justice.

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Looking northward towards Lajitas

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Remember DOM from the Kevin Costner movie?

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Dinner that night was NOT at the Starlight as they were hosting a private wedding party. We grabbed Mexican at a forgettable little place that shall remain unnamed.

Well, like Roy Rogers said, we have come to the end of the trail for Big Bend III.

Big Bend IV cannot be far around the corner and I have received a couple of complaints that I have not properly introduced myself, so I will do so, as soon as I can get a head shot “on location”, which will be the Queen to Cloudcroft Ride.

Go in peace, but wear body armor.
 
Yep, going there in a few weeks with a group of friends. I have never been there with a bike. It looks like a fun place to ride.
 
Teeds said:
Yep, going there in a few weeks with a group of friends. I have never been there with a bike. It looks like a fun place to ride.
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One of the few advantages of living in "God Forsaken" West Texas is that it's less than 4 hrs to the Sacramento Mountains...about mid-July when you're near heat stroke from the constant 100 deg. weather, a few days up there at 8000 ft. is hard to beat...it used to be a local secret, but word got out years ago and now it gets objectionably crowded on any holiday...
 
Teeds said:
Yep, going there in a few weeks with a group of friends. I have never been there with a bike. It looks like a fun place to ride.
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I was planning on going to Cloudcroft in July.It will be my first time there, if we make it. My group will be motor homing it up there, and not sure what kind of M/H spaces they have. Would you mind being my point man,and take notes about when and where, and all that stuff? If you'll do that, I'll dance at your next wedding.
 
Outlaw6Guy said:
I was planning on going to Cloudcroft in July.It will be my first time there, if we make it. My group will be motor homing it up there, and not sure what kind of M/H spaces they have. Would you mind being my point man,and take notes about when and where, and all that stuff? If you'll do that, I'll dance at your next wedding.
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Depending on the weekend, can I come too? It is 355 miles for me.
 
Outlaw6Guy said:
Most definitely Adam. We were talking about maybe sometime between 4th and 8th of July. Have you been there before, and will those dates work for you?
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I shall PM you to help keep this on topic.
 
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