Fredericksburg Texas: San Antonio, The Alamo and The Riverwalk

It was in the high 50's today when we got up, but the sky was clear. Our objective was to make our first ever visit to San Antonio to see the Alamo and the Riverwalk. We got underway about 9:00 AM, heading south on Ranch Road 1376 (aka Sisterdale Road) past Luckenbach. We followed the winding Texas two lane blacktop for 40 miles until we intersected I-10 at Boerne. Along the way, the cell phone rang. I love the hands-free cell on the bike. It was Coyote calling from Keller, up near Fort Worth, wondering if we wanted to meet for lunch tomorrow at Cooper's BBQ in Llano. Is a bear Catholic? We'll be there.

On I-10 heading into San Antonio, we were impressed by the clean and green feeling we got from the city. We followed I-10 to where it met I-35 and then took that for a short way before getting off and following the GPS instructions to the Alamo. We rode past and then tried to find a parking spot. I'm not sure the proper protocol for passing a horse and buggy in a tight street but I'm pretty sure I didn't do it right.

I found a little lot a block from the Alamo that had a $10 daily rate posted. The attendant charged me half price to park by his booth and then directed us a block down to the Visitor Center. We met a couple in the lot from Cobourg, Ontario and walked there together. A man in a yellow shirt accosted us and I thought he was trying to sell us something, but he was an Amigo. These people are like wandering tourist information booths. Another nice touch provided for confused tourists.

Helpful parking lot attendant in San Antonio

Live oak in the Alamo Plaza

Great architecture overlooking the Plaza

The Visitor Center was right across the street from the Alamo Shrine. After getting maps, we walked across and rented the handsets for the self-guided tour. The shrine is the old church that everyone associates with the Alamo (Spanish for Cottonwood), but the actual walls that were defended against the Mexicans encompassed a much larger area. For 13 days in 1836, a small band of Texian fighters held off a much larger force of Mexicans under General Santa Ana before, on March 6th, a full out assault breached the walls and the defenders died almost to a man. This site is regarded as the birthplace of Texas liberty. We walked through, listening to the electronic guide give us background to much of what we were seeing. It was a moving experience.

In front of the Alamo Shrine

Memorial to the heroes of the Alamo

One thing struck me as we heard of the political situation that led up to the Texas Revolt. In 1824, Mexico ratified a Constitution based on Federalism, where the central government shared authority with the state governments. A faction of Centralists soon moved to strip the states of their autonomy and vest all authority at the federal level. I can see parallels today with the United States, where the Constitutional limits on the federal Government have been largely surpassed and the states' rights have been eroded.

Leaving the Alamo grounds, we walked a short distance to the Riverwalk. Stemming from a project to curtail disastrous floods, the Riverwalk now extends 2.5 miles and features shops, restaurants, bars and other establishments. It is below street level and feels like a whole other world. We had lunch at the Mad Dog British Pub, sharing a BLT sandwich and a bowl of chicken gumbo. I'm not sure what part of England gumbo comes from. Note for Roxy: the young man serving us was wearing a kilt. We only saw a very small part of the Riverwalk, so I now think I need to go to San Antonio for several days and stay in one of the adjacent hotels. I always thought San Francisco was the coolest city in North America, but it now has competition IMHO.

Mad Dog British Pub - Riverwalk - San Antonio Texas

Waiting for my BLT

Sandy on the Riverwalk

Up the river

You can see the Riverwalk is below street level

I don't know what to make of this

A girl and her dog

Waiting for customers

It was quite hot when we got back to the bike. We stripped our jackets to mesh and then headed north, retracing our route. Up on Sisterdale Road, we were cruising along at a good clip when I suddenly slipped out of The Zone. We stopped for some water but I didn't manage to get back into the groove again. We stopped at WalMart in Fredericksburg for some water and food and then returned to the campground.  Just before we got there, we saw a car with Hawaii licence plates.  I can't remember seeing one of these on the mainland before.

How did this get here?

When I checked my Email, there was a message from Ron, a VROCer formerly known as the Big Guy From Omaha. Now he is the Big Guy From Kerrville and he invited us to supper tomorrow night. Then he phoned and we made arrangements to be at his place shortly after 5:00. I also talked to Leo and found he and Diane had gotten home this afternoon. Another friend, Eric, called to confirm we wouldn't be able to make the Combermere gathering in May.

