here are some corresponding photos to go with my texas story. its way too difficult and irritating to my technologically deficient and new blogger self to do any other way :)
twenty days of texas. it was twenty days of unpredictability, wonder, and also the entirely expected.
the night prior to entering texas, ross and i stumbled upon a yard full of incredible sculptures, and were admiring them from the road when we saw a man in the back yard burning wood. upon questioning him about the art, he introduced himself as ray and brought us inside his studio and showed us around. ray offered his yard to us for the night to pitch our tent. we shared a talk over some beers with him and his wife becky, who was also an artist. that night, we became a piece of art ourselves while we slept in the sculpture garden. the next morning, ross and i entered texas! we ate a delicious breakfast at a cafe suggested by ray called san isidro, and then rode into el paso (where we encountered our first dunkin donuts!) the first night in texas wasnt the greatest. we spent it at the worst campground ever. i regret paying money to stay here. it was called hidden lakes or something similar. this place was three holes in the ground
filled with filthy water, and fish. fish that were placed there for people to catch. a lot were floating on the surface, dead. the grounds were full of trash, the occupants of the park, all oblivious to the harm they were all facilitating by being there. needless to say we were happy to be out of there. after that less than lovely first night, the next few days terrible weather, headwinds, gusts, and lightning storms, were giving me quite the negative impression of texas. after a day of riding one step ahead of another storm, we arrived in fort davis, where we decided to get a hotel room, because it was just the sweetest hotel room ever. its common for hotel rooms to look like bedrooms but this went above and beyond! it was called the stone village tourist camp, which gives a hint that it was much different from a hotel. they had "camp" rooms, which only had a sink and two cute little twin beds, but we opted for the private room where we slept on the softest bed ever (besides my bed in new york of course hehe) the next day, the weather cleared up, we rode to a town called alpine. these small towns out in west texas were nothing like we imagined, although im not sure what i really expected. very spread out, and quirky. you could see these towns coming from miles away, the edges distinguished by where there were no longer any houses, or farms. in alpine, we visited a bike shop to buy a few new tubes. the owner, john the bikeman,, let us know of a hostel in the next town, marathon, which housed cyclists for free. marathon was a tiny town. we found the hostel, la loma del chivo, a place unlike any i have ever seen. it was a hostel and farm, but also, on the land, were these structures, houses, rooms, and such, which were a sort of housing experiment. they were creative and beautiful, but also smart and innovative. there were a few younger people living there, who helped us get settled and gave us a tour of the place. i used a compost toilet for the very first time and also witnessed the best star viewing i have ever seen. no cities around to give off light, nor were there any mountains or trees to obstruct the view. being here, and finding a place like this made me really quite excited. it was just so unexpected, and made me rethink my ideas of judging people and places, especially when i have never been anywhere even close to them. for the most part, i dont make assumptions or stereotype, but all throughout this trip so far, i have constantly been surprised by the people i meet, the landscapes, the architecture, and the culture which i have seen and experienced, almost all of which has been amazing, friendly, and eye opening. after marathon, the next few days just came and went, through hills, a town called sanderson, which i always pronounce with a southern accent, and a town called langtry, where the owner of the general store/gas station, mike, let us stay behind his shop, under an overhang, to keep dry from the forthcoming rain. the terrain was not the most interesting, and the roads were paved with the biggest rocks ever, causing quite the bumpy and uncomfortable ride. this seemed to be a trend throughout texas in general. it would change as we entered and exited different counties, but for the most part it was constant. About 8 miles outside of del rio, we stayed at amistad reservoir park, where we cooled our feet in the biggest body of water we had seen in quite some time. it was around this time where we started to feel a bit restless. austin, texas was a very anticipated stop, and we were so close yet so far, and the previous days were starting to blend together, and the upcoming hill country was looking more and more uninviting the closer we approached. ross and i decided, to skip the hill country and ride to san antonio, where we could then ride straight north into austin. from bracketssville, we rode to hondo, where we met a guy at a mexican restaurant who was quite excited about our travels. his name was evan, and he worked for the town newspaper! he printed us maps, and showed us a scenic back route to get into san antonio