I will be heading to Big Bend tomorrow morning.
And…my low beam and high beam lights are miraculously working again on their own!
This morning…
I left my motel in Del Rio this morning and checked every fuse and pulled every relay to see if I could get the low beam and high beams to start working. They didn’t. I packed up and went over to the local Honda dealership and they couldn’t get me in and they didn’t work on BMW’s anyway. But they were friendly and helpful with suggestions.
This switch on the left side of my handlebar is my high beam switch. If you push it up it auto locks into place and the high beam stays on until I turn it off. This is what wasn’t working. Upon switching it up, the switch locks in place but no high beams. Oddly, if I move the switch down it is used as a high beam flash (and the high beam would work/flash then) but the switch automatically returns to the center, neutral off position. After checking the fuses and pulling and reinserting the relays I still had no low or high beam lights. So, based on a suggestion on a Facebook group for my type of bike, I took some duct tape and jammed it into the space between the switch and the handlebar to keep the flash mode on. Not pretty but it worked all day and the high beam stayed on.
I thought Big Bend was only going to be about an hour from Del Rio but I forgot how big Texas really is. It took three hours to get to Marathon, Texas and that is still another hour north of the official entrance to the park. I arrived at Marathon around 3:30 PM and decided at that point that it would be wise to just find (yet) another motel nearby and hit the park first thing in the morning. The thought of heading into the park late into the afternoon and then trying to find and set up a camping spot was too much. Besides, what’s the rush?
Today’s ride was beautiful and nearly perfect.
It was a beautiful ride again today. Weather was spot on perfect. I actually felt hot at one point when I stopped and opened up the vents on my riding pants. First time I have done that in a long time and definitely the first time on this trip.
I can officially say, I feel like I’m somewhere very different and that I’m right where I’m supposed to me at this moment in time. Topography, geography, weather, animals (squished armadillos everywhere), plants and smiling people make me feel like I’m on a different trip than where I started.
An oasis in the desert, it has been described. Glimpse of the turquoise colored waters of the Amistad National Recreation Area.
I left Del Rio and soon found myself on Highway 90 heading west. Before long I came across the Armistad National Recreation Area. I wasn’t expecting this. As I passed over on a bridge looking down it looked like a turquoise colored Rorschach test. The water went everywhere in indistinct patterns and shapes. I wanted to stop and investigate but I also wanted to make it to Big Bend. I took a few photos and continued west.
Shadows and Texas desert.
Highway 90 at times follows the Rio Grande separating Texas from Mexico and, at times I was less than a quarter mile away from the Mexico border.
Border Patrol were everywhere.
I saw a border patrol truck running on a dirt road off the shoulder to my right, heading in the opposite direction. It was the characteristic white, American pickup truck but it was dragging some large, construction equipment type tires behind it with chains. I’m guessing this is to cover up their tire track from the illegal aliens. Evidence of the cat and mouse nature of border patrol. I’ve never seen this before in all the times I have encountered the U.S. Border Patrol. It seemed like such a rudimentary way to confuse illegal aliens and the contrast between the almost brand new, high tech border patrol truck dragging used construction equipment tires behind by chains was stunning and I thought about it for a while.
I started passing signs indicating an upcoming border control inspection. They warn you in advance. As you approach you will start seeing signs with flashing yellow lights indicating that you are approaching the inspection. These immigration inspection stations are not a secret but they are still interesting if you don’t live anywhere near the Mexico border and haven’t seen one before. My first time seeing one was when I started driving a truck over the road and encountered one. It’s just not something you would expect along a highway inside the United States and not at an actual border.
running into a Border patrol inspection station on the highway.
I’ll explain how it looks as you approach. The signs with the flashing lights will indicate the upcoming inspection. As you get closer the speed limit signs will have you slow down and traffic cones or something similar will start directing you into a line towards a structure. Before you hit the structure you will drive through a line of video cameras, still cameras and x-ray cameras that will look inside your vehicle or your truck’s trailer, looking for illegal aliens. The structure can vary. Today’s inspection building consisted of something like an office building with a large, very tall open steel roof over the inspection area. As you approach the canopy overhead, there will usually be multiple lines that will split off to reduce any built up traffic resulting in various lines for inspecting multiple vehicles at once. Once you pull up you will be directed to stop by a border patrol agent and they will either ask a few questions or, in today’s case, just ask if you are a United States citizen. I think it is less about the questions themselves and more about how you answer them, what you look like, what you’re driving and just an overall impression whether they need to delve deeper into your motives and nationality.
