Uncle's Round The Rio Ride Feb 20, 2009

[Tourmeister]

Howdy,

Better late then never right...

Here are the other threads with reports and pics from this event:

Round the Bend? Time for a ride report yet?

and

Thanks to Richard and Uncle

I did this event last year and had so much fun that I knew I had to go this year if possible. It only became possible close to the last minute, which as usual means all the hotels and campsites are booked up I shoot a PM to Voni and she hooks us up with a place to stay that is nice and close to Kosmic Kathy's Kowgirl Kafe. Alex and Marty live between the little airport and RV park on Hwy 170 and agree to let us pitch our tents in their yard. With the accommodations arranged, all that remains is making sure the KLR is ready...

The Saturday before we are to leave, I mount some new D606's on the bike. Sunday, I take the bike out for some fun and to make sure everything is good to go. Satisfied, I park the bike and wait for Wednesday evening, my departure time. The plan is to head down to Desmo's house near Magnolia, load him up, then get up early Thursday for the drive out to Big Bend. I get home after work and start loading everything in the truck. When I go to wheel the KLR out of the garage, to my dismay, the back tire is totally flat No time to mess with it now, I just wheel it onto the trailer and strap it down. A quick hug and kiss from Beth and the kids and I am outta here!

When I get to Steve's place, we set to fixing the tire. There is no visible damage to the tire itself. I pull it off and remove the tube. We put a little air in it and find a leak right near the seam along the outer diameter of the tire. I had other tube with defects in the seam. Fortunately, I have multiple spares. The unfortunate thing is that this tube had Slime in it, which obviously did not work, and is now all over the inside of the rim and tire We get that mess cleaned up, install the new tube and get the tire back on the bike. We go ahead and patch the tube with the whole and toss it in the truck... just in case...

The bikes loaded and ready to roll

Steve's wife, Rhonda, made tacos for dinner After some nice visiting, it was time to turn in for the night. Morning will be coming unnaturally early for me... 6:30am

Getting ready to head out...

While waiting on Steve to grab a few last minute items, I play around with the new camera. I'm still trying to learn the features and settings on it.

Flash

No flash

Flash

No flash

Steve's got a nice place on a few acres in the woods

Steve starts the driving. I don't function real well this early in the morning. About all I am good for is stumbling to the bathroom and back to bed at such an unnatural hour We work our way down to I-10, head West and set the cruise control. Some time around 5:30pm we roll into Study Butte. There are already bikes everywhere. Some lucky folks were able to come out a few days early to get in a little more fun. We quickly find Alex and Marty's place and start setting up camp before it gets dark.

We spend a little time visiting with Alex and Marty, and playing with their dog. While I am talking with Alex, I feel something on my foot. I look down and the dog has placed a rock on my boot and is looking at me with that expectant look... Not realizing the game we are playing, I casually flick the rock away. Moments later I feel it being placed back on my boot... Okay... Now I get it This dog has ONE mission in life. That mission is to play fetch with ANYTHING, and she WILL wear you out! Cool dog...

After getting settled in, we decide it is time to think about food... and beer... We head out to the Long Draw Pizza place just West of Uncle's place on Hwy 170. At first, we are not sure we have found the right place. From the outside it looks like one of those places that will get REAL quiet as soon as two city boys walk through the door... Undaunted, and hungry, I press on. What we find inside is classic Terlingua! There are a couple old dude jamming on the guitar and singing, a few older couples are dancing between the tables, everyone looks like they are having a great time. They hardly even notice us when we walk in. We grab a seat at the bar, order our pizza and beer, then hang out. I strike up a conversation with someone that turns out to be the local math teacher. Some years back, he bought land out here with his first wife. She did not like Big Bend. He now lives here full time with his second wife... Big Bend kind of has that effect on people After a really good pizza and a few beers, we wander over to the Front Porch just in time for it to be closing down. Ah well... I could use some sleep. So back to the tents and we call it a night, after standing around for a bit, awe struck at the stars we can see out here!!

Morning comes...

We head over to Kathy's place, which is the meet place for riders each morning. I take the truck because it is loaded with all the T-shirts I hope to sell. When I arrive, there is already a pretty good crowd of riders present, some enjoying the good food and warm fire, others checking out the bikes. I back up the truck, drop the tailgate, and open for business.

