28 day solo ride TX, NM, AZ, UT and CO

[humanrace]

DAY ONE OF TWENTY EIGHT

Due to family obligations, I have not been on an extended ride for nearly 3 years. Now that the opportunity is available, I decided to make extensive use of it. Mainly camping, mainly in free areas, but every 2 to 3 days I will stay in a pay camp just for the shower. I may even stay in a motel every once in a while. I hate paying to sleep, but I do like a nice bed. As I write this, I am in a cheap tent in the middle of a forest. It’s raining. I have 3 good tents at home, but chose the cheap tent for ease of pitching. I don't have the knowledge or equipment to post away from my home computer, but most of this report was written as it happened and copied to my computer after I got home.

With no set agenda except go to Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks, I headed west.
Along the Devils Backbone by Canyon Lake.

Hill Country river and dam

Something the hill country is famous for.

The plan was to ride the Twisted Sisters, but it was nearly 1:00 PM when I left College Station so I went straight to camp at Garner State Park. Another reason for an abbreviated day was the 5 dead deer I saw beside the road and the many live deer that looked liked they would like to join their fellow dead deer if an unlucky motorcycle rider happened to pass by close to sunset.

I also write a journal of most of my trips. On day one, I wrote my mileage in my notes. As much as I wanted to copy other posters with daily mileage, it was not to happen. Day one was 313 miles. Most days will not have that information as I eventually gave up trying to remember to write down mileage.

DAY TWO OF TWENTY EIGHT
The next morning, I did a little back tracking just so I could say I was a bonafide Two Wheeled Texan. I rode 2 of the sisters.

Highest road bridge in Texas, according to the sign at the bridge. Pecos River West of Del Rio.

This is the first time I have ever seen this sign used on an access road to a roadside picnic area.

Judge Humanrace Bean, law west of the Pecos

The Park Ranger said this building is nearly all original except for the roof.

Even this little stove left very little room for customers.

The bar area. I'm sure the mood lighting has been added.

Saguaro cactus planted in the 1950s. Not native to area, but it seems to be doing fairly well.

I rode on to Big Bend. I've been there recently and posted threads on TWT so I won't be redundant too much. The same goes for the entire post. I've posted about Arizona, Utah and Colorado in the near past. If I went to the same place and had pretty much the same view, I will leave it out of this post.

 

[humanrace]

DAY THREE OF TWENTY EIGHT

I made it to The Basin in Big Bend for my second night and hiked to The Window the next morning. Four years ago, Ray and I stayed in this same campground. There were 2 girls playing their guitars just as the sunlight was fading. They must still be here because I heard guitars playing as the light faded tonight.

This is an early morning view of The Basin wall.

The flower of an Agave plant along the trail to The Window. It’s still a little green.

The plant is nearly dead. Reproduction for an Agave is a one time occurrence.

Proof of what a bear does in the woods. The Mesquite bean seeds are proof that what happens to humans and corn also happens to bears and mesquite beans. Other sightings were proof that bears also eat prickly pear fruit.

Along the Windows trail

And the waterfall at the window. As I have said in earlier posts, I believe Big Bend can best be enjoyed by hiking and The Windows hike is one of the best.

A little friend I found on the way back. It's been a good year for tarantulas.

The start of a hike into Boquillas Canyon

Standing in the Rio Grande and looking into Boquillas.

I spent two nights in BBNP and the main purpose was to go across into Mexico and visit a friend. Unfortunately, the crossing kiosk is closed on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and I didn’t have two more days to spend in BBNP. Another trip is already planned.

 

[humanrace]

DAY FOUR OF TWENTY EIGHT

I exit.

My camp in The Basin. No warning ticket for leaving out bear attractants this time. Last time I got a warning for Windex left on the camp table.

Near BBNP

Growing up in a family with 10 children and an absentee dad, my mother had to make stringent financial decisions. On Christmas eve, she would sometimes send one of the boys into the desert field across from our house in Carlsbad NM to pick one of these plants. We would put a colored miniature marshmallow on each thorn as decoration and that became our “Christmas Tree.” The next morning they were removed and used in hot chocolate.

