Phase I-B Hachita, NM to Fort Stockton, Texas
18Sep07: Day 1 – 44 mi/Total 44mi/From Hachita, NM to Columbus, NM
“Back in the saddle again!” It has been three weeks since we last biked on our journey from Key West to Alaska. The intention was to do a lot of ‘recreational’ biking in order to stay in shape for this 300 mile bit through New Mexico and Texas. I think we were only on the bikes three times for a few leisure miles, so much for “good intentions”.
During this ‘break time’ we did have a good time traveling through the great Southwest. Some of the highlights were: Las Vegas, NV (Betty & I each lost $3 in the slots, Beth Kelso asked us to put $5 on black, it won, then $10 on black won, however $20 on black lost, making her the “Big Loser” and she wasn’t even there, I think she owes us $20??); Sequoia NP, King’s Canyon NP, Yosemite NP, San Francisco, the Big Sur, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, CA, Joshua Tree NP and Tucson, AZ. We were in LA to attend the wedding of the son of some Vietnamese friends, Bac & Thuy N, that we have known for 35 years. It was in an oriental section of LA, for three days we were immersed in Vietnamese culture, food and language. We were treated like royalty. While in Tucson, we visited Betty’s high school friend, Linda T. This amazing woman is an award winning architect and interior designer; she has retired and is now studying for a second career in forensics, specializing in document authentication.
Now we are back in southern New Mexico, at the Hitchin’ Post RV Park in Deming, NM. Betty drove me to Hachita, which we rode through a couple of months ago, it is about 20 miles north of Antelope Wells and the Mexican Border. While she drove back to Deming, I rode east on State Road 9 paralleling the border. Soon the border was only a few hundred feet from the road. There were very few vehicles on the road and most of them were Border Patrol SUV’s. The drivers waved or gave me a ‘thumbs up” as they passed. Along the way were four National Guard Surveillance Points, with lots of high tech monitoring equipment and manned by about a half-dozen soldiers at each Point. A local town official said that, previously, the Border Patrol was “processing” nearly 300 individuals per day, but after the National Guard was in full operation, that number dropped to only about 20 per day.
The temperature is cooler than we have experienced for a few days, in the low nineties. This may be due to the higher elevation, over 4,000 feet, and cool air currently being pushed down from the Canadian Northwest. The border in this area is desolate and mostly flat with isolated mountains jutting up at various points on the horizon. This part of the ChihuahuanDesert has a tinge of green indicating a bit more moisture than we were seeing in the Mohave and ColoradoDeserts of California and Arizona. I arrived in Columbus earlier than planned so I visited their little museum while waiting for Betty. This small town has put a great deal of work and research into this restored RR Depot. Their depiction of Pancho Villa’s raid on Columbus, on 9 March 1906, made me feel as if I had been there at that time. The town and small Army barracks were attacked by Pancho’s band of 500 renegade Mexican soldiers. Even though he had an overwhelming force, he ordered a retreat when two US Army officers managed to get a couple of crude machine guns cross firing through the town as the raiders were pillaging. Over ninety raiders were killed, also nine US soldiers and nine US civilians. Because of this attack on American soil, President Woodrow Wilson dispatched General John J. “Blackjack” Pershing to lead an Expeditionary Force of ten thousand soldiers into Mexico after Pancho Villa and his band of marauders. In retrospect, the experience the US gained here may have made us better prepared for WWI and subsequently for WWII. It was the first time airplanes were used in combat, also a first for radio communications in combat, rugged trucks fitted with machine guns sped the evolution to tanks, future generals, Patton, Eisenhower and many others, first experienced combat here. Maybe Pancho helped save the free world??
Soon Betty found me in the museum. We met 13 Border Patrol vehicles and passed through a mobile “Check Point” on the drive back to Deming.
