West Texas Wanderlust

[KsTeveM]

Are you storing a gps track of this route? Inquiring minds want to know.

I will post a GPX track later next week, need to clean up a few things....and still riding!

 

[KsTeveM]

I was up before the sun. Packed and waited at this spot for better light, wanted to be able to enjoy this area this morning on the ride north. I was hanging out with an otter, couldn’t get a good pic of him.

It started off decently enjoyable even though foggy and wet. I really love the smell of the damp desert, not sure if it is the sage or just what.

Became tough to call the ride enjoyable, the fog combined with drizzle, visibility was bad, really bad. Soldier on.

Stopped in on Escondido Draw as I was driving by their front yard. The site manager Rocky is super nice. Think me and the boy will check this place out soon, singletrack and some Marty sound in order. Better bring some shade, not a tree to be had.

I planned this route to hit Sheffield area so I could see Ft Lancaster. Being an army vet myself, I felt sorry for these boys stationed out here. Wasn’t much to see in the way of old stuff. When the fort was shutdown, the buildings started to deteriorate and then the locals salvaged the stones for their own houses. The fog started to break, much better!

Hello dirt, I missed you.

And your big brothers!

Thought I saw a glare on the skyline as something moved down a ridge towards the creek. Hope it wasn’t Blue Duck.

Little bit boring on the pavement, but still nice remote lonely roads.

Made it to Ozona. Fuel for my sidekick, fuel for me, back out again. It’s not about the towns. It’s about the adventure, that’s it. That’s all there is. I stole that from Blackhawk Down, and tweaked it. I just liked it. Well back at it, I still have a couple hundred miles to go if I accomplish it.

 

[KsTeveM]

Made it to my Uncle’s house in Ingram.

Probably no reporting today. There’s beer to drink.

That and there is a human to talk to tonight. Last night my GPS was getting upset when I kept calling him Hanna.

 

[SpiritAtBay]

Great stuff.

“Chevy Chase visit” lol

JT and I camped at Seminole Canyon and were blown away by the artwork on the walls of the canyon and by how much we don’t know about the folks that lived there.

Thanks for writing it up.

 

[KsTeveM]

Most of the rest of the afternoon was pavement. Avoiding I-10 was the aim.

Still some pretty spots. Also, most of the pavement was smooth, rolling, good texture for traction etc. I loved seeing the wide open spaces. The most boring sections were pretty vanilla, speed seemed to help.

County maintenance ends, no fooling!
That cattle guard about gave me hiccups.

Nice Kerr County roads and the sun tried to poke out.

Snuck through Junction and now making my way to Ingram.....

I’m beat, bed be calling my name. Just a little bit of mileage tomorrow to get home, in the rain I’m sure. I knew it coming into this, but it had to be done! Sweet dreams my friends.

 

[misterk]

Excellent ride report, you always find a way with words and bologna sandwiches [emoji23]

 

[SpiritAtBay]

 

[TNC]

Steve, it's weird how your last two rides and reports have touched on two different areas I've been meaning to check out...Chispa Road and that area east of Big Bend, west of the hill country proper, and south of I-10. I've beaten up most of this state and a huge portion of the American west, but that area you just covered has been largely avoided just because I had considered it more or less "fly over country"...so to speak. Since I'm in the Abilene area, it's not even on my "drive through" area on the way to Big Bend.

Lately, however, I've poked around on Google maps and sat view looking at possible rides in that area. Your report and pics clearly show great potential, at least the kind of remote, desert stuff that I like. No, I'm not excited about the kind of desert around Midland-Odessa, but even out there you go by the dunes of Crane and such. The kind of vistas and solitude displayed in many of your pics of that area are the kind of stuff I like. I'm a very social person on one hand, but I'm also a person who enjoys pure solitude in other situations.

Thanks for this report. It has confirmed that this area will clearly be on my priority list for a trip very soon.