Today, when greeted by the border patrol agent, I was simply asked, “Are you a U.S. citizen?”. Once I replied affirmative they waved me through and I was free to go. I’ve never personally had a bad experience at one of these inspection stations whether I was on my bike or driving a truck. The agents are always professional and friendly.
(Video below. Absolutely nothing exciting here. Just kind of showing the approach and how it all works.)
Riding on the desolate south texas highway 90 alone.
Most of the ride I felt like I was experiencing this road alone. Rarely did I encounter someone in front of me nor did anyone come up behind me. Speed limit was either 70 or 75 mph, except when passing through the few tiny towns. It was mostly scrub brush, cactus and mountains off in the distance. Every once in a while you would see an entrance to a ranch with a name like the “Double C Ranch” or “Two Coyotes Ranch” or something similar. They all used the same iron ranch gate arch followed by a dirt road that led out into the desert to some unseen place. You couldn’t ever see any actual ranch structures, just the entrance to the ranch. The gate arch is specifically made for each ranch.
Every once in a while I would see a single structure set far back off the road out in the desert. Usually it was an old RV or the type of camper that would go on the back of a pickup truck, hoisted up and supported by something other than a pickup truck. It became a freestanding home. Minimalist to say the least. Then there would be nothing again for a long while. Occasionally I would pass an armadillo that had been ran over. This is pretty common in south Texas.
Riding into Sanderson, Texas. I didn’t realize how many bugs are now dead on my windscreen. You get an idea of the scrub brush along the highway with those trees to the right.
Passing the tiny town of Dryden and continuing west I abided by the reduced speed limit signs and came into Sanderson, Texas - the “town too mean for Bean”. Another small town but bigger than Dryden and a little more colorful. These tiny towns out in the middle of nowhere have always interested me. Slowing way down to the posted speed limit, towns like these always have speed traps. Always. Sure enough, just as I passed the sign declaring Sanderson the “Cactus Capitol of Texas” on my left was a sheriff waiting to catch a speeder. It wouldn’t be me. Sanderson is the county seat of Terrell County and is where most of the population lives. Coming from New Jersey where our least populated county is almost 63,000 this town of under 900 people as the population center of Terrell County is amusing. I paused by the largest building in the center of town which I later found out is the historic Kerr Mercantile Building. I snapped a few pictures of what looked like chaotic things piled out front including some dinosaurs. I’m not sure what exactly was going on here. I’ll have to look at the pictures a little more closely when I get the chance.
The historic Kerr Mercantile Building in Sanderson, Texas.
As quickly as you enter Sanderson, you are soon driving out of it as the speed limit signs increase from 35 mph to 45 to 55 up to 75. And then, I’m back out in the open all alone again.
Just me and the road. Speed limit signs varied between 70 and 75 mph. Not a twisty ride but at times there were some great higher speed sweepers to keep it interesting.
After another 54 miles of nothing but open road I hit Marathon where I had to consider whether to follow the road south into Big Bend or find a room nearby and hit the park in the morning. Considering the time of day and distance to get to the park entrance I thought it wise to just get this room I got tonight. There wasn’t any hotels that fit my budget so I booked the cheapest room I could find 30 miles up the road in Alpine, where I am tonight. Upon entering the property I was gifted with the fact that somehow, miraculously almost, my low beam and high beam began working again. Glorious!
My modest roadside motel
Modest but excellent considering the price. Paid about $62 with tax for this place tonight. A little more than I would have liked since I paid about $37 last night at the pretty excellent Motel 6 in Del Rio.
Value Lodge - Alpine, TX
Long shadows and legs as the sun begins to set. I have the place almost to myself tonight. Bike is parked all the way at the end of the building.
Tomorrow…first time camping in 20 years and in big bend national park.
Tomorrow morning I’ll head into Big Bend National Park and pay the $35 entrance fee (good for 7 days) and then head up to a camping spot I’ve been looking into called Chisos Basin campground. I looked at the Google street view of the campground and it seems there are a couple of prime tent spots available towards the top of the campground. Looks private and I saw that these few special spots have their own picnic table, grill and parking right up to the location.
Tomorrow night at 7:30 PM there is a special astrophotography seminar by one of the rangers at the Panther Junction Visitor Center. I’m really looking forward to this. I’ll have to ride back down to the Visitor Center from my camp spot so I don’t have a game plan yet as far as securing my stuff. I think I may leave my tent and everything related in place and then secure my overnight bag and backpack onto the bike and ride down. Either way, starting tomorrow a whole new adventure begins as I camp for the first time in about 20 years and spend the night under one of the world’s best “dark sky” parks.