Richard preaches about Big Bend to the unwashed masses...

While poking around I spot this beauty! I have been itching for one of these so I can take the kids riding with me

I have no idea who it belongs to. I figure if I could take one of the kids with me when I go riding, Beth would be a LOT more sympathetic to me going riding

I caught Kathy by surprise... I need to work on that focus thing

See... I told you he was preaching That is Uncle just to the right. Voni is in the day-glo red jacket. You gotta keep an eye on her because she does sneak attack hugs

I think the guy on the left might go with the Ural rig... but I am not sure. I know that one of my brain cells has the name of the guy on the right stored in it, but it is not answering my calls...

Kathy's place of business... good food if you ever get a chance to try it!

I've seen this sweet looking KLR at several events now but have yet to put a name with it...

The following should be a panorama, but I don't have the stitch program handy at the moment... I'll try to fix that later

Some nice beemers

It would seem Bill "DFW_Warrior" had a bit too much fun as a result of getting here early

Just one more shot because it is sooo cool

I sell a pretty good number of shirts and stickers (Thanks everyone!). Then it is time to load up and head to the campsite so I can get the bike ready to roll. The plan is to meet at Uncle's place. When I arrive, there is a pretty good sized group already there. Uncle gives a little preride briefing about what to expect, who will lead and who will sweep. Then we head North out of the Ghost town. This will be the same route I rode last year with Uncle, but that's fine with me because it is a really great route!

The road is a fairly well maintained hard pack with loose gravel and some embedded rocks. The scenery is great, as usual, with massive vistas. The roads just wanders up, down, and around the hills and through creek beds.

Looking back after a fun climb

I think this is Gary, our sweep rider

It would not be a complete DS ride if someone did not lock up their front brake and wash out

After a quick break, we're moving again

And then we stop at "The Hilton"

A few shots to show the road surface in this area, it changes often

A common feature in these parts, kind of cool looking

Miles and miles of Dual sport goodness

Don't recall his name, but helping him pick it up earned me a cold beer!

Up... down... up... down... rinse... repeat...

There's a pretty deep ravine just around this corner...

Happy looking riders!

As usual, it does not look all that steep... T

Somewhere along the way, I am climbing up a pretty good hill and I spot something in the road. I get the bike parked and walk back to find someone's tool tube! I stick under a few straps on my tail bag and take off to catch the group.

Looking back up to where I pulled over

Looking back down the hill

This is the road that drops down into the Terlingua Creek bed

Looking North up the creek bed

Looking back the way we just came in from

Everyone taking a break

It turns out that the tool tube fell off of Desmo's XR650R. Last time I was out here we actually found a wrench someone had lost on a previous ride. We knew the general area where he lost it and sure enough, there it was laying in the road! These roads can get bumpy and will shake things off the bike if they are not secure... including bike parts!

Uncle, (I can't remember ) and Equipment Junkie I think

I don't recall meeting this fellow... That's one of the problems with groups of more than 5-6 riders.

Somewhere near Hen Egg Mountain I think

I think that is Hen Egg in the background on the left

I think this is on North County Road before we reach Hwy 118.

We eventually reach Hwy 118 not too far North of Study Butte, just on the other side of the mountains. At this point, we head South to Gate 4 and then East in search of Moon Valley. Once you see the pictures, you'll understand the name But first we have to get there, and that means some fun deep gravel!

I hang back to watch and let everyone get ahead

Just past that big rock it gets loose and deep

Just around the corner it gets even better!

I may have something loose in my head, but I have really grown to enjoy riding in the deep loose stuff The trick is to stand up, get in second gear, and stay on the gas. If you hit the front brake you can pretty much count on going down. To turn, just lean the bike and give it more gas. It's a hoot! Once everyone is clear, I take off and soon find a clog around another corner where a few folks apparently went down.

Everyone makes it through the deep stuff...

But we soon find some more!

Someone went off the side of the road coming out of the creek bed, which is not visible here. No harm, just a busted luggage bag that a few bungies take care of.

If this thing could talk, imagine the stories...