which was much appreciated. it was in this part of texas, where the extent of the texas wildflowers really took me by surprise! so many wildflowers! every road, lined with them, every color, different shapes, sizes, i cannot believe i took so few pictures. on the highways, the farm roads, they made the air smell sweet, and the long days of riding worth it. it was around this area, that the scenery started to really change. trees started popping up everywhere, the grass was much greener, and the air was crisp and clean, flying creatures started to appear, and my legs and back have been covered in bites since. not really wanting to ride all the way into san antonio, we stopped at a general store in a tiny town called rio medina, i think it was the only store in the town. the man working was so very excited and surprised that ross and i were riding all the way to new york, he told every person who walked in the store. he also offered the back patio to us to sleep on for the night which was quite kind, although the fan from the refrigeration kept us up all night. the next morning we left very early for san antonio so as not to scare the old lady who came in to open the store. encountering tons of traffic was an expected but annoying part of our day that was already becoming tiring due to the extreme humidity and fog. taking a bus across the city, we decided to try and find an alternate means of getting to austin, other than riding. hooray for craigs list! we found a woman who traveled to austin every day who drove a vehicle large enough for two bulky bicycles. meeting up early the next morning, we learned all about the austin area from sarah, and she learned all about ross and me, and our travels. we arrived in austin in one hours travel time, instead of a 7 hour day of riding which gave us the whole day to enjoy austin! we rode around the city, and went to many bike shops, one of which was mellow johnnys, where we saw huey, unexpectedly! (huey is a dude who has been pretty much riding the same route as ross and i, starting in san diego. we would see him on and off and then we will go our separate ways and run into each other days or weeks later! this has happened many times, sometimes, huey is in a rental car haha but here in austin, huey informed us that hes quitting the ride, because he has spent over 7000 dollars so far, in one month. yikes. i suppose that will happen when you stay in hotels every night. ill miss running into him, it was so exciting every time we saw him , a familiar face, talking to someone we can sort of relate to haha, as well as the fact that hes quite funny and always has crazy stories to tell) we had a drink with huey and then rode over to the austin hostel, where we would stay the night. the night at the hostel was probably the best part of our visit. we met multiple others who were traveling by bicycle, all who were about our age. (other than 2 younger guys we randomly met at a grocery store, almost everyone who we have met traveling by bicycle was retired, and it was awesome to meet other cyclists, but they are just doing a completely different ride than we are) it was awesome to talk to these guys, they were all guys of course, where are the ladies, ladies!? john, was a dude from london, who flew out to miami, and was riding all the way to san francisco! and will, who is from new york, but riding from los angeles, to new york. both were super cool guys, and very friendly. we hung out at the hostel, and ate the pasta dinner which was quite delicious, pesto pasta, salad, garlic bread and brownies! we exchanged stories, and told of our plans. drank some beers, that night on the hostel patio, and i fell asleep in a chair, typical vanessa. the next day, we decided to stay in austin but were unable to stay at the hostel another night, it was full. a guy we met at the hostel told us the night before he had been camping behind the hostel, by the woods, and he didnt have any problems so we decided to do that for the night. our bikes needed new tires and chains, so we brought them to a shop called bicycle sport shop, which was pretty awesome and very helpful and fast! the rest of the day was spent riding around an unfamiliar city, looking for something we would never quite find. its hard to go into a city you know nothing about and find what you are looking for in a matter of 24 hours. they city gave off a welcoming and friendly vibe. many, many cyclists, and an art festival going on. we went to a bicycle coop, sweet bookstore, and two yummy eateries. by the end of the day i was exhausted and irritable and wanted to be away from the city. i felt disappointed, that i was so excited to come to this city, and it didnt quite live up to my expectations, but i wouldnt dismiss it as a cool city just yet. we went back to the hostel, and talked with reed, a friendly, and helpful, weird, but awesome guy who worked there. he hated working there, but was humorous about it. his girlfriend, claire, talked with us, and i felt better about my stay in austin. the next morning, after our "secret" stay in the hostel yard, we packed up, and got some free bread, baked beans, and breakfast pastries from the hostel. within ten miles of riding away from austin, we were back in farmland, you would never know, a city was so nearby. one