Cowboy Wisdom: “Women are meant to be loved, not understood”
From a sign on the wall of Hennessey’s Irish Pub in Las Vegas, NV
19Sep07: Day 2 – 22mi/Total 66mi/To MM-110 on NM-9
A slow start this morning, we pick up some supplies and move the RV to Columbus, which is about 30 miles south. Betty waits there while I ride east. It is warm and I have a quartering headwind, the miles go slowly. The border runs parallel to the road and is about a mile south. After a couple of hours, Betty leaves Columbus and, soon, drives the RV alongside me. It is the middle of no where, actually it is at Mile Marker 110. We load the bike and drive on to El Paso. The city spreads over a wide valley along the Rio Grande. El Paseo del Norte, the pass of the North, was used for centuries, first by Indians, then by Spaniards and, finally by trappers, traders and settlers. The Santa Fe Trail went through this pass on the way from Mexico City to Santa Fe and points north.
Entering El Paso in afternoon traffic, we find a wide spot along the road to park for the night. Five minutes later, I’m in the shower and Betty yells that a truck has had an accident on the road just across from our RV. She says liquid is pouring out of the truck and running all over the road, traffic is by-passing the accident and driving off the road only a couple of feet from the RV. Betty closes the slide-outs while I dress, a minute later we crank-up and pull out as emergency vehicles arrive and push the truck to the side of the road. This is the second time on this trip that a truck has flooded a road near us with a large quantity of liquid, probably fuel both times. A few minutes later, we find a better place in a Home Depot parking lot.
A glass of wine and a cold beer while listening to Marty Robbins then we look for a Mexican restaurant. We found Avilas; the food and service were great. They even told us how to find Rosa’s Cantina; maybe tomorrow night we’ll see Feleena dance and flirt with the cowboys.
“You don’t have to be from Ireland to be Irish, where’s my Guinness?”
From a sign on the wall of Tiernan’s Irish Pub in San Francisco.
20Sep07: Day 3 – 50mi/Total 116mi/To El Paso, TX
It was a quiet night in the Home Depot parking lot. This morning, Betty drove me 50 miles back to the point we left yesterday. All seemed peaceful along the border, a few cattle, a couple of black eared jack rabbits, a coyote, and some prairie dogs. Of course, there were also the usual dozen or so Border Patrol vehicles. A number of high clouds made for lower temps and a pleasant day, the miles seemed to fly by with the greatest of ease. I had neglected to bring lunch and a chocolate candy bar was all I had in my little bike bag. This bar has been with me for several weeks and has melted to near liquid many times in the 100 plus degree heat of past rides. However, about noon I was thinking it might taste pretty good and planned to stop at the 30 mile point, which would be MM-140. About a half-mile away I could see that a vehicle was parked near my lunch marker. As a matter of routine, I take breaks at each ten mile marker (10, 20, 30, etc), later in the day, this decreases to every five miles. The mind has little to do but look forward to these important milestones and now I needed a new plan. But wait, that vehicle looks familiar; it is Betty waiting at just the right point, she knows my habits too well.
It was a divine Subway sandwich and cold Pepsi; ahh simple unexpected pleasures. The afternoon ride went by easily, a Border Patrol major stopped to talk with me. He is a biker and was interested in my ride. He said they had been following my progress since Hachita. He gave me a bottle of cold water and rushed off when he received a radio call. Just minutes later another Border Patrol vehicle came flying by with lights flashing and the siren wailing; maybe it is not as peaceful on the border as it had appeared.
About ten miles out, the road starts a slow decent into the Rio Grande valley so it is an easy ride on into the “west Texas town of El Paso” and our Home Depot home for the night.
Later, we find Rosa’s Cantina and have a beer & a wine (they only serve food at lunch). This place looks to be a real “dive” from the outside, but inside it is immaculate and fresh; the few folks there were quite friendly. Texas football dominated the motif. A huge (maybe 4ft x 20 ft) picture of the entire squad of Dallas Cheerleaders was a real eye-catcher. We are informed that this cantina was not here a hundred and some years ago as the subject of Marty Robbins’ songs and, apparently neither Rosa nor Robbins was aware of the other until the song El Paso became a hit. They have a couple of autographed photos on the back wall, reportedly given to the cantina on two of Marty’s visits sometime after the songs were off the charts.