Everyone underway again, pushing on towards Moon Valley

The creek bed

A few miles later we begin entering the area known as Moon Valley and the terrain takes on a distinctly alien feel

Uncle heading into another creek bed full of loose gravel

He always makes it look so easy

There is life in the desert

Uncle nears the top of a long hill climb

Maybe it should be called Mars Valley? This shot kind of looks like some of the rover shots from Mars the last few years...

The road eventually dead ends at the fence to the National Park. Here, we stop and take a short break. Then we backtrack through all the fun stuff. I take sweep again and watch the fun. The last four riders are not standing up and the loose stuff is giving them fits. The soldier on though and we eventually get back to firmer roads and pick up the pace. Unfortunately, the front of the pack has taken off and the riders were not waiting at the intersections for the next rider behind them to appear. Mildly annoying but not a big deal at this point as the ride is almost over and following the main road gets us back to Hwy 118. The actual route is a smaller side road that drops out right at the campground on the intersection of Hwy 118/170. We eventually get there, a few minutes after everyone else, and then it is time for ICE CREAM!! Have I mentioned I am an ice cream lover...

We hang out for a bit there at the gas station, enjoying our ice cream and chatting with an older fella that has pics of his really cool house that he and his wife built out in the area North of the Ghost town. He and his wife explored those roads in a Geo Metro!! After the ice cream is gone, it is time to head back to camp and find some beer. There's also a certain dog that is probably desperate for some playing!

This one was hanging out at the station... cute eh? After seeing MIB, I keep expecting him to start talking...

Back at camp

The humble abode of our hosts

I wanna say the dog's name is Lucky. I forgot to mention that other than playing fetch until he can't stand up any longer, he LOVES to ride the ATV!

Marty and Alex on the right, and Eldon? on the left? There are so many of these dirty old guys that I can't keep them all straight

The Front Porch, where everyone heads to enjoy the end of the day and cold beer

So for years I have been hearing great things about the Starlight Theatre, located right next door to the Front Porch. We head inside to see what it is all about. It's kind of dark, typical Terlingua trendy, and not too crowded. I figure we'll grab a bite to eat, then retreat to the Front Porch. It takes about 10 minutes before someone takes our drink order. About forty five minutes later, we still have no drinks and our order has not been taken. Steve goes to find our waiter and it turns out he's completely forgotten us We eventually get our drinks and order burgers. Another forty five minutes goes by and we finally get our burners. Mine is way overcooked and bone dry. It is now pushing 8:30pm. Most everything in town shuts down around 9:00pm. So its eat this or go hungry... I ate it, but I was not impressed with the Starlight...

After "dinner" we move back out to the Front Porch to relax and visit with everyone.

The Mayor of Terlingua... now retired...

One of the locals provides entertainment

Being environmentally aware is a big deal out here... they recycle

Don't recall his name, but we have the same CyclePort Air Mesh Kevlar suits. He loves his too.

Here's that rig again!

[Gotta run, more later...]

 

[tricepilot]

I've seen this sweet looking KLR at several events now but have yet to put a name with it...

Rick M

 

[Tourmeister]

Getting back to the story...

Once things started shutting down at the Front Porch, some of us migrated on over to Uncle's place to enjoy his fire circle.

Lies and beer drinking... good times

Once again, the stars are just incredible! Steve and I decide to call it a night before it gets too late and we have too many beers. We head back over to our campsite and call it an evening. Sometime during the night the wind begins to pick up and shake the tent around pretty good. I wake from the noise off and on all night. All too soon the first rays of the morning sun begin to light up my tent... Time for another day of riding!

Getting out of the tent is never fun. It got cold last night and it is still cold this morning. I dress as fast as I can and step out to see the light of day... only to find a sky of orangish dust reaching thousands of feet up in the air. Even the mountains near Study Butte are hard to see, the Chisos mountains have vanished. The wind is still blowing pretty good. This is going to be an interesting day of riding.

Once again I head up to Kathy's place and setup for selling some shirts and just meeting folks. I am not really looking for a big group ride today. I never really plan who I am going to ride with, it just sort of happens. As the morning wears on and Richard begins preaching again, my group slowly starts to take shape. "Where are you riding today?" Who are you running with?" "How many are in your group?" "You want to hit this road?" "Nah... I don't wanna ride that far." "Sand... ughhh I hate sand!" Before long, it has settled down to Keith "Fangs", Steve "Desmo", John "Jredford" and myself, two XR650R's piloted by fast guys and two KLR650's piloted by not so fast guys. Perfect. I run back to the tent to get the bike and my gear, then hustle back over to Kathy's to meet the guys and head out.