The road side park along 190 between Terlingua and Presidio

A park ranger later told me that there are over 60 varieties of Yucca in New Mexico and the dominant one in a given area is considered the state flower. There could possibly be more than 60 state flowers of New Mexico, all Yuccas. This Yucca plant, which is the state flower of New Mexico, had a secret desire to be an ostrich.

Or, maybe this ostrich has a secret desire to be a yucca plant

This is a sign along Pinto Canyon Road which I decided to ride instead of the paved road to Marfa. I doubt 5 cars travel the road on any given day. Why would anyone want to start a bar in the middle of nowhere?

The mailman only comes once a year, so a 55 gallon drum makes a good mailbox. Actually, its probably for packages.

Long ago abandoned ranch house.

Yet, these pretty flowers persist in an unmaintained flower bed along the road in front of the house.

The road surface got pretty rough due to recent rains.

Typical scenery along Pinto Canyon Road

Outside of Marfa is this tribute to the movie “Giant.” It even had the soundtrack music playing out of a fake rock. I’m pretty sure the movie was filmed in and near Marfa.

El Capitan, a dominate feature of Guadalupe Mountains NP from the highway.

I camped in Guadalupe Mountains NP for 2 nights. I sure needed a shower, but I didn't see any RV type campgrounds near the Park and the closest motels are over 50 miles away. I met two TWT members who were also camped at the base of Guadalupe Peak. They were just finishing up a BDR ride in New Mexico. Tomorrow I hike up Guadalupe Peak to the highest point in Texas. The sign says allow 8 plus hours.

 

[bwdmax]

Thanks for taking us with you. Looking forward to the rest.

 

[FWdualsportrider]

This is great! Thanks for sharing

Couple questions.....when did you start and end the ride? Also, do you have a good picture of your bike and set up? Im a DRZ owner and always like to see what others set ups look like.

 

[Jeff S]

subscribed!!

 

[_RG_]

 

[Knobby]

Great start to your trip, Thanks for sharing. Makes me wonder why I occasionally hear of riders that have Not been to BB. Its amazing to visit and there's so many things to do.

 

[humanrace]

This is great! Thanks for sharing

Couple questions.....when did you start and end the ride? Also, do you have a good picture of your bike and set up? Im a DRZ owner and always like to see what others set ups look like.

I started on the 16th of September and got back on the 13th of October. I was 14 hours short of 28 days. I do have some full bike pictures to include.

 

[humanrace]

DAY FIVE

I was not prepared for the hike up Guadalupe Peak. The plan had been to stay in a motel, eat a free breakfast and ride to the peak to start hiking. Instead, I had jelly and bread washed down with water for breakfast. Supplies for the 8 hour hike consisted of a bag of peanuts, an apple, a small V-8 and 2 ½ liters of water. The sign said take a gallon of water. I guzzled as much water as I could before I started up the mountain.

Part of the trail up Guadalupe Peak. Most of the trail just looks steeply uphill.

Strange looking plant clinging to a rock wall

About ½ way up.

View of the trail winding up to what looks like the top. It is not the top.

A very welcome bridge.

Looking down on the back side of El Capitan from Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas. The picture makes it look like a quick stroll over to El Capitan. That's a big drop off about 10 feet in front of me.

The young man sitting down is from San Antonio and, at 300 plus pounds (his words), I was surprised to see him make it to the top. I found the older man behind him exhausted beside the trail so I humped his pack for him for the last ¾ mile or so. His pack weighed in excess of 30#. Even without his pack, it took him 20 minutes longer to finish the climb than it took me.

Me at the top of Texas wearing my hiking shorts/swim suit/pants to wear while I wash my one pair of pants.

With no food supplies left, I decided to ride about 25 miles to White's City. Everything was closed so I rode 25 more miles into Carlsbad and ate at a Subway. I replenished my food supplies and headed back to GMNP for my 5th straight night of camping. I really want to thank whoever invented baby wipes.

