Last night's stay in Sanderson was pretty uncomfortable. We had our choice of places to set up tents; one next to an active rail road track and the other just a few feet from the highway. We chose the site by the highway. The truck traffic all night was noisy and so close we could feel the ground shake. No one got a very good night's sleep.
Today’s ride was another “character builder”. Many more like this one and maybe I’ll have character, HA! I didn’t eat much for breakfast nor did I pack much for lunch both of which would come back to bite me by the end of the day. I thought there would be some service options at 20 and 60 miles than there turned out to be. I rode 21 miles to Dryden with nice cool temperatures, a few medium sized hills but then generally flat. The map shows Dryden as having a café which turned out to be a very small general store with high prices and little for variety. The ride from Dryden to Langtree was 40 miles with no services and consisted of a seemingly endless descent and climb of canyons some of which were fairly long climbs. You can usually tell that if the descent is fun the climb out will make up for it! 15-25 mph headwinds started around 11:30 am and continued for the remainder of the day. I had to take the loop into Langtree, TX. “The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean” starring Paul Newman is one of my favorite all-time movies. The museum is 1.5 miles off of US90 and I passed a small, but open, convenience store as I started the loop but figured there must be something in the town itself. The museum was free and the State of Texas has preserved the Jersey Lilly and the opera house in their original locations and pretty much just as they were in 1935 when they took responsibility for the museum. The judge built the opera house for Lilly Langtree to perform in some day but she never came during the judge’s life and only came through on the train less than a year after his death. More legend than truth I’m sure but it made for a great and very funny movie and part of Texas history. I asked at the desk if there was another place to buy refreshments but they said the only one open was the one I’d already passed. I didn’t want to backtrack 1.5 miles so I filled up my two water bottles and headed back to US90 on the loop and on my way for the last 21 miles of the day’s ride. I knew I had enough water for the trip but didn’t realize that I really needed more food. I met up with Gary about 8 miles from the end of the ride as we passed through a picnic area that the others did not stop at since you had to ride up a hill off US90 to get to it. Gary gave me some vanilla wafers that got me through the ride. I crossed the Pecos River a few miles from the campground. This may be the only river I’ve seen in 1,000 miles that actually had substantial flowing water. The rest were dry except for the Rio Grande which was only a trickle. The Pecos must be the first real river that dumps into the Rio Grande. I arrived at the campground at 6:30 pm, pitched my tent in the dirt and showered. I was carrying all of the group’s dinner fixins and Dan, who arrived hours earlier (he’s the strongest rider I’ve ever seen and on a recumbent no less!) was gracious enough to get it started. I’m now clean, well fed and ready for some “tunes” to fall asleep by. Tomorrow we reach the end of the Southern Tier Section 3 in Del Rio 42 miles away.
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The Jersey Lilly in Langtree, TX
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Pecos River
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