The Rio Grande has often been described as: “a mile wide and a foot deep, too thin to plow and too thick to drink”.
From Adventure Cycling Tour Map “Field Notes”.
21Sep07: Day 4 – 44mi/Total 160mi/To Fabens, TX
We leave the CRV in the Home Depot parking lot and drive the RV to Fabens, Texas, about 40 miles southeast. A vacant lot in the middle of this little town becomes our new home site. Betty and the dogs will wait here while I bike back to and through El Paso to Home Depot and the car. They are stuck in a less than desirable area with no car. I talked with the folks in the lumber yard across the street and with the neighbors behind the RV. All seemed very friendly and welcomed us, but Betty’s red flags are up and she will be on the defensive while waiting.
Biking the first 15 miles was nice: through cotton fields and pecan groves in a partially built-up area. The next ten miles were in a run down light industrial section with heavy traffic and a light (always red) at every block. Somehow I got off track and was channeled by canals until I made a five mile circle. Once back on the planned route, I was soon on Delta Drive. This six mile road is on a “delta”, called El Chamizal, formed by the Rio Grande between El Paso and Juarez, Mexico and was a subject of dispute between the two countries for 112 years. Terms of the Gadsden Purchase established the centerline of the Rio Grande as the border. But, floods and other factors repeatedly and significantly changed the river’s course leaving the original border high and dry in places and giving the US a few hundred “extra” acres. Finally, in 1963, an agreement was reached; a jointly funded project permanently re-routed the river to its 1851 location in a concrete lined “canal”. This gave Mexico 436 acres and the US got 193 acres; 3,500 Americans were relocated and both countries agreed to establish bi-national cultural parks on their respective sides of the delta. The US National Park Service maintains the Chamizal National Memorial and rangers there say this arrangement is a huge success and a shining example of how peaceful negotiations can solve bitter international issues.
Next, I was in downtown El Paso with all the hustle bustle of any US city with a half-million people, most of which are trying to get someplace else at 5 pm on Friday afternoon. Central El Paso has lots of hills and I think I went up all of them. Drivers in congested traffic have little tolerance for bicyclists insisting that they “share the road”.
Home Depot, CRV, bike on rack, 40 mile drive half of which is bumper to bumper and I am ready for a cool Corona. Betty and I are both glad the day is over.
From the hills, high above the west Texas Town of El Paso,
I look down on Rosa’s Cantina and have feelings I do not know.
In another life, in another world;
Could I have been one who watched Feleena whirl?
With Apologies to Marty Robbins
22Sep07: Day 5 – 31mi/Total 191mi/To McNary, NM
It is Saturday. Since we are on Mountain Time and lag Eastern Time by two hours, it means East Coast games will kickoff as early as 10:30 am local time. Even though both Florida and South Florida were winning, I wasn’t feeling good. It was kind of a nauseous malaise with body chemistry out of balance. Looks like any riding will have to wait until this afternoon.
Ok, Florida won, and South Florida won big. Too bad about Notre Dame, their legions of fans won’t tolerate much more of this. I think my upset feeling was caused by watching football in the morning without beer, popcorn, chips, salsa and all the other good stuff; it’s no wonder the body reacts abnormally, it’s just not natural. I finally tore myself away from yet more games and got on the bike late in the afternoon.
Betty drove the rig ahead about 30 miles and I would meet her near McNary. It was dark before I got there. She found a wide spot at an isolated Exit off I-10. A shower, lasagna, a couple glasses of wine and it is bed time.
“Blame no one, expect nothing, do something.” Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr
23Sep07: Day 6 – 63mi/Total 154mi/To Van Horn, TX
As we were preparing for today’s ride, I looked out the window and saw two bikers taking a break on the road near our rig. I hurried out to chat with them. Neil and Paul (I think) are biking from San Diego to Savannah, their wives are driving a support car. They stay in motels but prepare many of their own meals. Soon their support arrived and we met Martha and Ester (maybe). The guys are both doctors (a pediatrician and an orthopedic surgeon) in the Atlanta area. After comparing notes concerning our respective rides, they went on their way and I fixed yet another flat on the rear tire of my road bike. It was caused by another small wire (from a steel belted tire).