 

[ntklr650]

Loving the report looking forward to seeing more. Thanks for the pictures and report.

 

[synthlegend]

Yes! Very nice! Thanks so much for your report and sharing your adventure! Ride/climb/camp safely!

 

[humanrace]

Thanks for the kind words.

DAY SIX

Hope, NM is a blink your eyes kind of town between Artesia and Cloudcroft. Some prankster took the time to make this sign and post it on one of the few trees in miles. There is no Hope National Forest unless it has very recently been proclaimed and I'm fairly certain that the Forest Service would not nail a sign to a tree.

It may be a response to this actual US government sign that is not far away.

The ride from Guadalupe Mountains to Alamagorda was uneventful. There were rain clouds in every direction, but even though the ditches were running full and the roads had standing water, it did not rain on me. There must have been some kind of rally going on because the highways between Artesia and Alamagorda were crowded with motorcycles, mostly Harleys and BMWs. There was some kind of logging contest happening in Cloudcroft, but I didn't want to stand next to anyone while I watched (6 days of FUNK cannot be erased by baby wipes). I rode through.

The tunnel above Alamagorda, NM

I stayed in Alamagorda and had a hot shower, washed clothes and had a real meal.



DAY SEVEN

I went to White Sands just because it had been 3 years since I had been there and because it's a very interesting natural phenomenon. The "sand" doesn't blow away because of moisture seeping up from below. The more moisture, the deeper the sand will get. The road.

There was an alien from Mars on an adjacent sand dune. At least he was wearing a red shirt. The man is from Kansas which is kind of like Mars, barren and desolate. We exchanged pictures via E-mail.

Proof of life even in this barren landscape

Gila National Monument awaits me.

A scene along the highway through White Sands Missile Range, and a promise of things to come.

Pecan trees north of Hatch NM. Hatch is the self proclaimed “Chili Capital of the World and the number and size of the chili fields justifies the proclamation. They have a chili festival every year and the entire town is dedicated to chilies. I had green chili enchiladas for lunch and they were great. Back to pecan trees. For the next 30 miles, at least half the fields are pecan trees, some at least ½ a mile wide and over a mile long. Maybe Hatch needs to have a pecan festival as well.

A deformed prickly pear. Pears are supposed to be on the edges of the Pads.

A bridge along highway 152. I rode three highways that I think surpass the Tail of the Dragon. This is one of them. The others are 78 and 191 in Arizona. The combined length of the best sections of the latter two is over 110 miles, so does this make them 10 times better than the Tail. I think so, the Tail has trees as scenery and all three of these have beautiful vistas.

Along 152

Camped in the woods for free

I mentioned to a service station worker that 152 was a great motorcycle road and he agreed, but told me the road to Gila National Monument was better. I can hardly wait.

 

[ntklr650]

Loved going through that tunnel when I was a kid. We rented a cabin at the girl scout ranch in cloudcroft when I was a kid and we would drive up once a month from Las Cruces. Always had to have my dad honk the horn cause we thought it sounded like a train. Great pictures and sure miss that area of the country.

 

[FWdualsportrider]

I grew up in El Paso and traveled those highways countless times. Love that tunnel and area of NM as well.

Im curious, how did the DRZ do on them? Those are some long stretches of lonely road with occasional moments of fast and dangerous drivers.

 

[Knobby]

Holy Guacamole Batman, you did this trip on a DRZ? I must have missed that part. That's the most painful bike I've ever ridden with the exception of the 916. Hat's off!

I grew up in El Paso and traveled those highways countless times. Love that tunnel and area of NM as well.

Im curious, how did the DRZ do on them? Those are some long stretches of lonely road with occasional moments of fast and dangerous drivers.

 

[Tourmeister]

A bridge along highway 152. I rode three highways that I think surpass the Tail of the Dragon. This is one of them. The others are 78 and 191 in Arizona. The combined length of the best sections of the latter two is over 110 miles, so does this make them 10 times better than the Tail. I think so, the Tail has trees as scenery and all three of these have beautiful vistas.

