A CannonRide Around the Bend (Big Bend Region)

Thanks! Glad you were able to incorporate some of the history and stories into your trip.

Thanks for the nudge.

A GPX file is now available for download.

GPS thread is here.

Lots of waypoints and paths to enjoy - both dual sport and road rides.





Hope they prove useful! I filtered some of the tracks so they are best used at a .2 to .3 mile range.

Balmorhea Segment (42 miles)


Fort Davis, Valentine, Marfa, Alpine (164 miles)


Fort Davis to Big Bend Ranch State Park (123 miles)


BBRSP NE Loop (90 miles)


Chisa Pinto Loop (313 miles)


BBRSP Central Loops (87 miles)


117 BBRSP to Chisos Basin (116 miles)


Persimmon, Stillwell, Dagger, Old Ore, Rio Grande Village (160 miles)


Glenn Spring, Black Gap (64 miles)


River Road Loop (104 miles)


Maxwell and Maverick (110 miles)


Marathon Pena (75 miles)

Thanks Charlie! Glad you enjoyed the history. Thanks for sharing about Ketchum!

That is pretty interesting that you are related to Black Jack Ketchum. He certainly had a colorful life.

"On August 16, 1899, Tom Ketchum, supposedly knowing nothing of the July 11 hold-up which ended in the death of his brother Sam, single-handedly attempted to rob the same train again at the same place and in the same way that he and Sam and others had robbed it just a few weeks earlier. The train conductor, Frank Harrington, saw Tom approaching the moving train. He recognized him, grabbed a shotgun, and shot Tom in the arm, knocking him off his horse. The train continued, and the next day a posse came out and found Tom beside the tracks, badly wounded. He was transported to medical facilities at Trinidad, Colorado, and his right arm had to be amputated. He was nursed back to health and then sent to Clayton, New Mexico Territory, for trial.

At the trial, Ketchum was convicted and sentenced to death. He was the only person ever hanged in Union County, New Mexico Territory (now Union County, New Mexico). He was also the only person who suffered capital punishment for the offense of "felonious assault upon a railway train" in New Mexico Territory (which did not become a state until 1912).

Ketchum was executed by hanging in Clayton. By freak coincidence, the rope was too long, and since Ketchum had gained a significant amount of weight during his time in jail, and nobody in Clayton had any experience in conducting hangings, Ketchum was decapitated when he dropped through the trap door.

His last words were reported by the San Francisco Chronicle as: "Good-bye. Please dig my grave very deep. All right; hurry up."

A popular postcard was made showing the body. Afterwards his head was sewn back onto the body for viewing, and he was interred at the Clayton Cemetery."

It was an intersting story to read. Thanks for sharing Charlie!

Thanks Mark! I hope you enjoy the storeis.

Thanks! The gas and beer remark gave me a good chuckle.

Glad you enjoyed it. Funny how so many of us find the same things worthy of a photograph.

I use a Nikon D60 with an 18-200 lens on it. I don't use it for much more than a point and shoot most of the time and usually don't even get off the bike to set up a shot. The lens is pretty versatile and the images have lots of pixels.

Glad it proved useful! I try to help the next guy as far as planning goes.

Thanks Andy! It certainly is a great area to visit - even several times. Good advice about not riding alone in the desert.

Thanks! I'm glad you had a great trip and got to enjoy Pinto Canyon. There is so much great stuff to see and experience in that area. I probably need to get back down there myself.

Friend and fellow ADVer 4-s-hsky just took a trip to Big Bend using the GPX and material in this thread. He found a new barrier gate on the NE loop in BBRSP and thoughfully sent me a GPS track segment with the new barrier and the go-around track. I integrated that change into the GPX for that region which is now posted as revision 1. The ranger indicated the barrier was not temporary. Thanks for helping to keep the information current Terry!

You are welcome. Glad it is proving to be a helpful resource.

Thanks! Like most places, best to be aware.

Thanks. Glad you found it entertaining!