The rest of the evening was quiet and we retired reasonably early.

Today's Route (136 motorcycle miles):


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Del Rio Texas to Fredericksburg Texas

It was one month ago today that we left home. And our legs still hurt this morning. I called the KOA in Fredericksburg yesterday evening and left a voice mail but have still gotten no response.

Rudy's Texas BBQ from last night

We headed north out of Del Rio on US 377. Of course, the first thing we encountered was a Border Patrol checkpoint. Then we didn't encounter much else for the next 120 miles. No cars and no cell service but lots of warnings about not crossing streams during a flood. The low spots have Flood Gauges, sticks that show how deep water over the road would be. And there were the usual buzzard gatherings over roadkill, mostly dead deer.

North of Rocksprings, we saw some some hunting ranches with exotic animals advertised. Behind one tall fence, I saw something that resembled a gnu. Sort of like our African Lion Safari back home except that the visitors get to shoot the wildlife.

US 377 in Texas

At Mountain Home, we joined I-10 and proceeded towards Kerrville. I stopped at a Scenic Overlook so Sandy could get a picture of the countryside. What is the point of having a scenic overlook if they let the trees grow up to block the view?

Scenic view from the elevated motorhome window

What can I say about Kerrville? It was an experience. I wanted to stop at McDonald's and check my Email to see if there was any response from the KOA. I got off at Exit 508 and found nowhere I could park. I went through the Shell lot, adjacent to McDonald's, and scraped my trailer hitch coming out. Then I was pointed the wrong way to go to Fredericksburg so I tried to go around a block. Turned out to be a big block, up Memorial Parkway and down Cypress Creek Road. This is when the GPS turned on me and suggested I could get back via Quinlan Creek Drive and Paragon Place. The problem here was that Paragon Place turned out to be a dead end and I was left to turn around in a cul-de-sac smaller than the one at TJ's. It took about eight moves, almost jackknifing the trailer each time, to get turned. But I did it.

The short hop from there to Fredericksburg was uneventful but the road was suddenly busy and they were in a hurry. We were moving 65 MPH and the cars were lining up behind us. Reaching town, we found it crowded with people. We proceeded to the KOA where one guy seemed to be running it all and saw we were next on the list to be phoned. Other KOA's have been half full at best but this one was packed. They managed to find a site that was good through Saturday, but we had to stuff 45 feet into a 42 foot spot.

Oh look, a squirrel

We set up and had a brief problem with the WiFi, but that fixed itself. Then I unloaded the bike. I met Randy and Carol from northern Louisiana. They tow a trailer with a Harley and a BMW sports car behind their diesel pusher.

We took the bike and rode five miles down Ranch Road 1376 to Luckenbach, the place made famous by the song. Waylon, Willie and the boys weren't there and neither was pretty much anyone else. Counting us, there were seven bikes. We sat at the tables and talked to some good old Texas boys (and girls) about riding and the weather.

Luckenbach Texas

The Luckenbach guard roosters

The last VROC Hill Country brick at Luckenbach

Leaving Luckenbach, we headed into Fredericksburg for Blizzards at the Dairy Queen. Unlike at home, here they make a Blizzard that stays in the cup when you turn it over. Even after you are half finished. At home, they are sloppy when you first get them and if you turned the cup upside down, you would be mopping up the floor.

Back at the campground, I talked to a few other residents including a man from PEI (originally a Mainer) who spent the entire winter here with his wife and rode a 1990 BMW. Another older gentleman from Iowa had a Can-Am Spyder. Seems like there are lots of riders here. Later, Garth from Wyoming pulled in driving a pretty 27' Jayco. He hates Jayco (unresolved customer service issues).

I got a bit more of the blog done but this getting caught up is eluding me. Then we turned in.

Today's Route (183 motorhome miles):


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Carlsbad New Mexico to Del Rio Texas

The heavy southwest wind gusts died down about 5:00 AM. When we got up, there was a different breeze from the northwest, decidedly colder. It was 40 degrees when we headed over to what they called the unisex shower. I also managed to cut my hair. The forecast high for the day was 68, compared to 91 yesterday. Oh yes, our legs hurt but I can't imagine why.

