Departing Del Rio, we took US-90 across Lake Amisted. The views were nice, but we were blown away as we popped over the hill that led to the bridge across the Pecos River. It was too late to stop for a photo op, so I grabbed a couple of images off the Internet that says it all.
A little further down the road, we stopped in Langtry to see the Judge Roy Bean “Law West of the Pecos” museum and exhibit. Texas has some colorful characters in its history, and Judge Roy Bean has to be near the top of the list.
The towns in this part of Texas are few and far between...and many are little more than a post office and a few houses. So when we pulled into Marathon, my fuel light was glowing bright and the remaining miles showed “2”. Fuel burns fast 75-80 MPH. A gas station/grill was the first open commercial enterprise as we entered the “town” and it was the only operating fuel station within miles. TripAdvisor showed five dining options available, three of which were closed for lunch. So we settled on the Oasis Cafe, home of okay food and a really sassy waitress. While the town doesn’t look like much, it does have a restored, historic hotel named the Gage Hotel. Cool place and I’d like to stay there next time through.
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| Downtown Marathon - Looking West |
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| Marathon - Oasis Cafe |
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| Downtown Marathon - Looking East |
Heading south out of Marathon is US-375, which leads into the east entrance of Big Bend National Park. The further south we went, the temps were heated up. Really heated up. Like to 102*. “It’s a dry heat” my a$$. On the road in, the desert cactus still held some of their bloom...just to welcome us, I’m certain.
When we got to the Panther Junction Visitors Center, we were ready for a hydration stop. My riding partner, Scott, purchased his annual pass and we learned that the Visitors Center was one of the few locations within the park with cellular coverage. So we made our check-in calls before heading to the Chisos Mountains Lodge for a cold adult beverage before heading to Terlingua for the night.
While at the lodge, we learned that Terlingua was experiencing a power outage with no determined resolution time...which apparently is not uncommon for the area. The thought of staying overnight in Terlingua with +90* temps in the evening was deemed not an option. Fortunately, the Lodge had a room available, so we unloaded, unpacked, and cleaned-up to enjoy happy hour and dinner setting amongst some great mountain views.
The pics say it all...
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| View from the Visitors Center |
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| View from the Parking Lot |
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| View from the Room Balcony |
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| Sunset through the Mountains |
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