Big Bend, Nov 1st-10th

[Texas_ADV]

Nov. 1st

Nothing super crazy, a simple ride from Houston out to Kerrville. Took a nice meandering route, stopping in San Marcos for lunch. Evening in Kerrville we stay with some family and enjoyed a nice meal at Mamacitas. Still not 100% sure about the neon green, green sauce though……

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[Texas_ADV]

Nov. 2nd

Headed south out of Kerrville, riding TX-16 meeting up with 337 down to Hwy 90. Stopped in Del Rio for a nice light lunch at Salas Better Burger. After lunch it was a huge chunk of slab until we hit Marathon. Once we reach Marathon we hung a left, it was the home stretch and Big Bend was near!! We made it to Chisos Basin Campground, get all setup and ready for the next days activities.

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[Texas_ADV]

Nov. 3rd

Woke up to some fog rolling over the mountains of the basin. We were in no rush and as we started we road north to Dagger Flat and onto Old Ore Road, the off-road adventure has begun! On the blacktop headed north we saw a momma bear and her 2 cubs to west. Old Ore road was a fun ride, super dry with a decent amount of sand. Ask my cohort….. After conquering Old Ore we headed down to the Rio Grande Village. After getting much needed snacks and refueling we headed back towards the basin, but not without heading out to the Boquillas Canyon Overlook. Arrived in camp (seriously the road in and out each day was amazing), the cold rolled in and turned what was going to be a night of celebration into tent huddling and an early night.

 

[Texas_ADV]

Nov. 4th

The basin sure held in the cold, but the show must go on! We casually got around (and warmed up) and headed out to Study Butte to see what was in the area. Asked some locals where to eat and Lajitas we went! Raced out to Lajitas, and enjoyed a great meal. With full stomachs we headed back into the park and headed south down to the Castolon Visitor Center. Great piece of blacktop with great views (I mean there aren’t really any BAD views). Stopping at the Castolon Visitor Center we read about the history and the fire that occurred. Onward we went heading out to the Santa Elena Canyon and finally saw the Rio Grande! Was a very pretty area and would have been a great hike, but motorcycle gear doesn’t quite cut it for a good hike. Back to the Basin we went for our final evening there.

 

[Texas_ADV]

Nov. 5th

Super easy day, we woke up, enjoyed a hot breakfast and packed up camp. After all packed up we headed in to Study Butte for some Tex-Mex at Chile Pepper Café and boy did it not disappoint! With full bellies we headed out to Terlingua Ranch Lodge for a nice bed and shower. After getting settled in we headed to the Bad Bunny Restaurant filled up and gathered supplies for the evening star gazing!

 

[Texas_ADV]

Nov. 6th

With a good night’s sleep, we got geared up and headed on 170 out to Presidio! Man, what a stretch of pavement this is!! I get why everyone in the area asked us if we road this stretch yet. The views, ups and downs, twists and turns were plenty. Reaching Presidio we stopped and grabbed a bit before the returning on 170. We got back to the lodge and were going to hit up the Bad Bunny again but sadly were shut down. Good thing there was an extra dehydrated camping meal for dinner and evening supplies were grabbed in Study Butte. Got a campfire rolling for another evening of star gazing and final night before returning to the tent.

 

[Texas_ADV]

Nov. 7th

Packed up and refreshed we headed north on TX-118 to Alpine and grabbed a great bit of pie! Filled up we continued onward to Fort Davis to Davis Mountain State Park. The signage was a bit different advertising the Indian Lodge more, so we kept cruising on TX-118 past the McDonald observatory before deciding the Indian Lodge must have been it. The highway stretch was super fun so zero complaints there. After getting camp setup we headed into town and enjoyed a meal at the Fort Davis Drug Store. Grabbed some instant light charcoal to enjoy some campfire ********ting since wood fires were not permitted but charcoal was okay….. While sitting there enjoying the warmth and company about 6-7 javelinas rolled through, a couple skunks came to check things out, and a bobcat(?) or some other wild cat stopped by to investigate. Picked a campground near the creek that ran through, but it was dry so I’m sure it was a bit of an animal highway.

