The Cheese Weasels Do Big Bend, Texas

[redbirds_imp]

Beautiful photos! I do like wide open desert riding.

+1 on that. Deserts are spectacular.

[Stichill_imp]

Thanks guys...glad you’re enjoying the virtual ride! The great thing about deserts is they are out of the ordinary for most of us...really gives you that feeling of freedom and the open road to endless possibilities.

[the Ferret]

How far between gas stops?

[Stichill_imp]

How far between gas stops?

They Harleys could go at least 200 miles on a tank of premium. We got gas in Marathon, and there was also gas in the park at Panther Junction.

Once we got inside the park, made our way to the trailhead for Lost Mine Trail. One of our guys really wanted to hike the 2 miles up to the peak, so we all decided to go. I didn't bring hiking boots so I made the trek in my riding boots. Actually they weren't so bad as the ankle support was excellent. I just looked like a dork in shorts and riding boots.









It took us about 1-1/2 hours to ascend, 1/2 hour at the top, and about an hour back down.
We parked at the trailhead of Lost Mine Trail, which was very busy in the morning (before the heat rose as noon approached). Two of us parked at the far end on a fairly sloping grade, which felt hairy while backing that behemoth Harley. One guy parked in a large-ish space between two cars parallel parked, and one parked snugged next to an official park vehicle.

I've tried to put these trails pics more or less in order of ascent, peak, and descent. The peak is the panorama and the one right before it.


























Here is the second of two times I nearly dropped the bike. The angle we're parked at doesn't look too bad in this pic, but trust me the lot sloped to the right and toward the rear of the bike. It was tough for me to get my right foot down with my short legs. As I mentioned before, the bike would only start in Neutral, so I lifted the bike off the stand, stowed it, put the transmission in Neutral, and started the bike. OK, ready to ride. I picked up my left foot and put in on the floorboard, prior to pulling in the clutch and slipping it into First. Well, my heel caught the heel shifter and popped the bike into Second, causing it to lurch forward. Miraculously - again - I somehow pulled in the clutch and halted forward progress. But, before I could get a hand on the brake, the bike slid backward due to the slope of the lot. Bam! I grabbed the brake before it hit the curb with the rear tire. Whew! Harleys are too dramatic for this guy!

[the Ferret]

That...is an astounding series of scenery photos. Still can't believe you are in Texas, doesn't look like Texas to me.

[redbirds_imp]

That...is an astounding series of scenery photos. Still can't believe you are in Texas, doesn't look like Texas to me.

Having been to every corner of Texas, it is a state that never ceases to amaze with it's diversity. Swamps, bayous and great pine forests in the east to open plains that suddenly morph into canyons to the north. The marvelous Hill Country of the Edwards Plateau, the Davis Mountains north of The Big Bend and the lovely Guadalupe National Park on the border with New Mexico. Texas, it's a whole other country.

[Stichill_imp]

Yeah Big Bend is a place apart from the rest of Texas in many ways. It's an extension of the ecosystem of the [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chihuahuan_Desert]Chihuahuan Desert. The [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chisos_Mountains]Chisos Mountains are entirely contained within the park boundaries, and are sometimes counted as a northern extension of Mexico's [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_del_Carmen]Sierra del Carmen.


After coming down off the mountain, it was getting close to 2:00pm and we were hungry. Luckily, the restaurant at Chisos Mountains Lodge was nearby, so off we headed to grab a bite.





I had a plate of enchiladas with refried beans and a baked jalapeño pepper on top. It wasn't great but it wasn't bad either...about what you'd expect from a national park restaurant.

Sitting next to us was a retired couple from Germany. After a long consultation with the waitress, the man ordered chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy. When the meal came, he wasn't happy. He was mad that the steak was breaded and fried, and mad that there was white gravy poured over everything. And he was mad that the Texas Toast was just thick, floppy, oily white bread. He tried to pick all the breading off the meat and scrape off all the gravy. Finally he said, "This is $&!+." We said, "It's not what you ordered?" He said, "Gravy, gravy, gravy, gravy! Why? And soft bread! No good bread! No good bread in America! No, wait...I can get good bread at H*E*B. H...E...B. Only H.E.B has good bread! Not this $&!+!"

We just shrugged and felt bad that the guy was letting something like that ruin his day. He said they'd been here five months...I guess he was just homesick.

[Stichill_imp]

Day 3 - 25 March 2018 - Sierra del Carmen & the Rio Grande

After lunch, we saddled up and headed back around through Panther Junction and southeast toward the Rio Grande Visitor Center.






