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Thursday, November 15
We slept in and got going a little later this morning. We had some rain last night but thankfully the storm was not as bad as it looked the evening before. We decided to play tourista today, write postcards, check out some sites, and purchase some souvenirs. On our way we saw loose cattle along 118 who "stampeded" as we rode by.
We found a post office in Study Butte and then headed on 170 to the Terlingua Ghost-town. Terlingua is a a small "bohemian" type of town with a couple excellent craft and gift shops next to the ghost town (the restaurants looked good too). The ghost town cemetery was unique - very Catholic with shrines adorned with trinkets, money, and candles. Terlingua was very artsy with many craftsmen in the area. We purchased some Mexican wraps for our coming winter couch potato days and Nancy's favorite souvenirs – stuffed animals, a javelina and road runner, along with javelina pin and a T-shirt (yes we buy lots of T-shirts too). We met some fellow motorcycle riders at the Ghost Town and Nancy gave them Tail of the Dragon stickers and magnets. It's surprising that folks 1500 miles away knew about the "Dragon."
After the Ghost Town we continued west to Lajitas Resort. Lajitas is an upscale resort town with all the modern conveniences - even a golf course and private jet port. It was a little too ironic to stop at the overlook and see the poverty of Mexico on one side and a green golf course on the other. We felt a bit "out classed" with our dirty dual sports but had fun regardless. We took pictures of the illegal border crossing where you can ride, float, or wade across the Rio Grand and is within walking distance of the small Mexican village of San Carlos. There is no "Border Patrol" presence at these crossings.
We spoke with a guy who works for the nearby Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center as he was measuring the water depth. He often crosses the border at this location and said we would have no problems on our dual sports, but we should be aware that if the Border Patrol suddenly appeared and wanted to be pissers they could stop you from re-entering and force you to make a 70 mile detour to the next official crossing at Presidio. We were tempted, but decided to take pictures and continue our journey west on 170.
We met some more motorcycle riders in Lajitas and they told us we needed to check out the "Big Hill". They claimed the road from Lajitas to Presidio was an excellent motorcycle route. After we handed out some more Dragon goodies we continued west on 170 towards Presidio in search of the "Big Hill." This paved road offers a few nice twisties and a rather steep climb and descent on the " Big Hill" passing by the Madera Canyon with walls up to 1500 feet. The Rio Grand was more presentable here than any place we had seen thus far. We turned around at the "Big Hill" and returned to Terlingua where we found an excellent coffee shop called the Terlingua Springs Coffee Shop and Market located 1 mile before 118. We love good strong coffee, and finding good coffee in the middle of the desert was like finding an oasis. We continued back to the Ranch via 118 stopping to take pictures of the infamous "Gate 9" or Lake Ament Road. We rode a total of 135 fairly easy miles and returned home at 5 pm.
On our return to camp we noticed a few more cabins at the ranch were occupied, probably a sign of more traffic coming for the upcoming Thanksgiving week holiday. We picked the perfect week to visit. The first week in November is the "Chilihead" contest in Terinlgua with thousands flocking to the area. Hunting begins the week following Thanksgiving break which draws a big crowd too. Another good time to visit is February - the desert spring. Spring break is busy and should be avoided in March. The winds can be rather strong in March and April. May and June are the hottest months of the year. August can be nice because the afternoon clouds tend to keep the temperatures moderate.