 

[Texas_ADV]

Nov. 8th

Woke up, started the charcoal again to warm up and grill up some sausage. Energized and ready to roll we headed north on TX-118 again. At a nice brisk cruise about 20-30 yards ahead of me a large male ram darted across the road and up the other side. Keeping onward through the tight twists up the mountain and back down we headed south on TX-166 towards Marfa. Upon reaching Marfa (and cell service) we pinpointed the areas hottest shopping center, and we were westward bound! After stopping to do some window shopping we returned back and did the “scenic loop” which it turns out is TX-166 and TX-118 again around Davis mountain. But with the view and bends in the road who were we to complain? We stretched out TX-118 north the Kent to see if maybe we can catch a late lunch and it turns out Kent is merely a stop on I-10 for FedEx trucks to hand-off trailers. I give it a -1 out of 10, do not recommend. We headed back to camp and road up the mountain to the scenic overlook and boy were we not disappointed, we could see all around and for miles it seemed. We slowly road back down and into town for dinner again, we were hoping to check out the bar across from the Drug Store but apparently Monday’s they are closed so to the Drug Store again before returning to camp with more charcoal for more chatter on the trip.

 

[Texas_ADV]

Nov. 9th

All good things must come to an end including our adventure. We awoke to a nice brisk morning to hit the highway by 7:30 to reach Kerrville before dark. Refueling in Alpine we kept onwards but that fog and bitter air required a stop in Sanderson to layer up. The droning of the wind going 78-80 along Hwy-90 to Del Rio made for a long morning. Ready for a break we stopped at Julio’s, yes the Julio with the chips and enjoyed some Tex-Mex before continuing onward to Kerrville. We could have gone the same route out, or we could entrust Garmin and their “adventure” routing to lead the way. Garmin didn’t let us down taking us a different route up to 337 and back into town.

 

[Texas_ADV]

Nov. 10th

I’ll be honest, this was nothing fun or sexy. I was ready to get home, and between Kerrville and Houston isn’t too much so I-10 it was. It was a great 10 days of motorcycle adventure and now it’s to go through the gear, clean up Maybe (the 790 Adventure) and get ready for the next adventure!

 

[Texas_ADV]

Here is a link to the photo album some have comments explaining them further, plus shots that aren't in the thread post.

Photo Dump

Cheers!!

 

[EETTU]

Nov. 3rd

Woke up to some fog rolling over the mountains of the basin. We were in no rush and as we started we road north to Dagger Flat and onto Old Ore Road, the off-road adventure has begun! On the blacktop headed north we saw a momma bear and her 2 cubs to west. Old Ore road was a fun ride, super dry with a decent amount of sand. Ask my cohort….. After conquering Old Ore we headed down to the Rio Grande Village. After getting much needed snacks and refueling we headed back towards the basin, but not without heading out to the Boquillas Canyon Overlook. Arrived in camp (seriously the road in and out each day was amazing), the cold rolled in and turned what was going to be a night of celebration into tent huddling and an early night.


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Thanks for the report and photos! Any details to share about this bike taking a nap?

 

[Texas_ADV]

Thanks for the report and photos! Any details to share about this bike taking a nap?

He got lazy, the road got sandy, and away she went. Nothing too crazy, haha.

 

[SpiritAtBay]

Great pix!

Thanks for posting up

btw, my sister loves that green sauce at Mamacita's. Practically drinks the stuff

 

[sandman]

Awesome write up on your iron BUTT ride. Sounds like you hit many hot spots and took some great photos. Many don’t realize when you leave Study Butte to ride to Terlingua Ranch head quarters is a good hike and at dusk the temp can drop quick. Good thing you all had some JD Sour Smash and some Colorado cigars to finish off the evenings. Thx for Sharing.