I would have to agree. There are MANY MANY roads I'd rather ride before riding Deal's Gap, even in that same area. The road to Gila is fun! 191 should be a bucket list ride for most folks.

 

[humanrace]

DAY EIGHT

It got cold last night. I zipped up my 20 degree sleeping bag for the first time. I should have brought an unventilated riding jacket and pants. This time I'll have to ride with full rain gear as an outer layer. Also, I must have over hydrated because I had to get up 3 times last night. Brrrrrr.

Along 152

Lots of long distance vistas along 152

There was a sign that said Gila Cliff NM 2 hours. It was 46 miles.

A little creek by the trail going to the cliff dwellings

I found a fat friend.

In this case, the dwellings were mainly closed off cave openings with dividing walls, ceilings to support a second floor and fire pits strategically located.

Looking from the inside out.

The Gila Cliff Dwelling NM is well worth the time, even if the road wasn't a Butler gold road. Highway 15 is good, but not as good as 152. There is no center stripe and absolutely no turn signs with suggested speeds. The curves are usually not even marked.

I ate green chili carne asada flat enchiladas for lunch in Silver City. I'm going to miss the New Mexico cooking once I get to Utah and Colorado.

The Butler Map for Arizona shows highway 78 a gold road starting at the border of Arizona. I assumed that at least part of it in New Mexico would be gold or red and it wasn't shown because my map was for Utah. I was wrong. The curvy stuff starts at the Arizona border as does the pretty stuff. When you cross the cattle guard into Arizona, turn left, turn right and then repeat for the next 25 miles. Oh yeah, slow down.

Along 78

There is a small run down gas station right at the corner of 78 and 191. Don’t stop there for gas. It was $3.90 per gallon, the highest I paid on the trip. At least it was the highest up till when I typed this which was the 12th day. Up by the mine, a couple of miles farther, unleaded was $2.89. The attendant at the first station came out to the single pump to pump the gas since it was an ancient pump with a lever on the side to reset it and also to tell me they only take cash. I only needed $4.60 but in that country, one needs to top off when it’s available. I gave the young attendant a $10 bill and he gave me back a 5 dollar bill and 4 quarters that had been stacked on top of the gas pump along with other stacks of coins that I found out was also stacks of 1 dollar total. When I told him it was $4.60 he said, “I know. I told those SOBs that I didn’t know how to make change when they were leaving me here. The guy that works here is the only one of us that’s old enough to buy beer so he had to go with my friend.”

The start of the copper mine. I’m fairly certain that the cliff to the right is the work of miners.

Mine

Wheel and tire at least 10’ tall. Some of the dots you can see down in the strip mine have tires this big.

Scenery along Arizona highway 191. This used to be highway 666, the devil's highway. The gold portion of 191 is nearly 100 miles long and the curves stop for a section about ½ mile long.

Some of you may remember me telling you, in earlier posts, how lucky I am. The luck continues. I was camped at the site below, another one of those free sites that I enjoy so much in our national forest. During the night, a storm came up and blew a large limb off one of one of the pine trees. It hit my tent and tore a large hole in my rain fly and ruined my tent. I was unhurt except for a splinter stuck about 1/2" into my shoulder. LUCKY. Like an idiot, I scooted over to the far side of the tent and tried to sleep until the water got my down sleeping bag wet. The limb fell about 4:00 AM. By 5:00AM I was riding with a dry t-shirt, undies and socks since my morning change is used as stuffing for my pillow sack along with my rain suit. It was about 45 or 50 degrees. My base layer was my rain suit and over that was my wet riding pants and jacket, both ventilated. My jeans were soaked and in the saddle bags. An hour later I got to a town. I was very, very cold. All this must be bad luck, right? No, good luck. The local café was open because a large number of elk hunters had requested an early opening. LUCKY. I love bow hunters and I love The Bear Wallow Café.

 

[humanrace]

Holy Guacamole Batman, you did this trip on a DRZ? I must have missed that part. That's the most painful bike I've ever ridden with the exception of the 916. Hat's off!