 

[KsTeveM]

Steve, it's weird how your last two rides and reports have touched on two different areas I've been meaning to check out...Chispa Road and that area east of Big Bend, west of the hill country proper, and south of I-10. I've beaten up most of this state and a huge portion of the American west, but that area you just covered has been largely avoided just because I had considered it more or less "fly over country"...so to speak. Since I'm in the Abilene area, it's not even on my "drive through" area on the way to Big Bend.

Lately, however, I've poked around on Google maps and sat view looking at possible rides in that area. Your report and pics clearly show great potential, at least the kind of remote, desert stuff that I like. No, I'm not excited about the kind of desert around Midland-Odessa, but even out there you go by the dunes of Crane and such. The kind of vistas and solitude displayed in many of your pics of that area are the kind of stuff I like. I'm a very social person on one hand, but I'm also a person who enjoys pure solitude in other situations.

Thanks for this report. It has confirmed that this area will clearly be on my priority list for a trip very soon.

Not going to say there weren’t times that I was bored, lots of pavement involved in a run like this. But overall I was very pleased with the experience. About the time I would second guess the routing and what I had done to myself, something interesting or pretty would present itself, and would pull me back into the wanderlust of it all. I would have enjoyed a travel companion, especially at night. But, it was also an extremely enjoyable time solo, something about the desert and lonely roads I suppose. The lack of people and vastness of it all.

I was thinking today how I enjoyed the experience and when I might get back out there, what would I do different. I will run it the opposite direction for starters to bring a fresh perspective and probably throw in a couple fresh roads just to keep my curiosity fed. I will clean up my tracks later this week and post up, maybe others can get some enjoyment.

 

[KsTeveM]

Good times in Ingram. My Uncle is a great host. Slow rolled out of there today to finish off this ride coming home. It was a drizzly fog slicked ride. I’m riding a space shuttle, so turned on all the nanny stuff to play it safe.

The quickest way would be I-10, but I-10 is the devil on a bike. I would rather eat worms, long thin slimy ones, short fat juicy ones, itsy bitsy fuzzy ones. So Kerrville to Comfort via backroads was first up.

Cypress Creek Road. Don’t know why they call it that.

Next up Sisterdale, Kendalia, you know the drill. Second Coffee Hollow, does me no good, I don’t like coffee. Anybody know where Second Dr. Pepper hollow is?

I was getting semi rained on here and there, but still tried to enjoy the 104 miles home. The wet was tolerable as the temps were mild. I climbed up on one of the side hills, being extra careful as I thought about JT, thanks for taking one for the team JT!

I read the gravel tire post on here, about went cross eyed. I knew the Shinko 805, that I immediately mounted on this bike when it was new as a cheap experiment, was not going to be my go to tire. Besides wearing out fast, 2200 miles and I pulled it, also was not confidence inspiring. I ended up with an Anakee Wild, Michaellmcc talked about liking it on a big bike. I then read up on some tire tests, worth a try out. Spooned it on the night before I rolled out on this trip so I would have fresh meat. Have to say pretty happy with it’s all around good behavior. Just snapped this pic as I got home, after 900 mixed miles on it. Thought I would share that, she just ate a lot of gravel miles, spirited at times.

The Pecos Wanderlust was a good run. Thanks for following along, encouraging me, the likes, well wishes etc., makes it a lot more fun for me, especially when solo. Till next time!!

 

[bwdmax]

Great trip and report. Thanks for taking us along.

 

[SpiritAtBay]

Great trip and report. Thanks for taking us along.

Double ditto that!