It was nippy enough that I actually put my jacket on to pack up the utilities. Sandy said the pink polar fleece sweat shirt she bought at the Yuma Hospice store, the one everyone wondered when she would get a chance to wear, came in quite handy. We gave Bernie and Susan our info before we pulled out. They aren't in a rush to move north and decided to stay in Carlsbad another day.

Useful sign leaving Carlsbad KOA

After fueling in Carlsbad, we headed southeast on US 285. Before we got to the Texas line, the terrain was starting to look like West Texas. Flat, empty and littered with oil wells and small tanks, but the bushes were greener than you would expect in dry country. Flames off a flare stack told us we had a pretty good tailwind.  We continued through Pecos and Fort Stockton across this lonely land. South of Fort Stockton, we saw just four cars in over an hour.  The biggest entertainment was watching buzzards feeding on deer carcasses.

US 285 across Texas

Pecos Texas

A four way stop in the middle of nowhere

Before we arrived at US 90 in Sanderson, the landscape changed and we started to have real contours. Hills and curves broke the many miles of monotony that had been slipping under our tires. When we reached US 90, we turned left through Sanderson and moved to the east. What had been a tailwind now became a crosswind.

Into a valley near Sanderson Texas

The Cactus Capital of Texas

And this is what it looked like

Moving along, the road began a steady up and down rhythm over the hills and down through the valleys. To reduce the grades, the road builders cut into the well defined sandstone hills exposing the layers for all to marvel at.

A sandstone rock cut on US 90

And another

If you wonder why we were way down here on our way to Fredericksburg, it was to fulfil a quest of mine. Ever since I saw Paul Newman in the Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, I have wanted to go to Langtry, Texas and see the Jersey Lilly Saloon. Garmin didn't help because Langtry isn't listed in its database of places, even though it does have a post office. But we got there anyway.

There is the Post Office

A rare picture of both of us together

The Jersey Lilly Saloon

We met a few riders outside. The nearer two were on a four day tour out of the Fredericksburg area. The other was from northern Illinois and was on his way home after leading a guided group at Arizona Bike Week.

Riders in Langtry Texas

After leaving Langtry, we continued east until we crossed the Pecos River. It looked so awesome I just had to stop and get some pictures.

Sandy at the Pecos River - Texas

Note the trash BESIDE the barrel - jerks are everywhere

The road to Del Rio

Differing layers of limestone

We got stopped in another Border Patrol checkpoint

As we neared Del Rio, a border city across from Ciudad Acuna, Mexico, we came to and then crossed the Amistad International Reservoir. This was bounded by the Amistad National Recreation Area and is said to provide the best bass fishing in the area.

Amistad Reservoir

Not wanting to look for a campground for a quick overnight stay, we pulled into the Del Rio WalMart. A first for us, they had level spots marked for RV's Only. Sure enough, some illiterates (including one from Alaska) used these spaces to park their cars. We got set up and I managed to pull in seven broadcast TV channels. All were Spanish language. No WiFi either. It was a good night to read a book.

Parking in the WalMart RV spots

Rudy's Texas BBQ was right next to the RV parking spaces. We wandered over and Sandy ordered a half pound of baby back ribs and coleslaw. I had 1/2 pound of brisket, 1/2 a sausage and potato salad. Due to an order mistake, I also got an additional half of a jalapeño sausage. It was good but too much and we both brought some leftovers back for tomorrow.

We listened to the radio while I got another blog day prepared off-line and then we both read for a while before falling asleep.

Today's Route (342 motorhome miles):


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Carlsbad New Mexico: Carlsbad Caverns

The wind was rocking the motorhome this morning when we woke up. The forecast was for strong winds out of the south and high temperatures. After breakfast, I unloaded the bike. Bernie checked the  forecast of possible 60 MPH wind gusts and decided to bring the slide in on his 5th wheel for safety.

Our site in Carlsbad New Mexico

Bernie and Susan's rig

A very small Volkswagen camper with Euro plates

KOI at the KOA

Desert cottontails are everywhere

It was about 50 miles south to the famous Carlsbad Caverns. We stopped there briefly in 2005 but the last time we were below ground was on our 1981 Aspencade trip. Sandy and I left the KOA on the bike amid strong crosswinds. At some points, I was leaning right in a left hand curve but it was manageable. Bernie and Susan followed us in their truck. The Carlsbad by-pass worked great for missing the road work. South of town, dirt was blowing across the road much as snow does at home during a blizzard. The construction signs were mounted on springs so they leaned at crazy angles but didn't blow over.