Yes, a DRZ. I picked the SM version over my S version which would bite my rear end when I got to deep sand in Utah. I kept mileage at a max of around 500 miles in a day, followed by shorter days and everything was fine. I averaged 208 miles per day. My longest day was 456.

 

[humanrace]

I would have to agree. There are MANY MANY roads I'd rather ride before riding Deal's Gap, even in that same area. The road to Gila is fun! 191 should be a bucket list ride for most folks.

Scott, 191 is 50 miles closer to me than Deal's Gap and while there is beauty getting to both, I prefer the beauty heading west. Also, I get to ride New Mexico 152 along the way to 191. It's win/win for me. I love Deal's Gap.

 

[humanrace]

DAY NINE-my numbered days may not add up to 28 when I finish the report. I noticed that I had a campsite and the next entry in my notes was not a new day. It was 28 days even though my last post may be the 25th day or the 30th day. I'll just have to wait and see.

I continued to this field of lovely yellow flowers. Notice the herd of black cows in the background. One of the changes I have seen in New Mexico and Arizona is the type of cattle grown. 40 years ago, most cattle were Hereford with a few mixed breed that were reddish brown. Now a large percentage are Angus or black baldies with very few Herefords. I know that Herefords have a problem with pink eye in dusty, sandy conditions, but I've seen black cattle fight for the shade cast by a fence built with 2" pipe in New Mexico and Arizona feedlots.

I stopped at Walmart and bought a new tent. It’s nearly a clone of my 2 REI Half Dome tents that I left at home. I spent the night in a motel in Payson, AZ so I could wash clothes and dry riding gear and get everything repacked.

I talked to this couple outside the motel, but they were snobby and wouldn’t talk to motorcycle trash.

Another ruin, and archeologists had found these two grain grinding stones. One was nearly worn out. They were found at Montezuma Castle or Tuzigoot. Montezuma was never at this place and probably didn’t know about them, but the Spanish explorers named this ruin and an artesian spring after him.

This is a type of sycamore tree similar to the ones in Texas, but these can have multiple trunks.

Montezuma Castle, an unusual 5 story cliff dwelling.

This is Montezuma's Well. An Artesian spring keeps this pond at a constant level because there is an opening that lets all the water out as it flows into the pond. Scientists have figured out that the water flowing here was deposited 10,000 years ago on a distant mountain. The displays explained how they made that conclusion. Anyway they analyzed the mineral content of the water and found a high concentration of arsenic, which may help explain the demise of the indigenous people. Even in times of drought, the flow stays fairly constant at 1,500,000 gallons per day.

I was told by a friend that I should visit Sodona, AZ. I tell you that you should not visit Sodona, AZ unless you enjoy drinking a cold locally brewed beer while women look at $800.00 dresses at the boutique in the middle of the bar. Said beer was $14 with tip. The architecture was beautiful and unusual and the rock formations around town were likewise, that is if you could find a place to park. Oh, you face being towed if you use any of the scenic turn outs without buying a parking permit.

Unusual architecture

Pretty rocks. Oh yeah, traffic was horrendous.

Nice church

Landscaping

More pretty rocks. I’m parked illegally.

Looking back at the road that took me out of Sodona. It was the best part of Sodona.

My new tent and my campsite just north on Flagstaff

 

[Tourmeister]

There is a small run down gas station right at the corner of 78 and 191. Don’t stop there for gas. It was $3.90 per gallon, the highest I paid on the trip. At least it was the highest up till when I typed this which was the 12th day. Up by the mine, a couple of miles farther, unleaded was $2.89. The attendant at the first station came out to the single pump to pump the gas since it was an ancient pump with a lever on the side to reset it and also to tell me they only take cash.

The first time I went through that area around 2001, we stopped at the same place because we thought it was the ONLY station for miles. After getting robbed, we headed North only to find a huge nice new Conoco gas station a few miles later

Hannegan's Meadow is a nice place to stay on 191 about 20 miles South of Alpine. They serve dinner there as well, so you don't have to head into Alpine if you didn't bring something to eat. The food was great. The cabins were very reasonably priced and the heat worked well (it was 28 F when we arrived).

