This was another travel day. We weren't targeting any roads or special sites, just getting from Big Bend National Park over to the Texas Hill Country.
We've eaten 3 times at the lodge restaurant, so we skipped that and just headed down the road. It was a cool morning with some whispy cloud cover. We weren't far down the road when I saw John's brake lights come on. At about the same time the thought occurred to me that animals move more in the early hours, and THIS is mule deer country. I started breaking, and sure enough a deer came bounding out of the brush to my right and crossed about 20 foot in front of me. Had I continued at full speed . . . who knows.
We stopped for gas and compared notes. Sure enough, a deer had crossed in front of John. He announced it on the CB, but I hadn't hooked mine up yet.
So we got our gas and some drinks. Then turned North. This was the same road we had ridden at the end of the day yesterday. We had barely started down the road when I saw some small Javelinas run out on the road in front of John, He slowed down, then I thought he sped up again, but he'd continued to slow. Suddenly I was running up John's tail pipe. I hit my brakes hard and felt the rear tire start to skid. In training, they tell you that if the front tire skids, immediately let off, but if the rear tire breaks loose, hold it until you stop. I let off both breaks for a fraction of a second which left my bike wobbling a bit but in control. It was then I saw that more pigs were crossing the road after the first. I passed John and came to a stop just a foot or two beyond him. There was a pretty good pucker factor there for a few seconds.
John casually says "remember, when you see an animal, assume there's probably more".
By now all the pigs were gone, but I was really watching the brush beside the road all the way out of the park.
As soon as we left the park, the verge along the road (where the underbrush has been cleared) widened from 4 feet to about 10 feet. There was also fencing that prevented small animals from getting to the road, so all I had to watch out for was more deer.
We arrived in Marathon after an hour of riding and gassed up again. We don't know what little towns do or don't have gas, so we're getting it when we can. The gas station attendant suggested a small cafe for breakfast. John got an omelet, and I got chorizo and eggs. John said his was very good and mine was awesome.
With full bellies, we turned East on highway 90. The temperature felt like it was in the 70s and the thin clouds stretched on to the horizon ahead of us. The road was pretty straight and level, and a time the road was incredibly smooth. It was cement, but didn't have all of the lines cut into it like you usually see. It felt kind of like floating when all the road noise, bumps, and jitters went away.
We stopped to take pictures at the Pecos river, then a while later we stopped in Langtry for gas. The gas station was small and very old. The 2 pumps didn't even calculate what you owed. There was a piece of paper taped to the pump saying $4.50, which I assume was the price per gallon, and it showed the quantity pumped. You pumped your gas, went inside and told the lady how much you got, and she told you how much you owed.
The only working bathroom was the ladies, but I don't know a lady that would have used it. It was pretty bad. Made me glad I could stand back.
We sat at the tables out front for a bit to drink some gatorade and enjoy the surprisingly cool air. The tables were massive blocks of sandstone with smaller blocks of sandstone stacked up under them. That makes one incredibly sturdy table.
We got on the road again and passed through another border patrol checkpoint. This time they put the black suburban ahead of me through some checks. Everyone had to get out and they checked IDs (I guess). They walked a dog around the car twice, but never got in or even really looked inside. Then everyone got back in and moved off. The man asked me to declare my citizenship, then waved me on.
We got to Uvalde by 4:00 and by now, the temp was up into the 90s and it felt very hot. We checked into the Quality Inn and then tried to get on the internet to figure out a route for tomorrow. Neither John nor I could get onto the Hotel's wifi. We called the front desk and they told us a password, but it didn't work. We called their tech support and the guy had me try a few things, then said "well no one else is having trouble, it must be your equipment". 2 iPhones, an iPad, and a laptop were all missconfigured I guess.
We went to the lobby and the lady there said they've had trouble all day. We managed to get a bit of wifi access for 15 minutes, but nothing since. So you're probably getting this email a day late, unless I figure out how to get on wifi somehow.
We spent another frustrating 30 minutes trying to find somewhere to eat dinner. There is a steak house next door, but when we went it smelled heavily of cigarettes. We tied yelp, google, and finally Siri (which it turns out is driven by yelp). Eventually we drove down the road and found a place that looked good and had a descent number of cars in the parking lot.
Inside it seemed like everyone there knew everyone else. People kept moving around the tables hugging or standing and talking for 20 minutes. One couple came in and started to sit near us, then the husband pointed somewhere and the kids ran over and gave somebody a hug. But the wife didn't even look that way and started to sit down. The husband called her 4 times before she looked over and with a resigned expression got up and went over. I said "Must be his parents", John said "Must be his ex's parents". We had a good laugh.
Dinner was pretty good if a bit slow coming. I got the Howling Wolf (or something like that). Fajita taco, beef taco, beef enchilada, and 3 guacamole casadillas. The guacamole casadillas was 3 corn chips with a light smear of guac on each. But it was good and pretty cheap.
I did get enough wifi to send the email, but not enough to upload photos. I'll double up on photos tonight.
Our room at the Chisos Mountain Lodge
The road going North out of Big Bend Park, near where the javelina came out
The road outside the park headed to Marathon. Notice the wide verge on the road
Marathon welcome sign
The Pecos river. Much more rio and certainly more grande than the Rio Grande
Gas station in Langtry
Resting at the Langry Depot. Felt more like being in Bedrock with the Flintstones
Lunch in Del Rio at Rudy's. (This is just here to torture my son who loves Rudy's)
An interesting tricycle near the hotel in Uvalde. No idea what the story is
Sign on the side of the restaurant where we ate dinner. The * is on Uvalde where we stayed the night.
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