We've decided to head into the park today and ride River Road, Black Gap Road, Old Ore Road, and then work our way back to the West towards Study Butte. I get elected to lead the way. As we head out of town, the wind is blowing us all over the road.

Entering the park

We reach the check in booth for the park, pay our fees, and then head South on Old Maverick Rd. The plan is to head to Santa Elena Canyon and then to the start of River Road. In all the times I have been out here, I have never been to this part of the park so I am really looking forward to it. The ride down Old Maverick is easy but fun. The surface is hard packed with some loose gravel and occasional small patches of sand. We keep the pace very sedate.

Looking East from Old Maverick Rd... LOTS of dust in the air...

The opening of the canyon from maybe 3/4 to a mile away. The cliffs are about 1400 feet from top to bottom according to my topo maps.

We ride on down to the parking area and hike over to the river to have a look. There are a few other riders already there checking things out. There is a LOT of sand... a whole lot of sand... Walking in deep loose sand in dirt bike boots is a real workout...

Here are some little people for a sense of scale. Those cliffs are the Mexican side.

And here is the U.S. side...

Looking up the canyon. Terlingua creek dumps out right there on the right where all the little trees are growing.

The wind has stripped away the loose sand to reveal the deposited layers below... Looks like some alien landscape

Looking back up Terlingua creek

Did I mention there is a LOT of sand here? Apparently, the recent floods from last year washed a LOT of sand down through the river area. In many places around here, trees are buried in many many feet of it. We leave the parking lot and start heading East on Ross Maxwell Scenic drive and all along the way there is literally tons of sand piled up among the trees along the edge of the river. The road could be really fun. Too bad the speed limit is so incredibly low

Just before we turn off onto the River Road

When we reach the start of the River Road, it is decided that Keith and Steve should go ahead on their rock chunking wheel spinning XR's and that John and I will bring up the rear With that, Keith and Steve go rock chunking and wheel spinning into the dusty distance... Every now and then, they will pull up and wait until they see us coming, then off they go again. The road is really fun and the scenery great. We eventually pass some other guys that have stopped for a break and just beyond them decide to stop as well because of a cool photo opportunity.

The BlueBonnets are much taller out in Big Bend and you can see there has been little rain for a long time...

Some of these large cracks are about 1-1/2 to 2" wide and 8-10" deep!

Blue Bonnets are not the only thing blooming already

It looks like rocks, but it is dried crunchy chunks of mud, deep and loose

"Over there!!"... "Uh... where...? I don't see anything...?"

A park ranger pulls up in a 4WD F150 to check on us. Turns out it is a retired couple that works here part of the year. They love it here. They knew that there were going to be a lot riders out this weekend so they were doing extra patrolling to make sure everyone was okay. It seems they had to rescue someone else with a disabled bike yesterday, a KLR with electrical issues. I don't know who it was though. After a nice visit, we get back on the bikes and take off. From here, we do very little stopping until we reach the start of Black Gap Rd. The riding is great!

John gets a lesson on the use of the front brake on the loose stuff when we come to a stop to take some pics

It's blue skies looking straight up, haze on the horizon

Yours truly leaning into the wind...

These two shots should actually be one big panorama, first shot is the left side, second is the right.

Here's the whole mess, but I don't like how the stitching worked. I think the blurred edges from the dust were confusing the matching algorithms of the stitching software. Autostitch would not do it at all. The image here was done with Photomerge in Adobe, but it never seems to to very good with the transitions between the images, hence the weird lines in the sky.

Black Gap road is fun and challenging. The road is really two good rocky/sandy ruts running side by side with the various shrubs and cacti hanging out over the ruts. My understanding is that the road is not maintained by the park. However, I know it is patrolled because the couple in the truck told me they had come down the road earlier this morning in that F150... There are a lot of places on the road with big washouts crossing it, large rocks, loose sand and gravel, in general it is just a great road!