Looking back at the road that took me out of Sodona. It was the best part of Sodona.

Sedona is definitely a different kind of town... They made McDonald's use teal colored arches instead of their normal golden arches

There were also a LOT of crystal/pyramid power kinds of stores selling all kinds of healing trinkets and gadgets that would connect you to the universal consciousness. To each his own I guess...

 

[humanrace]

DAY TEN

Breakfast of jelly and English muffins. The reason I ate a lot of English muffins is because they travel well without getting crushed and they also go well with tuna salad or cheese spread. The convenience of not having to be in a town to eat is worth the unbalanced nutrition. I did try to eat a good restaurant meal at least once a day.

Lava at Sunset Crater NM. The fact that there is lava is not significant, it's how extensive the lava is. It goes on for miles. The crater itself is off limits because it isn't like the lava fields. It's cinders and very unstable. Sunset last erupted around a thousand years ago.

There were vast fields of this lava. The reason it is so broken up is: The lava on the surface cooled and hardened while lava continued to flow and build up pressure under the surface, eventually creating thousands of cracks.

Wukoki NM ruins. This three story structure is different than most built around the same time in this area. It’s out in the open, not located on the face of a cliff. It’s also made of stone instead of adobe.

The story of the invention of Navaho fry bread is pretty sad. On the "Long Walk" the soldiers gave the Navahos lard and flour. At first they got sick eating the flour dry, but eventually they made a dough and fried it in lard. Invention! The fact that it was invented is great. Navaho fry bread, potato, corn, pepper and lamb, all grilled except the bread. Yummmmmy. $9 I found this meal parked beside highway 89A just north of Cameron, AZ.

The view for about 50 miles along the road through the Navaho Nation. It would probably be included in the Vermillion Cliffs NM if it were BLM land.

Floaters coming down the Colorado River viewed from The Navajo bridges. There have been floaters the last 3 times I have been to the bridges. I saw 4 California Condors while at the bridges, all together. Massive buzzard looking birds with lots of white under their wings. My long lens was 200 yards away in my saddlebag.

The view from the USA side of the bridge.

Another shot of the bridges that you have seen on TWT many times.

Just over the bridge and around the corner on 89A are these rocks.

At first it looks like this rock crushed the house, but actually the house was built using the rock as a stabilizing structure. The use of sawn dimension lumber dates it probably in the last 200 years.

And, there were balanced rocks.

This one is especially well balanced.

I rode on to a campground right outside the Grand Canyon. No facilities, but I thought I could use the pay showers in the campground inside the park. I made the mistake of asking if it was OK. Sorry, campers only.

 

[humanrace]

DAY ELEVEN OF 28

I woke up this morning to dense clouds all around, not fog because it didn't touch the ground. It was in the mid thirties. My tent had a condensed layer of dew on the inside so I reached up and touched it. Very cold water immediately came flowing down my arm and some dripped on my face, immediately shaking me out of my morning drowsy state. This happened exactly like the last 10 or 11 times I tried touching the inside of a wet tent. I'll never learn.

The prize at the end of the road

Last, the fool on the edge.

The Aspen have turned colors at high altitude.

For some reason, this group looked like they were fed upon by short goats. Right across the road, the aspen had “normal” foliage.

I needed an oil change. The two local places I stopped at would not do my oil while I waited (one said, "I ain't got no metric wrenches, but I'll dispose of your used oil if you do it yourself.") Good idea. I bought 2 quarts of oil, a plastic pan, a can of WD-40 and a roll of paper towels at the local Dollar General, went behind the store and changed it myself for less than $20. WD-40 was for cleaning my chain. I did the exact same thing 10 days later, just a different dollar store.

I stayed in an RV park in Leeds, Utah because they had something I really needed. A hot shower.

 

[copb8]

Last, the fool on the edge.

That is FREAKY!! No WAY am I doing that!

Thanks for the posts. Fun to tag along.