 

[KsTeveM]

Here is the GPS route, I added the Adventure as well as the individual GPX file just in case. I made it one long track, deleted my friends place and my Uncles. I work in the Wimberly area and live south of San Marcos, I just made the track start and end in Wimberly area. I would suggest staying the first night in Leakey, Camp Wood or even Rocksprings. Just make sure you do Bullhead Creek Rd if you have never done it, it is a highlight. The further west you make it this day, the more time you will have the next day depending on how much time you want to homestead at the attractions at Seminole Canyon, Pecos High Bridge and Langtry. I did not do a lot of messing around that day other than brief get offs for the picture taking, late breakfast at Kings in Rocksprings and my late lunch at the gas station in Comstock (they had good pizza slices and decent gas station sandwiches). I was on the road by 8am that morning and got to my camp site about an hour before sunset. It was a long day but very nice, my favorite day on this treck.

Night 2 I would definitely stay at Pandale Crossing River "Resort", best part of this entire deal. If tent camping, site #1 was mine...and I checked out #2 and #3 while there, 1 was the best, isolation, prettier, closest to river edge. They have cabins as well. The bathhouse was in disarray from the snowpocalypse, but they do have one for the tent campers. The place was deserted when I was there, no campers/workers/owners. Nothing but me and an otter.

This next day was a long one, I think I did 340 miles. Again, not a lot of messing around, broke camp and was out of there by 7am. Took a decent sit down lunch in Ozona at Pepe's, eating and doing ride report updates. Didn't stop riding till 6pm. If you wanted to make this day a little shorter, you could just run up FM2083 to Ozona and skip Fort Lancaster. You would miss a little bit of dirt on CR407 and the Fort, which wasn't overly impressive but still a cool stop and a little canyon twisty before you get there. And after that there was one cool dirt section that was about 5 miles long that I enjoyed. If you are a slow mover, you could also add a day to this trip. You could stay at XBar Ranch, tent or cabin, I stayed there a couple years ago when I checked out the Caves of Sonora. You could also add Ft McKavett easy enough. Just throwing out options.

Thought I would mention gas, sure it is on some minds. The longest section without gas options was Comstock to Ozona. I used 4.1 gallons on that ~180 mile stretch. My bike was getting between 40-50mpg depending on how hard I was hitting it. I did better when it was raining . After you get to Ozona, still have like 200 miles to get to Ingram/Kerrville area if that is what you decide. I thought about cutting out the section that dipped below I-10 between Ozona and Sonora as it was all paved. Glad I didn't, really enjoyed this area. FYI in case you got to considering that.

About all I have to say about that. Enjoy!!

GPX viewer

GPX viewer

 

[Jarrett]

Thanks for posting those.

Are there any sections of the route that stood out? Scenic, good dirt, stuff like that?

 

[KsTeveM]

Thanks for posting those.

Are there any sections of the route that stood out? Scenic, good dirt, stuff like that?

Sure, on and off for 800 plus miles . But I think I know what you are getting at, here are some thoughts.
Day 1--normal stuff everyone has probably seen. Nothing crazy stand out, typical hill country.
Day 2--Bullhead Creek Rd is great, also enjoyed the dirt around Juno, site seeing along Hwy 90, the dirt road leaving Langtry was long and nice all the way to Pandale/Pecos, definitely a highlight.
Day 3--pretty much the entire way from Pandale Crossing to Sheffield was enjoyable, remote, some dirt. Sheffield to Ozona not so much, but it was better than doing 40 miles on I-10! If I were to skip something, it would be that section north of Sheffield....you could take CR307 to I-10 and go east to Ozona. But again, I was treating I-10 like hot lava. After Ozona, south of I-10 Sutton CR101 and CR410 were paved but I enjoyed the scenery and was letting it hang out, good road for that. After Sonora, got into some good dirt but still a small percentage. Most of those KC county roads are neat, going through ranches, opening/closing gates, the road less traveled. On 479 between Junction and Mountain Home was nice pavement. Especially above 290, that was new to me pavement and nice rollers/views/canyons.
Day 4--back to normal hill country stuff we all know, but Cypress Creek Rd is a stand out if you haven't done it, Kerrville to Comfort.

