Hello, Note, first ride report ever attempted. But many rides have been taken. This was a father and son trip that took place between May 6, 2013 and May 18, 2013. We have done a two week trip every year since 2006. Two of the 8 trips were attended by my younger son also, in 2010 and 2011. Father is age 57, older son is age 25, and younger son is age 22. The goal was to see as many state and national parks in the State of Texas as possible and Carlsbad Caverns nearby in New Mexico. What qualifies this trip as an adventure was the number of miles on the bikes. Father's bike is a 2007 Ducati GT1000 with over 95,000 miles before the trip. Son's bike is a 2005 Buell XB12 with 56,000 miles on it before the trip. The trip was planned to cover between 4500 and 5000 miles. We live in the Chicago area. Thanks for your interest! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRIP SUMMARY: First night's campsite was just west of Little Rock. Arkansas. .................770 miles Second night's campsite was near Galveston, Texas. ............................497 miles Third night's campsite was on Padre Island, Texas. .............................. 291 miles Fourth nite was in Guadalupe River state park north of San Antonio .........251 miles Fifth nite- Amistad Park near Del Rio...................................................295 miles Sixth nite - Paint Gap (Big Bend Park). ...............................................254 miles Seventh nite - Chisos Basin. ..............................................................96 miles 8th nite - Chisos Basin. ...................................................................172 mlies 9th nite - Guadalupe Mtns. ..............................................................375 miles 10th nite - Guadalupe Mtns. .............................................................105 miles 11th nite - Palo Duro Canyon. ...........................................................460 miles 12th nite - Joplin Missouri. ................................................................523 miles Back home. ....................................................................................588 miles The basic route was a clockwise loop around the state of Texas. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Texarkanna to Galveston. Galveston to Corpus Cristi. Corpus Cristi to San Antonio. San Antonio to Del Rio. Del Rio to Big Bend National Park. Big Bend to Presidio. Presidio to Van Horne. Van Horne to Guadalupe Mountains Guadalupe mtns to Carlsbad Caverns. Carlsbad to Lubbock. Lubbock to Palo Duro Canyon. Palo Duro Canyon to Amarillo. Amarillo to Shamrock. FAVORITE ROADS ------------------------------------------------------- Padre Island seashore Road to Chisos Basin (Big Bend Natl Park) River Road west of Lajitas Hwy 337 west of Medina Hwy 335 north of Barksdale Father's bike. Location of second nite's campground near Galveston, Texas Second nite's campsite, Bolivar Point. Lighthouse in background of campsite. Third day went to Padre Island to camp on beach. You can drive on the beach for 60 miles ! Our campsite on the beach. Padre Island, Texas. Third day. Ferry to Mustang Island. Nice "road" for 60 miles watch for jellyfish in the water..... Fourth nite"s campsite just north of San Antonio, Texas
Guadalupe River The riders in the Hill Country west of Bandera, Texas. Nice museum. Great riding roads in this area.
Saw lots of these crossing the road. Del Rio, Texas. Amistad Park. We will spend 3 nights in this large National Park.
Backcountry campsite in Big Bend Natl Park. Nice cactus near our tents. This guy visited my tent. They say the centipedes are poisonous. This is the first canyon we visited. Crafts for sale along the path to the canyon. Do not get caught with these........ This is the first of 3 times we touched the Rio Grande River. Look closely and there are cattle attempting to cross the river. Far side is Mexico. Wonder if the cattle have passports. Closer view of the trinkits. After the canyon we went to the Hot Springs. Dirt bike would have been nice for the gravel road.
This is a warning not to be in possession of the crafts. Scenic trail to the hot springs. Second time we touched the river. You can put one leg in the hot springs and one foot in the river. There was a tent setup on the other side of the river..... The Window hiking trail near Chisos Basin Campground. We spent 2 nites at this campground. Nice view. Third day in the park went to Santa Elena Canyon. Approaching the entrance to the canyon. Third time we touched the river. Getting closer to the canyon! Pictures do not do the view justice. Cemetary in ghost town of Turlingua. West of Big Bend park. Another trail in the Chisos Basin Campground. We saw a bear near the campground but not on this trail. Someone's front yard near Turlingua. Turling River Road just west of Lajitas , Texas.
