Woke to dense fog, not the sort of stuff you want to ride in if you can help it. And I could. Where am I? San Antonio. Okay, no prob, when in San Antonio there's only one thing to do, go to Jim's for a chili and eggs breakfast, my favorite breakfast of all time. And, as always, Jim's didn't let me down. By the time I'd finished my breakfast the fog had lifted. And that's what happened. It didn't burn off, it lifted.
So, west on US16W toward Bandera I go, laid back, pipes grumbling contentedly in the morning air, rising ever so slightly up the Balcones Escarpment. Did I say rising? Where did that fog go? Oh yeah, up. Shortly after passing through a spot in the road named Pipe Creek the fog rejoined me and we went into Bandera together. Fortunately, it was Thanksgiving morning and I gave thanks for little or no traffic on the road this morning. Gassed up in Bandera and headed out as the fog continued to lift. By the time I took Hwy470W just outside of Bandera the fog was gone and I was left with a great ride.
The Balcones Escarpment is a geological fault running from Del Rio to Waco, the remains of the Ouachita mountains formed something like 300 million years ago by the collision of two contental shelfs. (How do they know the name if it happened 300 million years ago?)
Long since eroded away, the remnants of these ancient mountains still exist, buried below thousands of feet of sediment yielding a mere 1200 feet rise in the surface between the flat drain plain that is eastern Texas and the Edwards Plateau. The years of wind and water erosion have yielded wonderful little valleys and hewn cliffs of white limestone where the creeks have cut their way through. They, essentially, mark, in my mind, the beginning of the "west." What this means in biker terms is twisty roads and rocky ups and downs that make for a very pleasant ride early in the morning.
Turned north on US187 just north of Utopia (so close, yet so far away), riding through Vanderpool, Texas and then, six miles up the road, into the Lost Maples Natural Area.
Too late for the fall color changes, the maples have lost more than their hew, they're virtually "nakid." But that's okay. The journey is the reward and the place is pretty. Worth a stop in the spring when things are greening up.
Clear water pools.
Clear water rocks.
More clear water rocks.
This fits one of my continuing themes, the tenacity of life. I'm amazed at the places where life has taken hold and refuses to let go. Perhaps it's easier when there is no alternative. Perhaps we should all grasp that salient point?
When I mentioned the nice ride on Hwy407 to Vanderpool, one of the rangers in the park entrance mentioned that the ride on Hwy337 to Leakey was even better. Well, of course, that's about all it takes, off toward Leakey I go.
There are a lot of tree-lined roads out here. I'm looking forward to coming back when everything is new and green. Has to be a pretty ride.
Can you say escarpment?
How's this for a neat little valley?
Turned around and took Hwy337 back to Hwy187N, past the Lost Maple park entrance and on to Hwy39. The ride on Hwy39 through to Hunt is a great little ride. Lots of twisties, and turns, with the Guadalupe river switching sides of the road schizophrenically along the route.
On the left
On the right
Evidently, the Department of Transportation engineer for this region is a lady. "I think the Guadalupe would look great over there on the left...no, wait, over here to the right...oh, I don't know, perhaps over here on the right."
Whatever the reason it's a great little ride.
Reaching Kerrvile I stopped for gas and gizzards. God, I love Texas. The little restaurant at the gas station had a special on deep fried chicken gizzards. Don't tell my cardiologist, but I had two orders.
Got on I-10 in Kerrville and headed east to Houston. And that's about all you can say about that. The weather was a little overcast, with some showers off to the east, but they missed me. Got home about 6:00p.m., once again, sad to see the end of yet another trip.
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