There is one spot in particular that is fun. The road goes through a really narrow and small canyon, for lack of a better word. It is about 10-12 feet wide with a rock wall up each side. The "surface" of the road is concrete with big rocks embedded in the concrete. I guess this was an attempt to control erosion at some point. Anyway, it makes for a somewhat bouncy ride. If you are heading NE on the road like we are, this little canyons curves around to the left and after a hundred feet or so, there is a drop off. People have piled up rocks to form a makeshift ramp up/down the drop. I've made it up this ramp on the KLR before without any problems so going down should be simple... unless you are me...

I roll up near the edge, pick my line down, and give the bike a little gas intending to just coast on down. Unfortunately, right as I gave the bike some gas, the front tire deflected off one of those embedded rocks, which are about 8-10" in diameter. Immediately my wheel goes left and I T-Bone a big flat rock wall on the left side. Now, I was not going fast so it was not a hard hit. The bad thing is that instead of going down the ramp, I kind of went around it and up the side of the wall... so there is a LONG way to the ground on my right and there is no way to get a foot down... EJECT!! EJECT!! EJECT!!

If there is one good lesson I learned from learning to ride dualsport on a big R1150GS, it is when to jump and get clear!! I can fix and repair the bike faster than pulled/strain muscles heal nowadays So I eject and roll away from the bike, letting it just sort of lay over on its right side. John is behind me, probably laughing, and trying to find a way to park his bike so he can come help me right the KLR. I should have handed him the camera so I could pose with the bike, but gas was pouring out the tank and I was in a hurry...

John posing with my KLR... note the parking job on his KLR I had to help him pick it up.

About the time we get the bike picked up, Keith and Steve come back to see what we are doing. We get John's bike righted and then we are off again. At this point, I take the lead. Don't ask me why, it just seemed like the thing to do at the moment So I set off at what feels like a nice relaxed but fun pace. Maybe ten minutes goes by and I come upon a pretty good wash out. I slow, pick a line through, and then continue on my way. Simple right...? Right...

As I come out the far side of the wash, the two tracks of the road split in elevation. The left side goes high and the right side is lower, full of large rocks. So I head for the high side. Unfortunately, my back tire decides to take the low side Soon the front is dragged down into the lower track and I am bouncing off of huge rocks. I am standing up, doing everything I can to just STAY ON THE GAS!! The KLR just bounces worse and worse... I manage to get to the end of the rocks and think I have made it... and then there is that last rock... It seems there is always that last rock... I see it, but the bike is heading straight for it. I try to give it some gas, but it is too late. The tire hits, bounces again, and goes right up onto the sandy berm on the side of the road. For a few feet, I am actually riding the berm and thinking to myself, "It's ugly, but I might actually save this!"

The back tire slide back down the berm and caused me to low side, spinning the rear of the bike around as I just stepped off and watched it slide.

Looking down towards the wash. I was coming towards you, in the track on the left side of the left track as you look at the image. It was not the loose rocks you see laying on the surface that were the real issue, it was the ones embedded in the ground that don't show up real well in the picture.

Eh... whatever. The bike is fine and so am I. By the time I went down I was not moving real quick anyway. I get it picked up and pointed back in the right direction so we can carry on. Keith or Steve leads from here We are soon to the relatively steep climb out at the end of Black Gap Road. The road twists and winds its way up out of the valley floor onto a ridge. It is narrow, rutted, and rocky. I stand up, lean forward, and get on the gas. The back tire is spitting rocks out everywhere and is bouncing around pretty good. On washboard or gravel roads, the front end tracks great. However, whenever the bumps get larger, it seems like the front end just does not want to absorb them and instead just bounces the tire off the ground. About half way up the climb I stop at a relatively level spot just to refocus and get a few pics.

John coming up. The road follows the base of that grey hill down and to the right out of the image.

You can see it better here

John keeps on chugging... The last bit on the right of the image gets steeper again but then reaches the top

I join the others at the top of the ridge and they are chatting with a fellow riding alone on a late model GS, like the older Dakar versions I think. They are trying to convince him not to attempt it alone this late in the day. He seems to think he can make it but wisely decides to turn back.

