rattler50
Sep 29th, 2009, 10:01 am
The wife and I left Friday for Big Bend. We spent the first night in Odessa with kinfolk. We ate a good portion of a grilled Texas steer and washed it down with beer. We had a good time.
The next day we took off for Terlingua. I rode down to Pecos and went south on 17 to Ft. Davis. The weather was nice and sunny. We took 118 out of Ft. Davis and down to Alpine. Alpine is a nice little town and a good place to stay if you're in the area. It has everything and it's priced right.
We followed 118 out of Alpine and down to Terlingua. It was quite desolate but the scenery is awesome. You expect John Wayne to come riding out of one of those canyons chased by Mescaleros. We spent the night in Terlingua. I don't recommend that myself. Had I known, I would have went on to Chison Basin lodge. It's much prettier and the cost is about the same. I wasn't impressed with Terlingua. Chisos Basin on the other hand was beautiful. The switchbacks getting to the basin were fairly tight. It's cool down in the basin in the shadows of the mountains. We had lunch there and headed back to Terlingua.
We fueled up there and headed down 170, the river road to Presidio. That was an awesome ride. The blind hilltops were like a roller coaster. We met a few bikes but not many. The temps were running around 98. There are lots of low water crossings on this road. I bet it would be fun right after a rain.
We hit Presidio and headed north to Marfa. Outside Marfa a few miles we ran into some bridge construction. The had the road topped with caliche and had watered it down recently. It was slippery to say the least. Raised the pucker factor there a couple of times. It also made quite a mess on the underside of my bike. We hit lots of Border Patrol check stations on this trip. Gas is higher in that part of the country and should be taken advantage of when spotted. Not many places to stop for water and such.
I saw a few antelope and deer but none got in the way. Critters were not a problem on this ride.
We spent the night in Alpine at the Sunday House Inn. They had a restraunt next door. It was the Buffalo Rose. It's a restraunt/saloon. The food was good and the beer was cold. It was full of cowgirls and a few cowboy locals. I fit right in, being a little on the redneck side myself. The food was good, too.
We left early the next moring headed for Langtry. We got a cup of coffee and a sausage biscuit at the motel office. It was considered a "hot" breakfast if you nuked it. The coffee was passable but I only got one cup. I wanted more but we headed out thinking we'd get a cup down the road. It was still dark. I noticed a little shiny, silver diner on the left as we left Alpine. I should have stopped there in hindsight.
We rode about 110 miles before we saw another cafe/diner. This area of the country is very sparsely poplulated and evidently they don't eat out much. We got a cup at Langtry and visited Judge Roy Bean's place. It was a nice diversion. The flora and fauna of the area are interesting. Judge Roy Bean sounded like quite a character. Took a pistol off a dead man and fined the corpse the $41 in his pocket for carrying a weapon. Pretty much how a lot of revenue is collected today, eh?..... :D
We headed on down to Del Rio on 90. I was sick of riding into the sun that morning. I saw the sun come up 4 times in one day. We got to see Amistad for the first time. It was really huge. I hit 277 north in Del Rio and we decided we'd head home and hang around the house for a couple of days. Traffic was very light so far. It seems like everyone along the border sleeps late.
I set the cruise on 75 and just stopped long enough to fuel a couple of times. I got just outside Seymour and had to take a gravel road detour. It seems a small cage had taken out the front end of a 40' motor home. The cage got the worst end of that deal.
We did a little over 600 miles in 12 hours. It was nice to be home and my dog was very glad to see me. My bed was very comfortable and the coffee was good this morning. Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.
I'll try to attach some pics. Ride safe..................... :D
The next day we took off for Terlingua. I rode down to Pecos and went south on 17 to Ft. Davis. The weather was nice and sunny. We took 118 out of Ft. Davis and down to Alpine. Alpine is a nice little town and a good place to stay if you're in the area. It has everything and it's priced right.
We followed 118 out of Alpine and down to Terlingua. It was quite desolate but the scenery is awesome. You expect John Wayne to come riding out of one of those canyons chased by Mescaleros. We spent the night in Terlingua. I don't recommend that myself. Had I known, I would have went on to Chison Basin lodge. It's much prettier and the cost is about the same. I wasn't impressed with Terlingua. Chisos Basin on the other hand was beautiful. The switchbacks getting to the basin were fairly tight. It's cool down in the basin in the shadows of the mountains. We had lunch there and headed back to Terlingua.
We fueled up there and headed down 170, the river road to Presidio. That was an awesome ride. The blind hilltops were like a roller coaster. We met a few bikes but not many. The temps were running around 98. There are lots of low water crossings on this road. I bet it would be fun right after a rain.
We hit Presidio and headed north to Marfa. Outside Marfa a few miles we ran into some bridge construction. The had the road topped with caliche and had watered it down recently. It was slippery to say the least. Raised the pucker factor there a couple of times. It also made quite a mess on the underside of my bike. We hit lots of Border Patrol check stations on this trip. Gas is higher in that part of the country and should be taken advantage of when spotted. Not many places to stop for water and such.
I saw a few antelope and deer but none got in the way. Critters were not a problem on this ride.
We spent the night in Alpine at the Sunday House Inn. They had a restraunt next door. It was the Buffalo Rose. It's a restraunt/saloon. The food was good and the beer was cold. It was full of cowgirls and a few cowboy locals. I fit right in, being a little on the redneck side myself. The food was good, too.
We left early the next moring headed for Langtry. We got a cup of coffee and a sausage biscuit at the motel office. It was considered a "hot" breakfast if you nuked it. The coffee was passable but I only got one cup. I wanted more but we headed out thinking we'd get a cup down the road. It was still dark. I noticed a little shiny, silver diner on the left as we left Alpine. I should have stopped there in hindsight.
We rode about 110 miles before we saw another cafe/diner. This area of the country is very sparsely poplulated and evidently they don't eat out much. We got a cup at Langtry and visited Judge Roy Bean's place. It was a nice diversion. The flora and fauna of the area are interesting. Judge Roy Bean sounded like quite a character. Took a pistol off a dead man and fined the corpse the $41 in his pocket for carrying a weapon. Pretty much how a lot of revenue is collected today, eh?..... :D
We headed on down to Del Rio on 90. I was sick of riding into the sun that morning. I saw the sun come up 4 times in one day. We got to see Amistad for the first time. It was really huge. I hit 277 north in Del Rio and we decided we'd head home and hang around the house for a couple of days. Traffic was very light so far. It seems like everyone along the border sleeps late.
I set the cruise on 75 and just stopped long enough to fuel a couple of times. I got just outside Seymour and had to take a gravel road detour. It seems a small cage had taken out the front end of a 40' motor home. The cage got the worst end of that deal.
We did a little over 600 miles in 12 hours. It was nice to be home and my dog was very glad to see me. My bed was very comfortable and the coffee was good this morning. Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.
I'll try to attach some pics. Ride safe..................... :D