The 256 mile Texas Hill Country Tour is as good as any tour that one could find in Colorado or Montana, it is just too short for this rider. If one wants to modify this ride, a quick look at the Texas roadmap will reveal many different possible routes, all of which will prove to be memorable.

Submitted by
James Larimore
Stephenville Roadriders

As you travel on highway 17, note the old historic buildings that have been restored to their former glory. Some of the old houses are now B&B’s and the old hotel boasts authentic ole’ time ambiance. A few miles out of Fort Davis is the junction of highway 17 and scenic road 166. The initial ride on 166 traverses large expanses of grassland inhabited by cattle, antelope, and deer. This is the “home on the range” that Gene Autry was singing about. At the beginning of the climb up to the area around Mount Livermore is one of the prettiest road side parks in the state. It was once a rest stop for the stage coaches and is located at the bottom of a sudden outcropping of rock. Huge red boulders are piled one on another as if thrown there by a giant. Large but crooked live oak trees claw their way toward the sun reflecting the harsh existence that man, beast, and plants are exposed to in this rugged country.

One of the first West Texas wineries is located on 166 and their welcome sign is evident as you pass. I have never visited the winery, but someday when I’m not on my bike, I hope to test their wares.

The terrain gets progressively more mountainous as you travel west from the stage stop. The road is pleasantly crooked and the altitude continually rises. Just passed the intersection of 166 and 505 great tall windmills appear, as if by magic, out of the top of a high ridge. They stand on stems of steel and look as though they belong on the swept wing of a modern aircraft. At first they appear to be normal size but as you come closer, they grow larger. The highway curves around the north end of the ridge and you get a true picture of just how gargantuan these machines are. They produce electricity that is distributed as far away as El Paso.

The northern portion of the 166 loop is the most mountainous of the ride, but is not akin to the Rocky or Sacramento Mountains. These are more rocky and more arid varieties which are home to Big Horn Sheep and goats. At the terminus of 166, where it joins 118, the mountains are beginning to look more like a true alpine setting with some mountain cedar and even an occasional stunted pine. Immediately after turning southeast on 118 toward Fort Davis, you climb into mountains that remind you of the ones in New Mexico. The greenery is plentiful, the temperatures moderate, and the curves become more challenging.

The ride to the McDonald Observatory is scenic and fun. Another roadside park is tucked into a valley at the bottom of a snaky descent from the high country. The road immediately winds upward again, regaining the lost altitude and adding to the total until the white domes of the observatory appear. These large white domes are as incongruous in this alpine setting as a cockatoo in the Sahara.

The observatory is a function of the University of Texas and because of the dark nights, high altitude, and clear air, it is considered one of the premier stellar observation systems in the world. There is a visitors center at the bottom of the mountain and guided tours available. The ride from the McDonald Observatory back to Fort Davis is astonishingly beautiful and packed with wonderful curves. There are guest ranches and hostelries scattered along this route and the steep ascending entrance to the Davis Mountain State Park. The final few miles, into Fort Davis, follows a stream and once again the large cottonwood add a bright green to the subtle pastels that have been dominate. The road winds through a narrow passage between trickling water and the face of the mountains. This beautiful ride terminates in Fort Davis, a historic and hospitable place to have lunch or even spend a couple days while you explore west Texas further.

Submitted by
Chuck Markham
Stephenville Roadriders

Native American legend says that after making the world, the Creator dumped the leftover rocks in the Big Bend. This seems a reasonable explanation for the wild crags and untamed landscape. It's more romantic than the scientific theory that violent volcanoes broke up the earth's crust on the shores of the Rio Grande.

Farm to Market Route 170 dances along the Rio Grande from Presidio to Study Butte (Stew-dee beaut). It is paved all the way but sand often washes onto the pavement. There is more sand on the upstream, west-bound side. This route climbs rocky hills and descends into sandy washes. The road engineers did not use bulldozers to flatten this roadway, choosing to lay the asphalt directly on the ground's rugged contours. The resulting pavement undulates up and down as well as left to right. Sometimes the road climbs up to hug a mountain of bare rock. Other times it clings to the river's shore and runs through the Cottonwood trees. The tarmac even drops into the sandy creek beds. Stay off this road in the rain unless your Wing has pontoons!

The scenery is rough, there is no traffic, and the road never wanders far ffrom the river. Half the scenery is American, the rest is Mexican. The beauty of it all will leave you breathless.

The end of this ride in Study Butte is the start of the next ride through Big Bend National Park. Main park roads are level and straight for all traffic but the scenery is marvelous. A narrow twisting road leads over mountains into the Basin, a natural bowl ringed by mountains. Visitors feel like they are in a natural fortress. Camp here in the middle of the park and enjoy the cooler elevation. (This place can get hot! October and November are good times to visit.)

Signs caution RV's and long trailers from driving the the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive to Castolon. Too bad they miss out on nature's handiwork like Burro Mesa, Tuff Canyon, and Mule Ears Peak. Pity them for not seeing the majestic Santa Elena Canyon. The motor home crowd misses a lot of beauty to avoid the sharp curves and hills winding to the river. The bikers have to enjoy the road all the more to make up for them!

Purple sage and sotol plants decorate the desert. The sotol's branches reach up to eight feet skywards with spastic contortions. Along the water's edge, Cottonwood trees line the river with green.

Santa Elena Canyon at the road's end commands a stop to absorb its spectacle. The Rio Grande cuts cleanly through the mesa's rock to produce sheer walls hundreds of feet high but only fifty feet wide. The water split the earth to delineate the national border with dramatic effect. The cliff on the left is Mexico and its mate on the right is the U.S.A. The river comes through the rock straight at the viewer. At the vantage point, Terlingua Creek joins the river and the combined current turns sharply to the viewer's left. Wading in the creek's muddy water is not only refreshing, it's the only way across the water to access the hiking trail cut into the cliff.

Texas' Big Bend is a rugged, wild land with great roads. Mild fall and spring temperatures beckon the adventerous. Come to camp, hike, and raft the Rio Grande. After a few days, you will know that the Creator did not just dump leftover rocks here. He scraped most of Texas clean to make His masterpiece in the Big Bend.

Submitted by: Bruce_Dimon@msn.com
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho (It's Core-duh-lane, Eye-duh-hoe)
Northern Idaho, The Land of Lakes and Lattes!