Well, there wasn't any reason to believe this first Big Bend trip of 2005 would be any different than any of the past trips. Sure, there was a rainy forecast however, most of the previous Big Bend trips followed rainy forecasts that faded to partly cloudy and sunny days.
Day One:
I headed out about 1:30 on Wednesday in my quest to parallel I-20 and accumulate more counties for the Texas County Contest.
I took US-180 and made it to Snyder, TX before I decided to find a campsite. I found an RV park that said they had tent campsites... Little did I know at the time that this was also the place where everyone took their pets to relieve themselves... I found a spot that I think they all missed and set up my tent. I also found out that I was under a 'humming' light and next to a chain link fence where someone was keeping their dog. At 1am, the dog all of a sudden, notice my tent and started barking, about an hour later, someone took the dog away as I'm sure it was disturbing the residents with the barking.
Day Two:
I woke up to 40 degree temps, a light drizzle and 20 mph winds, not fun stuff when you're trying to pack up your tent, only snow would be worse than that.. LOL
I planned on heading towards El Paso county and even hit the New Mexico state line, but the drizzle turned into a light rain and the 40 degree temp dropped to 37. I decided to bypass my previous goals and just make it to the Davis Mtns. State Park early and hang out.
I got to the park about 11am, set up my tent and was talking to a fellow camper from Washington.
I even decided to take a hike up this hill in front of the campsite.
Around 5 Six Pipes showed up and shortly after Chief rode in.
Six Pipes even brought some 'special' cookies..
We went to dinner and when we came back, Blink had just showed up.
Day Three:
We hit the road early on Friday morning and went to Marfa for breakfast at Carmen's Cafe then to Presidio and RIVER ROAD! When we hit Marfa, the roads were drying out and by the time we hit Presidio the roads were great.
Day Four:
I woke up at 1:30 in the morning as nature called.. there was a light rain. At 3:30 when nature called again, the entire place was coated in snow.
By 9am there was 3 to 4 inches of snow on everything.
Maybe not the best riding weather but a great experience. We ate a great breakfast at the Indian Lodge and then threw snowballs at each other. The temps were rising and none of the snow was actually sticking to the streets so we decided to head out to the Hill Country and hopefully, better weather.
There's only one thing wosrse than trying to pack up your tent in the rain and that's under snow covered trees.
Six Pipes mentioned he was probably heading back earlier and we weren't sure if he was as snowed-in as we were so Blink, Chief and myself headed to Del Rio, Uvalde and the Hill Country. It was only 360 miles but they were some of the hardest miles I've ever endured, lots of cold drizzling rain and traffic plus a big breakfast and a late start. But we did it, Chief pulled off in Uvalde and opted for a hotel room, can't say I blame him, and Blink and I camped at Garner State Park.
Day Five:
Sunday, the last day of the trip, AND THE BEST WEATHER... Barely a cloud in the sky, the roads were a little wet and there were hundreds of deer but it was very relaxing.
Some may view a trip like this as a complete failure and not worth the effort however, it was a great experience with great friends and lots of laughs. I can't see how that can be interpreted as anything but a total success.
Six Pipes Pics HERE - - - and HERE are the rest of mine.
0 comments:
Post a Comment