Saturday
Rumors of bad weather had been floating around all week. Back on Monday the 7 day forecast indicated thunderstorms for Junction and a few posters commented on the not-too-encouraging outlook. However, so far the weather had been great and no rain had fallen. Saturday morning was cool and cloudy and looked to be another fine day.
During breakfast Connie decided to take the day off from riding so Uncle, Dave, and I teamed up for the day. There were a couple of dual sport roads I had not yet ridden and had been itching to go explore. Today was the perfect opportunity. Shortly after the riders meeting we rolled south on Hwy 377, bound for county road 930.
We took the back way out of town which led us by the local golf course. Uncle, an avid golfer, was quick to spot it.
After about 50 miles of pavement we arrived at CR930. Time for a quick break.
Our first look at CR930
We wound our way west and north on 930. At first it was a dirt superhighway - easy, fast, and smooth. But, slowly, as it wound it's way deep into the surrounding ranch land it deteriorated until it finally became a pretty interesting road. Not as rough as Old Junction Road, but not bad either. The end of CR930 brought us to a ranch that had a nice big rock marking the entrance.
The engraving on the rock says: MacKenzie Trail 1876 3 horse thieves hung by Texas Rangers and buried here
Uncle
At the end of CR930 we turned left onto Baker Road, another dual sport road, and made our way south to pavement and eventually Rocksprings. It was lunch time so a stop at King Burger was in order. It turned out that a stop at the King Burger was on everyone else's agenda too, as the parking lot was full of dual sport bikes.
King Burger makes a fine hamburger and is quite popular with locals and dual sporters alike
After a leisurely lunch Uncle decided he would rather play golf than ride so he headed north to that golf course he had spotted earlier in Junction. Dave and I decided we needed to pay a visit to at least one of the 3 Twisted Sisters, so we headed south on Hwy 55 to Barksdale and the southern end of RR 335. I never grow tired of riding the 3 twisted sisters as all three are fantastic motorcycling roads.
Dave working the curves on 335
Once back in Junction it was time to start prepping for the Saturday night banquet. We had rented the local community center for the evening and had to set up all the tables and chairs, hang the banners, set up the sound system, etc. I stayed pretty busy the rest of the evening and I only got one picture of the banquet.
Intrepid explorer Milton Otto was the guest speaker for the evening and gave a fine presentation of the amazing dual sport riding available in the mountains south of Monterrey, Mexico. Door prizes were generously provided by TAR sponsors Lone Star BMW / Triumph and TJ's KTM, both in Austin, TX. I can't thank the sponsors enough.
Once the banquet was complete and the community center was cleaned, we retired once more to the grassy knoll just outside our room at the Hills Motel. A few of us sat around, enjoying a cold beer, tasty cigar, good conversation, and a light show from an electrical storm off to the north.
I can't speak for anyone else, but I know that Connie and I had a great time at TAR 2008 and are already looking forward to next year.
I'll finish with some random shots from the weekend.
Texas Armadillo
Viva Mexico, indeed!
In the battle of footpeg vs shin, footpeg almost always wins as Bobcat can attest
Crash bars are a good idea. Your plastic takes the hit when you don't have them.
I think the Two Wheeled Texans took over the La Vista motel
The Legends Inn welcomed TAR back this year. See you next year.