The view from the top, the road curves to the right and starts its steep drop

Here you can see an S curve in the road about middle right, and then it snakes off to the left of the image at about midway up

The road runs down from the right to left here

Here's the whole view

The guys taking a break

Black Gap road is a great ride! I think it and the run out to Moon Valley are my favorite in this area. However, I've yet to ride Old Ore Road... For now though, we head South on Glenn Springs road. I take sweep here and let John run out in front of me so he is not having to eat dust. Keith and Steve take off like rockets. The road is smooth and wide... We reach the River Road again and turn East. The plan is to head to Rio Grande Village for lunch and gas. River Road is a real hoot! At one point, I come around a corner and see John off in the sand outside the corner. He's fine and just looks like he went a little wide... and so do I!! Dang it... stupid bike always goes where I look! I am not going fast and I just ride over the sandy berm and stop. However, the sand is REALLY deep and loose. The back tire is spinning and I am duck walking trying to get the bike moving back towards the road surface! Moments later we are underway again and enjoy a great run all the way back to pavement at Rio Grande Village Drive. We head towards the campground and general store for a nice break.

It is then that I notice John's tool tube lid is missing... and so is part of the tube!

Neat fuzzies in the tree outside the store

Notice them all pointing to the right...? The wind is still cranking!

We grab something to eat and gas up the bikes. Time for a route session... We decide not to hit Old Ore. I am disappointed, but it is getting late in the day. If we were to have any issues like a flat or something, it would mean being out past dark most likely. It is also starting to cool off. So we decide to just run the pavement back to Terlingua, with a stop at the Chisos Basin along the way.

The 45mph speed limit in the park on such long roads seems nuts too me. It is torture riding so far so slow. However, they do patrol the park pretty well so I keep the speed in check. It is getting cooler and cooler pretty quick. We reach Basin Rd and start the climb up to Panther Pass and the Basin. I set the bike on 45mph and just cruise. Before we get to the really twisty and fun part of the road, I spot a Ranger coming down the road towards me. I check the speed right quick to make sure I am still around 45 mph and all is well. Yet as he goes past, I see his lights come on in the distance... I just hold my speed and keep going because I know I was only doing about 45mph. I never see him turn around so I just keep on going and soon reach the fun stuff. By now though, I am starting to get uncomfortably cold in the shade of the trees. The fun road helps to distract me from the cold though. At the highest point, I think Panther pass hits about 5800 feet according to my GPS. Soon we reach the lodge and stop to check out the views.

Casa Grande Peak, 7235 feet high.

Looking out the Window to the Southwest

Ranger Peak on the right, one that I climbed numerous times when here on a Highschool spring break trip back in 1982.

And then my camera battery dies...

We load up and head back out of the basin. This time we are stuck behind some guy in one of those van type RV's and he won't pull over at any of the turn outs So we just settle in and enjoy the scenery. We get back to the main road and head West for Terlingua. With the sun starting to get lower on the horizon, the shadows start getting longer. I love this time of day in the desert. Everything takes on a magical look. Everything just looks so BIG!!

Just outside Study Butte, I take the guys down a little back road near the Terlingua High School. It comes out over by the little airstrip on Hwy 170. It is unpaved and crosses the Terlinqua creek, which is flowing. In general, it is just a nice wide gravel road. Since we are camping close to the air strip, we only have to hit about 1/4 mile of pavement before reaching our destination. We find out that the other guests that Alex and Marty have been expecting are starting to arrive, and they have some NICE hardware!

A work in progress

I think this bike belongs to KingHam here on TWT?

Part Ducati and part Cagiva according to what I could find on the body parts

The tank is a one off custom and is HUGE! I think this is supposed to be a Dakar replica of some sort.

Not sure what this is, but I think it is a 500cc V-Twin

Imagine the swing arm for this bad boy!!

I have trailer envy... It has everything, music, power, compressor, tire changing station, etc,...

I don't know his name, but one of Alex's friends builds custom DS bikes from old Airheads.

Brand new Yammy...

And then there are the classics

John graciously offered to let us come by his hotel and take hot showers before we all went to dinner. So Steve and I head over to hook up with the other guys. The HOT shower feels great!!

John loading up bikes

The evening view looking East from his hotel (The Chisos Lodge I think, next to Kathy's place).