The remainder of our route to Fort Stockton, TX will be on I-10 since there are no alternate roads nearby. Soon after I got underway, Betty gave me a double toot as she passed by me. Even though the interstate is mostly flat, it will gradually gain about one thousand feet on today’s ride. Today there is only one exit with any facilities; I stop at Sierra Blanca for a sandwich and large Gatorade, plus a reload on my three water bottles. The miles go by relatively easily. Traffic is moderate with a high concentration of large trucks. The speed limit for cars is 80mph and 70mph for trucks, all of them fly. I hug the right side of the safety lane. A jackrabbit darted along side me and easily loped along for a few seconds, then accelerated a hundred feet ahead before disappearing in the sage brush. I checked my speed, it was 18 mph so this guy must have been doing 25 mph as he left me in the dust.
Also, I observed another more serious incident. As a semi-trailer passed me, I heard a rapid thumping. Then the tread on one of his left tires came off, as it unrolled high into the air it was flailing wildly. The tire was thrown nearly as high as the trailer (about 13 feet) and into the left lane. It looked like it hit the back of a pickup truck that was just behind the tractor trailer. That big chunk of tire must have been 12 feet long and appeared to have a life of its own as it twisted, turned and bounced along the pavement. Several subsequent vehicles quickly dodged one way or the other to miss the debris.
The semi had a smoking wheel as it came to a gradual stop, the pickup kept rolling. During a break in traffic, I quickly pulled into the left lane to get by the now stopped truck. That flying road gator could have done major damage to a small car and I don’t even want to think about it connecting with a bicyclist. Last fall, I saw something similar but at the time I thought the truck had just run over the tire tread and tossed it high. Now that I have clearly seen one fly off, I believe that both were tires separating at high speeds.
Betty found a pleasant KOA campground just south of Van Horn. We sat outside for a little happy hour, then watched Sixty Minutes (they interviewed the idiot Iranian president).
It is now 11 pm (we entered the Central Time Zone today) and raining. This is the second night it has rained.
“Men become old, but they never become good”
This came from a sign in a pub frequented primarily by men so I’m sure it was meant to be a compliment.
24Sep07: Day 7 – 38mi/Total 192mi/To Kent, TX
Betty and I depart the KOA campground at the same time. She will take I-10 to Kent, TX, a tiny crossroads and I will follow. After just five miles, I see she has stopped at a Rest Stop; it’s not often I can catch up or pass her. I find that she is walking the dogs and continue pedaling. Soon I get a double toot.
Biking on an interstate highway is not very interesting, sort of like driving on one. The miles drone by without much diversion. Constant concentration is necessary to avoid potentially dangerous situations. Unlike driving, much of the concentration is focused only a few feet in front of the tires so a million tiny bits of information are whizzing through the mind every few seconds. A few months ago, a bike magazine said the sensations of biking are similar to those of driving at four times the biking speed. Dodging debris, even small bits, and staying as far right as possible keep me entertained mile after mile. Any detailed scenery gazing must wait for a welcome break.
The terrain here is desolate and dry but it is probably not technically a desert. The highest vegetation is mesquite which is green and only a few feet tall so the rolling landscape appears green with patches of brown sand.
Off I-10 at the Kent exit. Betty and the rig are waiting at the side of the exit ramp by the shell of an old stone school house. We get permission to park overnight at the local general store. A large gravel parking lot is all ours. However, during the night a Chevy Blazer parks in the back corner and later two tractor trailers pull along side us. Like many highways in the West, a railroad track runs along much of I-10. Passing trains have become a common sight (and sound) both day and night. Last night we were parked about one hundred feet from the tracks and were reminded of the close proximity throughout the night.
