Day 1
We left on Friday morning, March 13, as planned from Weatherford, Texas. We met up with our friends, Patty and Perry Sampley there and headed out on the road about 6:30 AM. Cold! About 45 degrees! Brrrrr! A little past Weatherford, still in the dark, we encountered some heavy fog. Perry was probably about 4 or 5 car lengths in front of me and I could barely see his tail lights. Thank goodness he was up there! Fog was so thick, it was like riding into a light rain storm. The ride down was pretty uneventful (good thing) and we made it to Alpine about 6PM. Checked into the hotel, ate dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant (gourmet pizza) in Alpine. Long day riding plus the cold for the first part of the day really took it out of me, but by the next morning, I was raring to go again!
Day 2
On Saturday morning, we headed north to Fort Davis where we toured the historic fort. For anyone interested in history, it is a really great place. Lots of ruins as well as restored and furnished buildings.
A nice film detailing the history of the fort and the soldiers stationed there.
After touring the fort, we rode over to Marfa to have lunch at a food truck, the Food Shark. So popular, it has been written up in the New York Times. Patty did a wonderful job at researching great food spots to try and this one was a huge hit. I had the Marfalafel (falafel with a Marfa twist) which was really delicious. Jim had the pulled pork tacos which he thought were very good too.
Jim and Perry at Food Shark
When our tummies were full, we headed back over to Ft Davis and rode the Davis mountains loop. Beautiful road with lots of twisties. Lots of riding and not many photos.
On that road is the McDonald Observatory, which we had fully intended to attend that night in order to see the skies through their huge telescopes. Wouldn't you just know it! The skies we so cloudy and we had been so cold during the day, that we wimped out and did not go back up after dinner. Probably would have been a scary ride for me back down on the dark, twisty roads. Instead, we had yummy hambugers and homemade pie at the Ft. Davis drugstore, once a drugstore but now a quaint and great restaurant. The ride back to Alpine was at sunset and the sky looked like it was on fire. Riding a bike does not allow me to take pics but I sure wish I had one to show of that sky! Breath taking! We did an after party in our room with red wine flowing and lots of laughter with good friends!
Day 3
Sunday morning had us riding out again in the cold (note to any of you who visit that area on bikes in March, be prepared for cold mornings and evenings) over to Marfa and down to Presidio where we got onto highway 170. This road runs west and east between Presidio and Terlingua, along the Rio Grande River at the Texas/Mexico border. One of our favorite rides on the entire trip. We thought the Davis mountains loop was our best ever until we hit 170! Twisties, serpentines and great views of the Rio Grande in spots. For lunch we went to a tiny little Mexican food restautant, Rio Bravo, and enjoyed every bite. After a quick stop at the ghost town area, we rode back west on 170, up to Presidio and Marfa. We had planned to have dinner at the Paisano hotel in Marfa, but with no reservations, the next table was at 9:30 PM. I was exhausted and we rode back to Alpine and had dinner at the diner by our hotel. Not an exciting end for the day but I just couldn't go another inch. I did not eat enough snacks that day and that always results in my being toast by the end of the day. Just too much excitement for me to remember to eat snacks. Not good.
On the way down we stopped at this little ghost town.
these next photos are from the Terlingua ghost town area.
Day 4
The Big Bend National park! Wow! And its in Texas! If we didn't have our bikes, I'm not sure we would have even gone down there. Our opinion was that it was just desert and wilderness with a few mountains in the distance. How mistaken! Very well maintained roads, beautiful prairie and mountain vistas. The wild flowers are blooming and so are the bluebonnets! Huge bluebonnets! Flower stalks sometimes 12 inches tall. And the fragrance....delicious! I loved riding along and filling my nostrils with that wonderful sweet aroma.
When we were riding through the park, it was so great to be so close to the mountains that we could actually see all the different layers, colors and separations of each mountain and hill. There are also many ruins of stone cottages and Adobe houses. Not enough superlatives to describe the beauty and feeling of being there. At the end of a marvelous riding day, we headed back up the road toward Marathon.
On our way home from the national park in the afternoon, poor Patty got something in her eye and under her contact lens. Coupled with all the wind and dryness of that area, she had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance from out in the boonies to get her eyes examined and taken care of. Note to riders and passengers, NO CONTACTS! The doc at the hospital said he treats that really often there. He said motorcycles and contact lenses do not mix. Long story short, Patty and Perry stayed in Alpine on Tuesday morning and waited for their good friend and knight in shining armor, Jim Tipton, to come from Fort Worth in his truck and drive Patty back while Perry rode the bike. Even with this unfortunate mishap for Patty, I know she and Perry both feel like we do....that the trip was just fabulous and such a blast!
Day 5
The ride home to Fort Worth started at 6:30 AM. A balmy 50 degrees! Warm compared to the other mornings. There was rain in the forecast for afternoon in many of the areas on the route home and we were hoping to get ahead of it. That worked until about Midland, where it started a regular drizzle which lasted until about Sweetwater where we were thinking we were lucking out. No biggie. Oooops! Started again in Cisco and was much more than a drizzle until almost Weatherford. Sludge spray from every 18 wheeler that passed. The bikes look like we have been dirt biking! lol! Major cleaning in store right away! Not to mention our chaps. On one stop, I was cleaning my glasses and they were just covered in a glaze of sludge. I wiped over my face with a baby wipe and the wipe was brown. Ewww!!! And of course, when it rains good the rain hits your legs and travels right up your body to the visor on the helmet and under it to your glasses. Blobs of water on my eye glass lenses. Weird! I had on my rain jacket but not my pants (fat ass) so the rain poured right off the tank and right into my crotch. So nice! Jim, in true tough guy fashion, chose not to don his rain gear that morning because we thought our rain chances would be slim to none on most the ride home. I will say this...wish I had been wearing that rain jacket every morning. My torso never got cold yesterday. I will sure be wearing it in cold weather from now on. I was wearing fleece gloves under a pair of Perry's winter gloves most days and my hands still got cold. Thank you so much, Perry! However, I am now saving my money up for heated gear in order to extend our riding days in the year.
Total mileage door to door....1743. Memories made...too many to count! Got home about 5:30PM after braving the Fort Worth rush hour traffic on Blue Mound road to get up to our neighborhood. Unloaded the bikes, changed into dry clothing and headed to Burleson to pick up our three fur babies, who had had a dog vacay with Freddie and Christi. Thanks to them for keeping our babies and saving us a a lot of money so that we could have such a memorable trip.
Oh and I took too many clothes! I guess everyone does that at first. Next time, one extra pair of jeans, some pairs of socks and underwear and t shirts, long or short sleeve, depending on season.
All in all, I will never forget this trip. The first time I saw the mountains of Big Bend, the twisties and my new-found confidence and skills on curves, in gravel, highway driving in fog, in rain and dark. Oh and a renewed skill of peeing behind bushes and abandoned buildings! Thank you to my amazing husband for his patience and teaching on this trip. And a big thank you to our fearless road captain, Perry, for taking such care to cater to my comfort zone. After less than three months from getting my motorcycle license, I am so proud of my ability to handle my bike safely and have fun. Lots more adventures to follow. Right after the butt calluses heal!
P.S. There are more photos that Patty took and when she is feeling well enough to share them with me I will create another post with some of them.
