Big Bend Trip, Day 4

Leaving Rio Grande Village on Wednesday morning, Frank and I rode to the Chisos Basin Lodge.


Enjoying the breakfast buffet, we loaded up on calories for a full day of riding. 20 miles down the road, Frank and I shook hands and parted. I wished him the best in his riding and vowed to stay in touch.


This cactus is one example of the desert being in full bloom. These flowers were a bright fuchsia.


Big Bend NP offers a lot of dirt road, dual sport riding that take you deep in the back parts.


Once I left the Park, I headed to Lajitas and then on to the River Road.


About 7 miles later, I found a 4x4 trail down to a dry river bed that led to the Rio Grande. This allowed me a bit of relaxation along the water's edge.


The Tipis up the River Road.


From a high spot on the road between Presidio and Marfa. Looking toward Alpine to the Northeast.



Once arriving in Marfa, I enjoyed a Chili Reno lunch.


Between Marfa and Alpine, the state of Texas has built an observatory..... to observe the mysterious Marfa Lights.


The "Four Peaked Mountain" is Twin Sisters. The old Lane Ranch 'took in' half that mountain.


Dinner with my high school basketball coach, Brent McWilliams.



















Wednesday evening, my plan was to ride out to the old Lane Ranch and tent camp up in Ranger Canyon, but the thunderstorms in the area scared me off. I did ride up in the canyon and hung around for about 30 minutes, but returned to Alpine and bailed into a hotel room. This video shows the first few minutes when I first arrived in the canyon. Within 15 minutes, the wind was blowing extremely hard and the rain was just beginning. I got out of there just in time.

Big Bend Trip, Day 3

Packing up to leave with my mother watching on.

Tuesday morning found us huddled around the kitchen, enjoying Kolaches and coffee for breakfast, with some great conversation. Leaving Jacque and Fudd's home, I rode in to Midland to Academy Sports to purchase a fuel canister for my backpacking stove. (I purchased one, but bought the wrong one.... more on this story, later.)

Leaving Midland, I headed south to Rankin, TX. It is amazing to me that the little county roads in Texas are 75mph.

After all the miles in the Panhandle, it was very cool to see some mesas and canyons.

On my way down, I sent a text to Fudd, asking for a good place to eat lunch. He replied with.... Old House Cafe in Iraan, TX. I was amazed at the $7 Chicken Fried Steak. Took me back to my high school years of Football and Basketball trips and the meals we ate.


And the much awaited destination.... Big Bend National Park!!!!


10 miles into the Park, I came upon the awesome view of the Chisos Mountains.

I had originally planned to spend the night in Big Bend Ranch State Park, but I wanted to spend more time in the National Park. I chose the Rio Grande Village Campground for my overnight stay.

Camped next to me was a fellow from Germany (Frank), accomplishing a 6 month motorcycle tour of our "Contiguous 48". Frank and I quickly formed a friendship and even shared a spaghetti dinner, as we swapped stories of motorcycle trips and motorcycles. We even studied his maps and I gave him some great ride ideas that he had missed.

Big Bend Trip, Day 2

After spending the night in Terry's yard, I hit the road for Palo Duro Canyon State Park (PDCSP).

The 16 mile loop of PDCSP is full of great twisties and phenomenal sights.

After leaving the State Park, I headed to Canyon, TX, for lunch and a pic of 47' tall, Tex Randall.


The Mexican Food at El Patio was pretty darn good.


Riding down through the Texas Panhandle, there are a lot of cotton fields to see.


After a couple of hours behind the handle bars, I need a little "pick me up", so I stopped for a rest and a little java.


Once arriving at my Sister and Brother-in-Law's home outside of Midland, TX, we enjoyed a lot of conversation and some great food. Here is a pic of my big Sis.... experiencing the VStrom.

Big Bend Trip, Day 1

Last Summer, I was invited to attend the Big Dog Ride, a select group of Adventure Motorcycle Riders.... riding large bikes in the far reaches of the Colorado mountains. At that event, I met several men who had accomplished amazing things on motorcycles. There were guys that had circumnavigated the globe a couple of times and guys that had ridden from Alaska to the tip of South American and guys the had raced in the Baja 1000, etc. Stories were in abundance and I was in awe of the accomplishments. One of the stories that totally captivated me was a ride report about a trip to Copper Canyon, Mexico. I WAS IN!!!!!

Over the past 6 months, I studied maps and interviewed guys over lunch who had made the trip and I built a plan. Unfortunately, the Mexican Government can't control the drug trade and the gang activity, so after a couple of recent murders of American Citizens and my nephew who works for the FBI, telling me not to go.... Audra and I made the decision for me NOT TO GO to Mexico. So I went to plan "B".

Big Bend National Park


The planning took about a month. I wanted to make sure that I could experience both the new and the old. I wanted to explore new destinations and I wanted to revisit old memories.

Additionally, since I was tackling a 2,000+ mile trip, I needed to make sure the bike was "ship-shape" for the abuse that I would throw at it.

Sunday morning, April the 11th, I left for Amarillo and Palo Duro State Park, where I would spend my first night.

Look closely, but you can see Pike's Peak in my rear, view mirror.

As a part of my trip, I worked in some dirt riding. I found some county roads in southern Colorado that would prove to be fun riding and very remote. The dirt riding in Big Bend National Park was also excellent.


At the end of one of my dirt road adventures, I found this old, steel span bridge.


Never having viewed a good portion of the country in southern Colorado, I zig-zagged the road system and saw the sights, including a 20 mile segment of the Apache National Grasslands.

From the time I left the house, I was riding directly into a 15-30 mph headwind. That resistance did a number on my gas mileage and I was stuck just south of Branson, CO, with an empty tank. Fortunately, I found a very helpful Cowboy. (By the way, getting to Branson would have proven fruitless, as the little town does not have a gas pump!)


The gallon and a half out of the red plastic jug got me to Des Moines, NM. My tank holds about 5.65 gallons of fuel and I pumped in 5.5 gallons!


I arrive in Texas.

These storms passed over Palo Duro Canyon and Amarillo. Not only did they provide a beautiful Rainbow, but they also made for wonderful riding fragrances... the smell of rain in West Texas.


My plan was to spend the night in Palo Duro State Park in my tent, but I failed to adjust for an early closure on Sunday evening at 8pm. They are normally open until 10pm. Fortunate for me, I have a very good friend in Amarillo, Terry Davis, who kindly allowed me to throw a tent on his grass and share his home... including breakfast the next morning.

Projects

This weekend the boys and I pulled the bikes out of the garage and cleaned off the winter dust from storage. Then we got busy with some project work. Bryce wanted to repaint his bike. Tyler and I wanted to completely tear down the NX650, repaint and rebuild. Here are some pics.

Bryce's bike being taken apart.
The painting has begun.
Nearly finished. One more weekend.

While Bryce was working on his paint job, Tyler and I were stripping down the NX650 for a complete rebuild.... including a new paint job, eventually.

Once we got the engine out, I tore into the top end to check the valve clearances and the timing chain and cam shaft.
Finally down to a bare frame.
Tearing into the suspension for a rebuild.

This job on the NX will take a while, but we are bound and determined to finished it in 4-5 weeks.

Spring Officially Arrived Today

For the past three months, this has been the scene in my dark garage. The boys and I are soooo ready for some 2010 riding!!!

Broken Shift Lever

The second week in December, we had a rare 57 degree day. The boys and I went in to town for a ride and lunch. On the way home, my shift lever.... simply broke. Good story, as I contacted VStroma and they are replacing it free of charge. Good Company to do business with.