Big Bend Trip - photos

[FJRmgm]

Tim Wilkin and I met up with Buzz and Steve and rode out from Houston to Alpine Tx to use as our base camp for riding Big Bend State Park and around the Ft Davis area. We stayed at the Sunday House Inn in Alpine and it was a decent motel.
 
The total distance out and back was 1985 miles.. We rode some of the best routes in Texas on this one because we came back through the hill country west of Kerrville Tx.
 
this link will take you to a Photobucket slide show of our pictures. Use the "Full Screen" option in the lower right of the screen.
 
Enjoy this magnificent splendor. If you have never been out there, these pictures don't begin to show what it really looks like.
 
The first morning we were in Alpine the humidity was seven percent.
 
Please note the dates on the pics are wrong because some idiot set the date wrong in the camera.
We were there on March 30 - April 4th 2011.
 
http://s131.photobucket.com/albums/p296/FJRmgm/Big%20Bend%20Motorcycle%20Trip%20March%202011/?albumview=slideshow
 
here are Tim's pics - the first couple of pics with wooded hills are in the Hill Country west of Bandera Tx.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v333/TWILKIN/Ft%20Davis%20Big%20Bend%20Hill%20Country/?albumview=slideshow
 

[Orson]

dunno why exactly I find Big Bend so alluring

maybe it's the desolation and the remoteness.

it's a special place

We stopped at Balmoreah on a hot summer day and took a dip. WOO! Talk about refreshing  

someone over on pashnit.com told a british tourist not to go to Big Bend cuz he might be killed by Mexican drug lords  

[Scratch33]

Nice pics - glad you had a good ride.  

[FJRmgm]

we stopped at Balmorhea and took a nice dip in the 75 degree pool.  Very refreshing on an 85 degree day.

[Justin]

Nice pics, thanks for sharing. Still on my short list of places to visit. And also, nice work on the time travel Glad you were able to take the trip next month  

[FJRmgm]

Nice pics, thanks for sharing. Still on my short list of places to visit. And also, nice work on the time travel Glad you were able to take the trip next month  

Big Bend is soooooo big it alters the space-time continuum..

[Kneescrubber]

Big Bend is soooooo big it alters the space-time continuum..

Try taking a dirt bike down there. The number of trails and roads is mind numbing. And the hot springs.....mmmmm.

[Medic09]

Nice.

The Big Bend is also a good but challenging place to hike.  Used to go out there when I lived in Houston.  Never regretted making the trip.

[BwanaDik]

Great photos Mike!  Jackie and I did almost exactly  the same route a couple of years ago.  thanks for stirring up the memories

[stromgal]

I had the pleasure of riding BB last March. Would love to do it again, even more so with a dirt bike. Thanks for the pics.

[satxbonneville]

dunno why exactly I find Big Bend so alluring

maybe it's the desolation and the remoteness.

it's a special place

I've been in love with the BB region since I hit Sul Ross State back in 1975 for a semester of essentially not going to class and spending every possible moment in BBNP smoking alternatives to tobacco, drinking beer and hiking/climbing the park. I was encouraged to seek other educational opportunities due to severe lack of GPA and it was a fair number of years before I could get back to the BB region but I now go every year I can make the time.

It's my favorite place to stop, sit and learn to listen to the world around me again and something about the silence and stark beauty reaches deep inside some people, grabs hold and never lets go. I hope it never lets go the grip it has on me.

Great pics. They remind me of the pics we took back in August when my two sons and I did a bike trip to Ft. Davis/Alpine with a stop at Balmorhea for a swim. We had only 3 days so we were not able to hit BBNP. Next time we will.

[steve.m]

summer road trip destination...chosen.

[FJRmgm]

summer road trip destination...chosen.

go there in October or November - its hotter than the face of the sun in summer.  

It was 103 down on River Road the first weekend in April..

[steve.m]

go there in October or November - its hotter than the face of the sun in summer.  

It was 103 down on River Road the first weekend in April..

I live in houston, 110 with 90% humidity is a regular occurance here in the summer.  big bend would be a relief  

[Orson]

There's a noticeable temperature change as you ride up into the Chisos basin  

You go from the desert floor to cool, pine trees in 7 miles