August 11 - Terlingua Texas to Presidio: an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10

Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful! The ride from Terlingua, Texas to Presidio Texas along Texas State Highway 170 was an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10. Wow! To be honest, my past experiences with Texas have often involved intense heat and flat open terrain without much in the way of variety. However, the explosion of colors and varied topography of this route would be hard to beat anywhere in the country. Thank goodness for great tips from biker friends.

I knew I was in for a treat right around the time I left Alpine, Texas heading south to Terlingua. The landscape changed from wide open fields to a plethora of multi-colored mesas, buttes, and plateaus in all directions. From a distance these mountains appeared to be blue in color but as I got closer, they turned to various shades of brown, orange, pink, and red. I was very much reminded of New Mexico and Colorado.

Heading west from Terlingua the road curved left and right and up and down through more mesas, buttes, and cliffs with stunning views of the Rio Grande River and Mexico to my left. The road itself was exceptional. It was spread out like a ribbon discarded on a table – rolling wide curves and massive peaks and dips. I would bomb up a hill, experience a moment of weightlessness, then soar down the other side only to be greeted by amazing views of the river, mountains, and curvy road ahead. Unfortunately, some of the very best views could only be seen from extremely steep grades – I was not certain my kickstand would hold the bike it I stopped to take a picture.

I was having such a great time it was almost surreal. Then, to top if off a trio of wild burros ran out into the road and stopped and looked at me. I parked the bike and took some great pictures of them watching me with the sun setting behind them. I really can’t imagine anything that could have made the ride better.