thing which i really liked about austin, was how green the city was! a street with high rise buildings and offices quickly turned into a neighborhood with trees and yards and grass and little houses. the lake/colorado river was a huge part of the landscape, as were parks and bridges. that night we stayed at the absolute best campground so far! the owner was genuinely helpful and welcoming. the site was right on the colorado river, had swings everywhere, a clean pool, and a community center with a kitchen and television! the following morning, we got breakfast at a bakery in town. "pigs in the blanket" are common out here, and refer to a sausage wrapped in bread, as opposed to the mini hot dog appetizer that i always think of when i hear the phrase. around this town, la grange, which literally had a town square, the area started to really change into a much more wooded landscape, and had a much more "southern" feel. the houses have rocking chairs on their wrap around porches! we rode through a forest, with more wildflowers and butterflies than a laundry detergent commercial. in a town called new waverly, we made a wonderful stop at a little town restaurant, mostly because of the sign advertising their pies. we finally, after much anticipation, tried chicken fried steak for the very first time! so delicious! ross got the chicken fried steak, and i got cajun style grilled catfish! yay southern cookin! of course we finished off with pie. coconut cream with the lightest fluffiest topping i have ever tasted. the next town we rode through i was initially excited to ride through because it was called, pumpkin. it was a dumpy little town where we were chased by multiple very mean dogs (i now jump at every dog bark i hear) and the campground we were planning on staying at was closed. we decided to stay there anyway, but that meant we had to take everything off our bicycles to be able to lift them over the gate, which was annoying but better than riding 15 more miles to the next campground, or taking a chance at not finding a safe place off the road. the next day, we planned on finding a place to camp under a bridge, because there seemed to be quite a few rivers on the way and free camping is always better. we easily found the trinity river bridge, which had a huge sandy area under the bridge, which was a popular local fishing spot. ross and i took of our sneakers and started peeling some oranges when we heard the loudest popping sound we had every heard! i immediately thought it was a car tire poppin gup on the bridge above but i turned to my right, where the sound came from and saw the entire area surrounding our bicycles in a dusty smoky haze. at this point i had some bad ideas in my head. the bike riding hippies were being shot at and scared out of town by the locals. i let the dust clear as ross was calling out to me over by the bicycles that he couldnt believe what had happened. when we put our bikes against the pillar of the bridge, there was what looked like remnants of an old fire. apparently the fire was made recently because the embers were apprently still very hot and burned right through my brand new back tire and popped by tube! the loud bang. with my tire destroyed and not a bike shop within 60 miles, we decided to try and hitch a ride to the next large town. not one truck gave us a look, with our makeshift cardboard sign, so we decided to walk up to the nearest gas station. about 2 miles into our walk, we hear a man, calling out to us, something about cold water, he was saying. we walked into the yard of an old man named dave, who gave us some cold water, and showed us his rabbits! he breeds rabbits, and had about 12 bunnies in his front yard, and about 50 in his back yard, baby bunnies and full growns. after talking with us for a bit, he offered his front yard to us or the night, and also offered to drive us to beaumont the following morning. i was in bunny paradise sitting in his front yard. dave told us about his 7 tours of vietnam, and how we had better not enter the house and scare him cause hell shoot us with the gun he keeps in his hand every night. the next door neighbors came over, as we were preparing dinner, and offered us the gigantic tent, in their back yard to sleep in for the night. they were a family of 4, mark and willow and thier son kyle, and marks father. willow invited us for dinner, sausage, potatoes, and cornbread, which was delicious. mark and dad have been clearing out their back yard, and made a huge bonfire with the great big pieces of tree which had been cut down. with the fire burning strong, mark offered to let ross and i shoot his gun. neither of us had ever shot any sort of gun before, so shooting a gun, into a fire, in east texas, seemed like the perfect time. ross also had the experience of shooting some big huge shotgun thingy. quite honestly, i didnt quite feel the thrill of the gun, but it was still an experience. in the morning, dave drove us, gun in pocket, to beaumont, where we got a new tire and then rode to silsbee, where we stayed the night. the next day, is when, we bid a farewell, to the past twenty days of our lives which were texas. it was a long twenty days, and we are excited to be moving on, to louisiana! gumbo yumbo!
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