Stopped at Fort Davis on the way to Van Horne. I-10 westbound towards Van Horne. Looks like a storm. Actually it was a dust storm with high winds. You can really cruise on the Texas interstates. Camped here for 2 nites. Mountain lions were prevalent here, not bears. The bears were at Chisos Basin ! Carlsbad Caverns were not far away in New Mexico. There are two entrances into the caverns, the natural one and the elevator that takes you down 750 feet into the Main Room. Natural entrance where the bats have a " mass exodus" to feed at dusk. There is a large seating area to watch this. Ruins of a stagecoach stop near the campground. Near White's City and Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. White's City New Mexico to El Paso. Same area near White's City. Looks and acts like a rattler, but was a bull snake. Not too long after this picture was taken a truck came by and..............
Eastern edge of Palo Duro Canyon just south of Amarillo, Texas. Second largest canyon in the United States. Canyon had a nice campground. We had company at the campsite. More company. The canyon was also the site of an Indian battle in 1874 and 1875. My 'cockpit" Approaching the 100K mile threshold. Lot's of miles. Will attempt to add some maps in the near future and final thoughts of the trip.
Good report so far. Loved Big Bend when I was down there a couple of years ago. Did you stop by Judge Roy Bean's in Langtry? You sure put in a few long days.
I hope I haven't duplicated but I don't see where my other reply went? I just wanted to comment on how really cool I think it is that you've been doing these rides together. Some families are 4,000 miles apart and seldom see each other. Yes, I know all about that! Good luck and stay safe on your future rides together. Gary "Oldone" Grampa’s Lake Superior Ride Grampa’s National Monument Ride
Hello bomose, We did not have time to stop at Judge Roy Bean's in Langtry. Maybe next time. Our goal that day was Big Bend Natl Park. If I had the time I would stop at every roadside historical marker that I saw also. 2laneroad
Hello Gary Oldone, Besides actually taking the rides, the planning keeps us going during the winters and is a great family project. 2laneroad
Great report. There's some long boring roads here in Texas, but you hit some of the sweet spots. Great pictures too.
Nice job! I did a very similar ride on my way back from El Centro, CA to Corpus Christi, TX. I wish I knew that you guys were heading through this area as I would love to buy some fellow ADV riders a round or two. We don't get many ride reports this far south in Texas. If you get back this way again, let me know!
Nice ride report and history lessons. That's quite a cockpit you have there. Looks like it does have a few miles on it. How many watches do you have?
Suscribed! Beautiful pictures from a beautiful part of the country. Thanks. How tough was that Jane Herbert Wikinson, living alone in the fort through the winter and giving birth to a baby girl!
Hello Knobbie, Thanks. We talked to a native Texan at a gas station near Palo Duro Canyon about the roads. I remarked that the miles seemed longer in Texas just like everything else was bigger in Texas. His response was: "that's because there's nothing inbetween the miles." The long boring roads emphasized the vastness of the state. We made about 2700 miles just in the state alone. 2laneroad
Hello Usmcpilot, Thanks for the offer ! A lot of the folks I talked to in Texas have never even been to Big Bend National Park. The kool part was seeing the Rio Grande River and being so close to Mexico. Nice bike, Your pics of Santa Elena Canyon and River Road (?) brought back good memories. I hope to add a Go Pro Video from my son's ride along River Road soon. 2laneroad
Hello Mcgee, I have 2 analog watches there for trips so if one is not correct they tend to serve as checks and balances. They serve as something to look at for a diversion. Also, it is easier for me to conceptualize time frames using analog rather than digital time. The 12.7 is a voltmeter........ There is a digital clock in the tach window but I like to keep an eye on the other display which is the oil temp. 2laneroad