Coming down toward the river, you see this expansive view of Sierra del Carmen on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande.

It was getting hotter (the mercury was moving above 95 degrees F) and we were keen to find out if we could go swimming in the river. We parked the bikes at "Daniel's Ranch" and made our way to the water's edge.









Two guys brought their swim trunks. I'd forgotten mine, but luckily I was wearing black polyester sport boxer briefs, which looked essentially like swim trunks and and could dry out just as fast if not faster.

We walked out onto a slippery rock and entered the water. It was only 2-3 feet deep. The bottom was muddy ooze until you got out about 4 or 5 feet, then it changed to clean sand. The current was fairly swift, making us work to hold our positions. We theorized that the center of the river was the international boundary with Mexico, so we "swam into Mexico" and yelled back at our non-participating buddy still on shore in the U.S. Then the two other guys decided to make landfall in Mexico on a sandbar. I decided that fun as that sounded, I was only a quick dive away from re-entering the US.


That's me in the center of the border-jumpers.


Making landfall on the Mexico side.

[Inhouse Bob]

Yeah Big Bend is a place apart from the rest of Texas in many ways. It's an extension of the ecosystem of the [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chihuahuan_Desert]Chihuahuan Desert. The [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chisos_Mountains]Chisos Mountains are entirely contained within the park boundaries, and are sometimes counted as a northern extension of Mexico's [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_del_Carmen]Sierra del Carmen.


After coming down off the mountain, it was getting close to 2:00pm and we were hungry. Luckily, the restaurant at Chisos Mountains Lodge was nearby, so off we headed to grab a bite.





I had a plate of enchiladas with refried beans and a baked jalapeño pepper on top. It wasn't great but it wasn't bad either...about what you'd expect from a national park restaurant.

Sitting next to us was a retired couple from Germany. After a long consultation with the waitress, the man ordered chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy. When the meal came, he wasn't happy. He was mad that the steak was breaded and fried, and mad that there was white gravy poured over everything. And he was mad that the Texas Toast was just thick, floppy, oily white bread. He tried to pick all the breading off the meat and scrape off all the gravy. Finally he said, "This is $&!+." We said, "It's not what you ordered?" He said, "Gravy, gravy, gravy, gravy! Why? And soft bread! No good bread! No good bread in America! No, wait...I can get good bread at H*E*B. H...E...B. Only H.E.B has good bread! Not this $&!+!"

We just shrugged and felt bad that the guy was letting something like that ruin his day. He said they'd been here five months...I guess he was just homesick.

That is about my favorite meal. Texas Comfort Food. So sorry he couldn't enjoy the local eccentricities. "When in Rome..."

[Stichill_imp]

Yeah Big Bend is a place apart from the rest of Texas in many ways. It's an extension of the ecosystem of the [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chihuahuan_Desert]Chihuahuan Desert. The [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chisos_Mountains]Chisos Mountains are entirely contained within the park boundaries, and are sometimes counted as a northern extension of Mexico's [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_del_Carmen]Sierra del Carmen.


After coming down off the mountain, it was getting close to 2:00pm and we were hungry. Luckily, the restaurant at Chisos Mountains Lodge was nearby, so off we headed to grab a bite.





I had a plate of enchiladas with refried beans and a baked jalapeño pepper on top. It wasn't great but it wasn't bad either...about what you'd expect from a national park restaurant.

Sitting next to us was a retired couple from Germany. After a long consultation with the waitress, the man ordered chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy. When the meal came, he wasn't happy. He was mad that the steak was breaded and fried, and mad that there was white gravy poured over everything. And he was mad that the Texas Toast was just thick, floppy, oily white bread. He tried to pick all the breading off the meat and scrape off all the gravy. Finally he said, "This is $&!+." We said, "It's not what you ordered?" He said, "Gravy, gravy, gravy, gravy! Why? And soft bread! No good bread! No good bread in America! No, wait...I can get good bread at H*E*B. H...E...B. Only H.E.B has good bread! Not this $&!+!"

We just shrugged and felt bad that the guy was letting something like that ruin his day. He said they'd been here five months...I guess he was just homesick.

That is about my favorite meal. Texas Comfort Food. So sorry he couldn't enjoy the local eccentricities. "When in Rome..."

Absolutely. I've found that one key to traveling well is adopting local customs and cuisine as much as possible.