Last Wednesday six of us took off from Austin, Texas to Terlingua, Texas which sits just outside of Big Bend National Park. As you can see on the map it's literally in the middle of nowhere:
We left at about 5:30 am to miss the weather coming towards Austin and ended up driving in some pretty thick fog all the way to Del Rio. If you are ever in Del Rio make sure you stop at Chinto's Mexican Restaurant. Great tacos. They actually make the tortillas when you order your food.
This was the first time we stopped in full daylight so I was able to get a picture of all six bikes. It's a pretty eclectic group:
We had the following:
BMW R nineT
2004 Moto Guzzi California
2014 Moto Guzzi California 1400
Kawasaki Concours
Triumph Scrambler
Vespa 300 (yes, that is correct, a Vespa)
The roads were pretty messy. I don't know if I'll ever get all the road grime off of my Cali:
Just past Del Rio we crossed the Pecos River, which was about the halfway point:
We pulled into Terlingua late in the afternoon. There's not a lot of places to stay so don't expect 5 star accommodations:
The day's ride was just over 500 miles:
The next day started out a little cooler than we had expected:
Thank God for heated gloves. Fortunately it did warm up into the low 50s by mid-afternoon.
On the first day we rode hwy 170, which is referred to as the River Road. There was some spectacular scenery on the road. Bluebonnets were in full bloom:
We were right down on the Rio Grande. Here Mexico is on right, USA on the left:
And here Mexico is on the left and USA is on the right:
There were a number of steep grades on the road including this one that was over 10%:
We rode on through Presidio to the very end of Hwy 170 in Candelaria. Candelaria is a spot on the map that is arguably the end of the world in the lower 48 states. The paved road ends and you can take a dirt road through the mountains 65 miles to Marfa should you be so inclined:
At the end of the world in Candelaria:
So by the end of the day we had ridden 245 miles:
Sitting on the porch watching the sunset:
We spent Friday in Big Bend National Park. On the road to Santa Elena Canyon I came over the rise to see this vista:
Santa Elena Canyon is pretty spectacular. The Rio Grande runs through this very narrow canyon separating Mexico and the U.S:
Here's a view from near the top of the canyon looking back into the park:
There were so many things to see, including these horses on the Mexico side of the Rio Grande:
Some more shots from inside the park:
I ended the day at 125 miles:
The next morning I rose early to see this:
The ride back to Austin was 571 miles, so we covered 1,441 miles in the 4 days. Big Bend is a destination point which is well worth experiencing if you have the time.