You live here so you know you have to endure some less than fun stuff to get to anything good. This route has a little of everything for adventure touring in Texas.
BTW, I ran into your homies at Ft Lancaster when they were headed for Presidio, they said you bailed on them

 

[Jeff S]

Not to thread-jack, but we did a similar route several years ago that I'll attach here. We went counter-clockwise, Junction night 1, Del Rio Night 2. This track is different enough to perhaps provide some alternative routes or options. This has a lot more HWY 90 miles, and skirts along I-10, but I don't think we actually rode the interstate at all.

I like Stevo's route - taking 1024 south all the way to 90, then Pandale all the way North to 10.

GPX viewer

 

[KsTeveM]

Not to thread-jack, but we did a similar route several years ago that I'll attach here. We went counter-clockwise, Junction night 1, Del Rio Night 2. This track is different enough to perhaps provide some alternative routes or options. This has a lot more HWY 90 miles, and skirts along I-10, but I don't think we actually rode the interstate at all.

I like Stevo's route - taking 1024 south all the way to 90, then Pandale all the way North to 10.

GPX viewer

Hey Jeff S, thanks for adding some more options. Last year I caught that road from Rocksprings to Bracketville, caught me off guard how cool that pavement was. I like hitting roads I have never traveled in these trips. I made a loop out of it with Camp Wood, Montel and some other stuff. Also, if folks have never toured Ft. Clark Springs, do it. Really neat history there and lots of stuff preserved from that time. I stayed in the old officer barracks that they rent out, modernized etc. Picnicked at the springs, listened to live music at the amphitheater. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it there.

 

[spokedoc]

He has been gone for several years now, this country brings him back to me. He would sing Marty Robbins songs on those long road trips. And now by proxy my 11yo son knows Marty songs like he is a member of the band. I listened to Marty today rolling through here in my helmet coms. If you haven’t, give it a listen, especially when you are out west. This album is the best.....

I grew up mostly addicted to 70s rock and pop music. I enjoy most all music including occasional Country Western music but My mother really loved Marty Robbins much like your father did. His music played in our home much of my childhood before I could choose my own music. Maybe while I was in the womb. My mother literally wore out the records. 45s, dozens of them. I was imprinted. Now, when I hear his music, the words just come out of my mouth. Yes, I have that album on CD.

Enjoyed the report. Thanks for sharing. Just queued up El Paso.

 

[KsTeveM]

I grew up mostly addicted to 70s rock and pop music. I enjoy most all music including occasional Country Western music but My mother really loved Marty Robbins much like your father did. His music played in our home much of my childhood before I could choose my own music. Maybe while I was in the womb. My mother literally wore out the records. 45s, dozens of them. I was imprinted. Now, when I hear his music, the words just come out of my mouth. Yes, I have that album on CD.

Enjoyed the report. Thanks for sharing. Just queued up El Paso.

We have the LP of that album somewhere! In the early 80s we were at Talladega 500, pit passes. He was there racing, my Dad spied him in his jump suit. We snuck over and got his autograph.

 

[SpiritAtBay]

How about that! Cool

 

[Jeff S]

Last year I caught that road from Rocksprings to Bracketville, caught me off guard how cool that pavement was.

Funny - we had the exact same reaction. I've done it maybe 6 times since then.

 

[Jarrett]

BTW, I ran into your homies at Ft Lancaster when they were headed for Presidio, they said you bailed on them

Yeah, gallbladder attack sent me home unfortunately. Not having great luck with mc trips over the last year.

 

[KsTeveM]

Yeah, gallbladder attack sent me home unfortunately. Not having great luck with mc trips over the last year.

Bummer, sorry brother. Hope you are feeling better.

 

[Jarrett]

Bummer, sorry brother. Hope you are feeling better.

Thanks. Yeah, it passed on its own without a trip to the ER thankfully.

 

[KsTeveM]

I'm feeling a Part Deux coming on, weather looks good next week. Anybody feeling froggy?