Big Bend State Ranch

hi Guys,

Well I got myself through the Big Bend State Ranch/Park today.....will try for the Big Bend National Park tomorrow (it is 100 miles just to get to the entrance!).

It was another hot (very hot) day and so I took the 67 South to Presidio and then east along 170 through the park.......I had a 1.5 mile detour along dirt track as the road was closed at one point but it was ok.......hadn't planned on meeting a school bus coming the other way but no problems...was glad to have a new tyre on the back though.....not sure the old one would have survived......and this is not a place you want to break down in.

I kept thinking there was something wrong with the bike but I guess it just felt a little different as I didn't have all my gear on it for once! Most of the route was great.......can see how people come undone though as you are so busy trying to watch the scenery you can easily get a bend wrong.....and there are lots of blind bends......severe dips and blind crests to contend with.......

I have lots more pictures from the day (yes more rocks!....I can hear the groans already!!!!) but am struggling to get them uploaded tonight so shall stick with what I have so far.

take it easy and enjoy your weekend!!

On to Marfa....

Well once again we had a cool, misty, grey start to the day in Del Rio as I headed west on highway 90. There is an Immigration Control Checkpoint just west of Del Rio which I wasn't aware of and had to stop, show my passport and tell them what I was doing......they were very polite and respectful and had me on my way in no time.

You can't go more than about 5 miles along the route without passing a Border Patrol vehicle of one sort or another.

I took a few pictures as I passed the Amistad Reservoir but must admit there isn't a great deal to see given the mist and greyness of the day.

So off I go......very little traffic on the 90 and I hit a traffic jam........a red light ahead due to some roadworks......well the bike was sitting in the same spot for over an hour without one vehicle moving in either direction....I just stuck it on the stand and went for a wander to stretch my legs........some major construction work being undertaken on a bridge over the Pecos River.....

Underway again after the enforced rest-stop, the sun came out about 11am and things started to warm up.........people had told me this route is really boring (there REALLY is nothing there for miles around) but I quite enjoyed it......you could open the bike up....very little traffic......and the scenery wasn't too bad as far as a first-time visitor goes!

The last hour or so was more difficult as the cross winds got very strong indeed. Actually I was just pulling out of a gas station about 20 miles from my final destination when I heard a shout behind me....I look around and this elderly man is coming over to me gesturing with his hands. No idea what is wrong or what I have done......I turn off the engine and flip up the visor. He puts his hand on my shoulder and says to me....'Sorry for holding you up but you need to watch out for that wind......its bad....so you gotta be careful!'......lol....I just thanked him for his concern and assured him I would take care.

Arrived safely in Marfa and booked into the Hotel Paisano for a couple of nights.....will use it as my base for exploring the area tomorrow and maybe Saturday. Hotel Paisano was where James Dean, Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor and the rest of the cast and crew stayed while making the movie 'Giant' in this part of the world. There isn't a great deal to this town I must admit........tiny but charming nonetheless. I don't even have wireless internet in my room so I am downstairs sitting outside next to the fountain in the courtyard.....and now one of the guys from the restaurant has asked me if I want anything from the bar so he is off to get me a bottle of Heineken from the cooler! (it is a hard life I know!).......I could get used to this!

Presidio County Court House in Marfa

Back on the Road......

It was really misty this morning as I pulled out of the Dixie Dude Ranch......enjoyed my time there very much but was itching to get back on the bike and put some miles in.



The intention was to head south to Del Rio ( to start from tomorrow going west along the Mexican Border) via the '3 sisters' (the 335, 336 & 3337) which are really popular biking roads just west of Bandera (lots of twists, turns, elevation changes.....a real challenge). First of all though I needed to find a new set of tyres.....well a new rear at the very least as mine was pretty much done. I was always going to have to change tyres at some point.....4,000 miles is the average mileage for a year's biking back home and I have done that distance in less then a month!

So I headed north to Kerrville.....was told last night that the towns are all roughly about 30 miles apart as that was a days riding (horse rather than honda of course!).....a dealer there sorted me out with a rear but hadn't got a front for me so they sourced one in Del Rio for me and got them to hold it for me......the valve on the front was also cracked so I needed to get it changed sooner rather than later. Anyways, the rear tyre took an age to get fitted but I made a few friends while I was there....one of the senior guys in the dealership took me into the office and got online to show me the routes and hotels that he had used last weekend in Big Bend National Park which is where I am headed to over the next couple of days......they all love the idea of me just turning up and heading off on my ownsome! Another customer waiting started asking me about my all-weather gear and gave me his details as I was leaving should I need any help along the way.

So then I decided to cut out one of the 3 sisters.....got myself hopelessly lost as far as trying to get myself where I wanted to be and then had to forget the 3 sisters altogether in order to get to Del Rio at a decent time (the best laid plans.....)......ended up on the 83 and then on the 90 West but managed to get into Del Rio with time enough to get the front tyre fitted so am ready to start out first thing tomorrow morning.



It must have turned into the hottest day I have had so far.......Del Rio had a sign saying 91F (which I make as 32.7C) at 1730 this evening.......it was baking all afternoon.....stopped at the side of the road at one point and took off the textile pants and put my jeans on.......a sight to behold I am sure!.....it was like riding with a hairdryer full in the face all afternoon......and the heat coming off the bike by the end of the day was something else.......was doing 80-90 mph for much of the journey on the 83 and the 90.



So tomorrow I plan to continue West along Hwy 90 to stop in Marathon or Alpine....and then Friday I shall drop south into Big Bend National Park.....might spend a couple of nights in the area as there are lots of good roads to explore.....shall see what the accommodation situation is like!

Out on the Trail....Again!

Day 2 at Dixie Dude Ranch.

The breakfast bell rings at 8am and we all head for the kitchen......again, lots of food, all home-cooked and really nice.

We meet J.D., our cowboy for the day....and the only full-time wrangler on the ranch. J.D. is 25, an ex-serviceman (shot in Iraq) who grew up and has worked on ranches all over Texas and Colorado and also works the rodeo circuit doing Team Roping....2 men with ropes and one steer! He has just had surgery on his shoulder so we help him out saddling the horses and getting them ready for the morning ride.

We take a slightly more relaxed route than yesterday........give Suki's nerves a chance to recover from the trauma of yesterday's steep slopes and while I stick with Cash, Steve and Suki get different horses, Buckshot and Dollar.

Again we were out for about 90 minutes.....just enjoying the scenery and letting the world pass us by and all enjoyed the morning.

I have been told to be careful on my bike around these parts though.....while the roads can be great for bikers they have a lot of deer crossing which can prove a little hazardous (something else to watch out for!).....there was a wild boar lying dead on the side of the road very close to the ranch entrance yesterday......the buzzards were picking at him by the end of the day which wasn't a pleasant sight!

Lunch at 1230 and then 1345 saw us back out on the horses for an hour.....the sun was really hot by the afternoon and the SPF30 was working overtime.......time for a cold one I think!

Can you spot the backside of an Armadillo?

goats are well suited to this country.....and there are lots of them!

insert caption here......!