Cowboy Wisdom: “Think twice before you put your two cents in. Most times you won’t have to spend a penny.” From Don’t Dig for Water Under the Outhouse by Texas Bix Bender
25Sep07: Day 8 – 37mi/Total 229mi/To Balmorhea Exit on I-10
This morning, the two semi’s were gone and I greeted the two young guys in the Blazer with a pot of coffee. Paul & Clyde (from Rhode Island & Michigan) are on their own cross country adventure. A few weeks ago they climbed Mount Washington in New Hampshire and recently were in Saint Augustine, FL. They have stopped at some farms to work a few days to fund their continued travels.
Betty walked over to the Post Office at the General Store and mailed some letters and cards. I rode out as Betty was cranking the RV; we agreed to meet at a Rest Stop for lunch. She gives me a triple toot as she goes by, she must be feeling perky today. The traffic is heavy, especially considering that we are in the middle no place. The sun is really burning down, and the slight headwind is “almost” a blessing. It is reasonably comfortable while riding, but when I stop for a break I cook. As I dodged a black spot on the pavement, I saw that it was a tarantula. It was about 5 inches across and fuzzy looking.
When I arrived at the Rest Stop, it took several minutes to cool down. By the time we ate lunch and rested a bit, it seemed to be cooler. Rain clouds were hanging over the mountains to the south and the wind was a direct crosswind. As I rode the wind shifted to a crossing tailwind and it started sprinkling. The road was pancake flat and I was zipping along at 20-25 mph with only a moderate effort, a good feeling. Almost too soon, I arrived at our stopping point. Betty was parked in a huge gravel lot behind a gas station/café and the O- (Circle Bar; as a “brand” the bar should be under the circle, but I don’t know how to do that on this keyboard). We had the “Texas Burgers” at the café, Rebecca, the young waitress, was very friendly and took good care of her only customers. When I asked for a beer, Mary, the cashier, said I could get what I wanted out of the cooler. When I asked if I could just take one out of a six-pack she said yes but it’s much cheaper to get the whole six-pack. So, we sat there eating our “Texas Burgers” with a six-pack of Corona on the table (a seven course meal) while we chatted with Rebecca & Mary. (Before Betty edits this, I should note that she had an iced tea and made certain all the beer was on my side of the table).
Back at the RV, we had some trouble getting the satellite dish to “lock-on”. This was nearly a crisis; not only is Tuesday night the time for ‘NCIS’ & ‘The Unit’, but it is their season premier and the first showing of ‘Cane”. Only after moving the RV, punching the “reset” button repeatedly and some other hocus-pocus, did we “lock-on” at the last minute. Geez, that was close!
During the night, coyotes could be heard barking and howling across the flat range land.
Texas Trivia:
-FortStockton has the world’s largest “Roadrunner”; it is 11ft tall & 22 ft long and is on Main Street.
-A maverick is an unbranded cow or calf. Sam Maverick, a Texan, refused to brand his cattle and hence laid claim to any unbranded cattle,“mavericks”, anyplace close to his range. Young calves were lucrative targets.
–Tumbleweed reportedly came from Russia in 1873 when some seeds got mixed in with a shipment of flaxseed. Also, we have heard that the term “tumbleweed” can refer to any of the many low growing bushy plants that tend to die, dry out and break off at the stem as they are blown across the range land. The song, “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” written by Bob Nolan, in 1932, was originally “Tumbling Leaves”. After audiences kept requesting the song about what they perceived to be “tumblin’ weeds”, Nolan changed the herbage and retitled it “Tumbling Tumbleweeds”. It soon became the familiar theme song of the Sons of the Pioneers. This song info is from an insert in Michael Martin Murphey’s album Cowboy Songs.
–Dry Whiskey is made from the Peyote Cactus, also called Mescal. This cactus has psychoactive alkaloids and is illegal to harvest or possess.
Much of the above is from Frommer’s Exploring America by RV.
