I knew it was going to be a warm day so I got out of Del Rio fairly early this morning.  My route today will often be very close to the Mexico border and some of the sights along the way are the same that I shared with you from Arizona & New Mexico.  Here is something new though, this is one of those areas that they drag to count footprints and it has a memorial for someone.  Must be something the Border Patrol sympathizes with because they haven’t gotten rid of it.  Another story that I’d like to hear…You also see a lot of these around here.  Windmills have been used for hundreds of years for various tasks but out here in the southwest. they are used to pump water.  I took a picture of this one because I could get close enough to show you the tank that the water is pumped into.  The sides of this tank are about 8 feet tall, and the water is likely fed to the house down the hill.  When I was a kid we used to go swimming in these kind of water tanks in the summer.  The cool water felt great – the water in the tanks we swam in was routed to watering troughs for livestock.About 4 miles west of the Pecos River and half a mile north of the Mexican border you’ll find Langtry, TX.  For those of you who aren’t familiar, Langtry is where the famous Judge Roy Bean lived and practiced his version of justice as “The Only Law West of The Pecos”.  This is the actual saloon and billiard hall where he held court and tended bar.  The white building you see in the background was his home that he referred to as the Opera House.

One good thing about taking this southern route through west Texas is that it mostly avoids the flat plains area.  The wind just howls through there, even when it’s not blowing anywhere else.  The wind can blow a little here as well but today wasn’t a wind event day and I couldn’t be happier about that.  Two years ago I came through this area but I only rode through a small portion of Big Bend National Park so as long as I’m this close, I’ll check out some more of it.  This is the entrance to “The Basin” which at 5,700 feet is much cooler than the surrounding area.I was doing some research about where would be a good place to stay and picked the Chisos Mountain area.  They have a lodge, restaurant, small general store, and campground there.  I was going to tent camp but decided to check on a room since it was pretty hot and there were tons of gnats flying around in the campground.  Luckily for me they had a room available and even better, I got a 30% discount for being a veteran.  Had to show them a picture of my DD-214 but I was happy to dust that PDF off for 30% – thank you DropBox.

Dinner at the restaurant here was quite good and I met a very nice couple from Australia there.  They are on a one month tour of the USA and will be in the Santa Monica area right before they leave.  I told them to check out Crustacean’s crab and garlic noodles if they wanted a real treat.  They said that they have enjoyed their visit well enough that they were going to be back again next year – maybe our paths will cross again, stranger things have happened.  After dinner I went out to the patio and enjoyed the sunset.The plant you see in this shot is the Agave Americana.  Where I grew up they were called Century Plant and I was told that they live near 100 years then near the end of its life, it sends up a tall, branched stalk, laden with yellow blossoms.  After doing some research, they only live 30 years, not 100 – but the rest is accurate.  Oh yea, they have a heavy spike at the end of their “leaves” that’ll go through your leather boots like a hot knife through butter.  I think “back in the day” they were used as sewing needles.Another thing I had to take care of while I was here was to replace something I lost.  Every year I try to pick up something that is unique to that ride.  Two years ago, I got a hat that I wear after I take my helmet off and in states without a helmet law, it is my “helmet”.  That hat has a little pocket on the side for a key or something – I have no idea.  Two years ago when I was at the Terlingua Trading Post I found a little pewter horny toad that fit perfectly in the pocket and since then that hat has gone with me on most of the rides I’ve taken.  Well – I won’t bore you with the details but I lost that hat the day I left the Grand Canyon.  I replaced the hat and now need to replace the horny toad.  But just any old horny toad wouldn’t do; if at all possible, it had to come from the Trading Post in Terlingua, Texas.  Rachel was quite nice and we chatted a little while I checked out with the perfect hat ornament and a Lone Star longneck – “The National Beer of Texas”.  So, now my hat and ornament from 2014 have been replaced and I hope that my stolen hat and horny toad bring nothing but bad luck to the thief.  Karma can be a bitch!!