BBFO 2011 - Day 3

Saturday: January 28, 2011

You could not ask for a better day of riding. The day started out cold, but the sun came out and it warmed up a bit. Mind you, we still needed to wear our winter riding coats, but as far as I am concerned the weather was perfect.

We ate breakfast at the Truck Stop and was on the road heading towards Alpine around 7:30 AM or so. When we arrived in Marathon we decided to check out a park that we were told out the night before.

The park is the Brewster County Park, and it is located about 7 miles south of Marathon. The road is paved, but a bit rough, but we all made it OK. When we arrived at the park I was a bit surprised. This is really a nice place, and it appears it may be the local hangout in the summer time.

Running through the park is a spring that has been dammed up. There are facilities to use the restroom and steps to enter the spring for swimming. It was a bit cold for us to try out the water, but it was a real nice place to stop and take a break. After a few minutes we headed out making out way towards Alpine. The ride to Alpine was uneventful and we only stopped for a quick restroom break, and for a couple to top off their tanks. We then headed south on 118 towards Terlingua.

It is about 90 miles from Alpine to Terlingua. Highway 118 is very scenic and combined with the perfect weather it just made for a fine day of riding. We arrived in Terlingua and took a short break where we decided to have lunch in Presidio. First we had to ride the famous River Road to get there. The River Road also known as FM 170 is about as good as it gets for motorcycling. We made the best of it and arrived in Presidio for a late lunch.

Saturday: January 29, 2011

We decided to eat lunch at a restaurant we used to eat at in the past. It has been closed down for a couple of years, but has opened again under a new name, so what the hell, we gave it a shot. We didn't realize until we sat down and saw the menu that the restaurant is a Mexican Seafood Restaurant. That may not be bad for the other guys, but those that know me know I do not eat seafood. The did have beef and chicken fajitas so we decided to give them a try. I was the only one that doesn't eat fish, but all the other guys except for Doug ordered the fajitas. Go figure?

I was not impressed with the fajitas, but they were eatable, but next year I think I will go some place else. After lunch we decided it was to late to go to the end of 170 so we decided to head north to Marfa where we will be staying the night. It is about 60 mile of a very scenic road. Our plan for this night was to visit the Marfa Mystery Lights, so we figured getting to the motel a bit early will give us time to take and break before riding out the see the lights.

You can only see the Marfa Lights at night, so we stayed until dark, and then headed into Marfa to eat first. We had dinner at the local Dairy Q,een and like all Dairy Queen's it was about what we expected. After dinner we headed out to the light. We all went except for Dick and Bill. Bill was just to lazy, and Dick had already seen them before.

When we arrived at the viewing area, we were lucky and was able to spot four or five lights. Every time I see them it fascinates me, and since no one knows what their origin or is makes it a bit more impressive. I stayed a few minutes, but then I decided to return back to the motel. Chuck and I headed back, while Doug, John and Brian hung out a bit longer.

Once back at the motel we all called it a night and headed off to bed. Tomorrow we plan to do the Davis Mountain Loop and slowly make out way back to Sanderson.