Monday, June 2, 2008
I got started early again.. Yep, headlamp worn and flashing. It wasn't as early as I hoped, but there is a lot to do in the morning. Even being in a house last night instead of a tent, where I don't have to break down camp, time still seems to go fast as I pack my bags, etc.
The firtst 32 miles of today's route along Hwy 90 was a nice easy gradual climb. I gained 1,400 feet in 32 miles. Clearly that is not steep, and made for what could've been the most peaceful ride of the trip so far. No dogs, just the mountains of west Texas and some wildlife. After a while though, you look for progress, some sign you are getting there. All I had to work with was the County Line. I knew that at the Pecos/Brewster County line I 23 miles behind me and 32 to go. Brewster County greeted me with nice new asphalt vs some rough stuff that covers a good share of the roads here.
I laugh when I ride sometimes. In the openness, surrounded only by west Texas mountains, and often not seeing a car for miles, I laugh that I am really doing this. Of course, sometimes the laugh changes to dread when I am ready for the day to be over and it isn't, but that's the way it goes. Today to break up the ride, I stopped in at a picnic area again. Who uses these things out here? "Got any plans for Saturday? No?! I got it. Lets drive 300 miles. I know this nice picnic area of Hwy 90."
As I was riding along Hwy 90, to my left I saw a roadcut that revealed the vertical tilting rocks here. A sign close by told the story that these rocks are of the Ouchita Belt, of the same approximate age as the Appalacians, 275 to 290 million years old. Geology still fascinates me. I'd like to pick up a cool rock now and then and bring it with me, but the weight would kill me.
More topics later...
Linda Speares, the Oasis Cafe, Mark the reporter, and Paper-crete houses
The Historic Gage Hotel
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