At White's City (don't be mislead by the 'city' part), we turned on the access road to the caverns. This wound for several miles through a canyon before climbing up on a mesa via a couple of mild switchbacks. On top of the hill, the wind was quite stout. In fact, smoking was only allowed INSIDE vehicles. No cigarette for me.

In the canyon

Bernie and Susan's truck down below

Windblown Sandy, Susan and Bernie

Note the Motorcycle Only parking (concrete pad)

In the Visitor Center, we had a choice to make. We could walk down the steep winding path into the cave that would see us descend 800' in a 1.5 miles stretch. Or we could take the elevator down and then walk the 1.5 mile loop through the Big Room. Last time, we got there too late to walk down. There are all manner of warnings about assessing your fitness levels, suggesting people with knee and hip replacements or diabetes should probably take the elevator. I consider my diabetes, high blood pressure, overweight condition and leaking heart valves and made my decision. Walk down. One bonus was that our Annual Pass allowed all four of us in for free. Bernie was nice enough to rent us the audio devices for the self-guided tour.

Before we got to the entrance to the cave, we were stopped by a volunteer who gave us all the rules and again cautioned us about the rigors of the walk down. The first sight we had of the cave mouth was from the top of the Bat Amphiteater, where we watched 7,000 bats per minute leave at dusk thirty years ago. We started down.

Official government buildings

We are being given the rules

Bat Amphitheater and cave mouth

Bernie starts down with a cheery wave

The cave mouth

The start of the path

Looking back from the "Twilight Zone"

We met an intrepretive ranger who was walking UP

It took quite a while of walking down the steep switchbacks, stopping every so often to listen to the voice on the audio device tell us what we were seeing. Eventually, though, we reached the bottom and entered the Big Room, which left us with another decision. We could walk straight over to the elevators and return to the surface, take an abbreviated tour of the Big Room and some of its formations, or walk the entire circuit of 1.5 miles before getting to the elevator. Sandy looked sceptical but we walked the whole loop. I figure we invested enough getting down here that I was going to see it all. The distance didn't sound like much but following a path winding up and down through the limestone caverns and marveling at the decorations (stalagmites, stalactites, columns, draperies and popcorn) can take quite a while. The photos from the walk are posted in a separate blog entry.

After touring the Luray Caverns in Virginia last year, we couldn't help but compare.  The decorations and formations in the Luray are better but the sheer scope and magnitude of Carlsbad are awesome.

Would you buy a used cave from this man?

Sandy in the Big Room

Cute ranger

Eventually, we arrived at the elevators and took our ride 800 feet back to the surface. Sandy decided to go back with Susan and Bernie in the truck. I managed to pass three slower vehicles on my way back out of the canyon, hoping no enforcement rangers were out there because passing was prohibited. On the way back, we stopped in Carlsbad so Bernie could fuel his truck. North of town, the crosswinds took a nasty turn and became hard to ride through. The gusts were supposedly over 60 MPH and I believe they were at least that. If they had stayed steady it would have been no problem, but it was on and off. I was sure glad to make it back to the park.

Leaning in a straight stretch

Before loading the bike, I finally installed coat hooks in the trailer so our jackets could ride with the bike. Then I got the Wing inside and tied it down. We walked over to the office and ordered BBQ supper, which was delivered to our RV. Sandy had ribs (not the best) and I had a combo of brisket, pork and sausage which was not bad at all.

Fierce (sure she is) bull mastiff rescue dog at the KOA office

My next motorhome

As we got ready for bed with the motorhome rocked by wind gusts, I suddenly remembered a night in the fall of 1980 when I was camped in the city park in Carlsbad. That night, we all moved into the block shower building to sleep because big winds were tearing up the tents. Tonight, the TV was telling us that the town of Ruidoso, New Mexico and surrounding area, where I attended the Aspencade that year and we both did the next, was being evacuated due to wildfires driven by the same winds we were experiencing. Any thought of riding that area went right out the window. What a weird way to reconnect with my past.

We eventually turned in and let the RV gently rock us to sleep.

Today's Route (107 motorcycle miles):


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