The other guys went ahead to the restaurant to get a table while I finished up with my shower. Then Steve and I go to meet them at La Kiva's. This is supposed to be a great place so I am curious what to expect. Right away, when we walk in the door we walk down into the ground. I don't know what the story is, but the place is about half sunk into the hill. The interior is dimly lit, smokey, filled with the sounds of conversation, and the architecture is very organic looking (no right angles anywhere). We find the group and join them. They've already ordered so we grab the waitress to place our order. I am STARVING! The fillet steak looks good and I am filled with anticipation, even more so when the other guys' food finally arrives and looks really good!!

After about a hour wait, I finally get my steak. It is about 1" thick, maybe 3" in diameter, and charred to a crisp. It is difficult to even cut through it. It is far beyond the medium rare I asked for, far even beyond being well done At this point, I give up. There is no way I am waiting for anything else at this point so we leave after Steve finishes up his meal, which was good apparently. First the Star Light and now this... I recall seeing a place called the Ghost Town Cafe earlier and thought I might check that out. It is close to 9:00pm so I am not sure they will be open. Steve agrees to stop in and see if I can grab a burger or something. It turns out that they are open and we are the only people there! The waitress is exceptionally friendly and outgoing, very entertaining and talkative. The burger is really good and only takes about ten minutes to get! Even the fries are really good. Finally a good meal!! We head over to the Front Porch for a beer and most folks are already gone, so we decide to call it a day and head back over to the camp.

It's been a good day... Time to head home tomorrow.

Morning arrives early again and we get busy packing up the gear. We loaded the bikes last night so we would not have to mess with it this morning. We decide to stop by Kathy's before heading out of town and find a few folks enjoying the fire and a breakfast. I grab a coke for the road and then we say our good byes.

Uncle's DR

I don't know what holds it on there, but it does a good job considering the bouncing around it gets!!

Soon we are heading North on Hwy 118 towards Alpine. Another great ride is behind us and we are in a reflective mood. It always seems like forever for a ride to get here and then it is over in an instant, barely giving time to be savored. We set the cruise control and head for Houston...

 

[ekms377]

Scott.....you are correct on the Ural guy. He had the bright orange hat on. His name is Capt. Bob. He is from GA but has some property in Terlingua up the road a bit on 118. We met him last weekend.

Thx for the great report.....can't wait to do the DS thing down there very soon.

 

[Snuggs0802]

I know exactly how you feel about getting a ride report done. I thought I was remiss taking more than a week to finish mine after recently returning from Big Bend (http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38326). Having just been there myself, I really enjoyed reading about your experience on some of the same routes I rode. I too found that it took an inordinate amount of time for food to be served in Terlingua, but it was always good once it arrived.
Thanks for taking the time to share. Nice detail in your writing and your photography makes for a good ride report.

 

[primate]

Scott, I thought I was bad with names.The guy with the Abe Lincoln beard with Ural man is Mike, we did some riding at Mextrek. The guy with Uncle and Equipment Junkie is Hector, Desert Coyote here. The guy with the Cycle Port suit is Jeff, we also rode at Mextrek. Oh, and one more, The guy in front of Kathys' BBQ sign is another Scott, he came all the way from Minnesota just for this ride. (and to get out of the cold)

 

[Tourmeister]

Scott, I thought I was bad with names.The guy with the Abe Lincoln beard with Ural man is Mike, we did some riding at Mextrek. The guy with Uncle and Equipment Junkie is Hector, Desert Coyote here. The guy with the Cycle Port suit is Jeff, we also rode at Mextrek. Oh, and one more, The guy in front of Kathys' BBQ sign is another Scott, he came all the way from Minnesota just for this ride. (and to get out of the cold)

Do I know you?

 

[primate]

Do I know you?

 

[Hotair]

The old geeeezzzer with the Orange cap next to Mike is Hotair. The Ural is FUN and does NOT FALL OVER!!!!! Good for old greyhairedoldphafarts!!!!

 

[Desmo]

Great ride report, Scott. I'm glad you took so many pictures cause I was too busy trying to keep up with the fast guys. Next time we need to spend more time on Black Gap road and check out Old Ore.

I never thought I would see a picture of my house on the internet. Well, first Google Earth, then Street View, now TWT. Oh well...

Steve