-“Don’t Mess With Texas” and “Drive Clean Across Texas” are phrases used in the State’s anti-litter campaign and are apparently working. Their roadsides are some the cleanest in the country (Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada all have relatively clean roadsides).
26Sep07: Day 9 – 54 mi/Total 283mi/To Fort Stockton, TX
Hey, this is “D-Day”, Done for this year. We have a couple of great burritos (egg, cheese, bacon & salsa) at the café and are on our way to Fort Stockton. Betty will park the rig in the KOA Campground, the same one we stayed at last November 28th when we biked here from the East. Cheryl Self runs a good operation there, she is a ‘cancer survivor’ and took an interest in our trip last year. Betty is looking forward to seeing her again.
High clouds make for a comfortable ride. The first few miles go by fast, at 24 miles I wheel into a Rest Stop for lunch and realize that it is my first break of the day. After a couple of energy bars, I reload on water and am back on I-10. The previously smooth road surface turns rough the instant I cross into PecosCounty. Road bikes don’t have much for suspension, no shock absorbers, so the ride is hard on both bike and body. Occasionally, there is a frontage road as a safer alternative.
While on a frontage road, I see an obscure Historical Society marker nearly hidden by mesquite; it marks the site of an old stage station. In the 1850’s, Isaac & Sarah Jude moved here from Tennessee and ran a relay station for the Butterfield Stage company until it dissolved in 1861. Sarah carried a pistol under her apron to protect her children. When the station was attacked by Indians, some of the men kept rifles loaded for her because she was calm and an expert marksman. She outlived her husband by nine years and died in 1913.
I do some rough miles on the side road then get back on the interstate as the parallel road disappears; this switching back and forth repeats over and over. A few days ago, one of the spokes on my rear wheel came loose, I tried to tighten it but now it has jarred loose again. This allows the wheel to warp a bit, it then rubs against one side of the brake pads on each revolution. Since it doesn’t make much sense to ride with the brakes on, I putz with it every few miles. FortStockton has five exits and the KOA is at the last one, actually a few miles east of town. The last miles seem to drag (pun intended), but eventually there is Exit-264.
Betty has the rig hooked up, leveled and Sat TV ‘locked on’. We meet our next door neighbors, Bill & Dee Ross from Nashville, TN. They are in a brand new Country Coach “Allure”. At 37 feet it is one of the shortest luxury RVs available.
This RV park also operates the Roadrunner Café, “The Best Little Café In Texas”. When Betty & I enter their little dining room, there is only one table available, it seats six. Soon after we sit down, Bill & Dee arrive and join us. The conversation during dinner is interesting as we swap travel stories and RV mishaps. Afterward they invite us over to their new rig for a tour. Very nice! It has loads of innovative features packed into those thirty-seven feet.
Meanwhile back in our old rig, we toast the end of this phase of our continuing journey to Alaska. We have now completed the entire route from Key West to the Canadian border along northern Montana, 4,220 miles.
Now, our intention is to return to Florida for the winter and continue the journey next spring. We plan to resume the biking at the Montana-Canadian border in early May 2008 and will slowly bike our way to Alaska. Hopefully, we will have plenty of time while there to explore our nation’s largest state and return to the lower “Forty-Eight” before ‘freeze-up’ in the fall.
Biking Key West to Alaska, progress as of 27 September 2007:
Phase IA (Key West, FL to Ft Stockton, TX) 56 Days – 2207 miles
Phase IB (Ft Stockton, TX to Hachita, NM) 9 Days – 283 miles
Phase I Total 65 Days – 2490 miles
Phase IIA (Antelope Wells/Hachita, NM to Datil, NM) 10 Days – 311 miles
Phase IIB (Canadian Border to Datil, NM) 39 Days – 1419 miles
Phase II Total 49 Days – 1730 miles
Phase III (Canadian Border to Alaska) Will commence
Trip Total as of 27 SEP 2007 104 Days – 4220 miles
Note: The “Days” include about five ‘zero days’ (non-riding days, due to rest, logistics support, sightseeing, etc).