Monday, May 12, 2008

Sanderson to Langtry to Del Rio

The ride from Sanderson to Langtry was tough. The temperature hit 107 degrees and the terrain was fairly hilly. There was only one place along the way to fill up water and it was during the first part of the trip. When we were about 20 miles from Langtry we had to start rationing the water cause we didn't want to run out. When we stopped at a picnic stop an 18 wheeler pulled in. We asked the driver if he could spare any water and he gave us a gallon of cold filtered water!! What a treat that turned out to be!

When we arrived in Langtry, a town of about 40 people, we immediately went to the visitors center. It was Air Conditioned and very very nice. We didn't realize how hot it was outside until we went inside this place. We hung out watching the news in the visitors center for about an hour before heading over to the community center. The town allows cyclists (and others i suppose) to camp out beside the center. However, the toilets are only available while the CC is open. Luckily for us there was an election going on and the hall was open until 7pm. In fact, the people in the hall gave us soda pop and cookies and Taran was able to trade for a new book. However, the gal running the election was also a worker in the local store. The owner was away so the store was closed...

Langtry is the place that made Judge Roy Bean famous... For most of the last two decades of the nineteenth century Roy Bean was the only judge operating across several hundred miles of south Texas, a position he was appointed to after several months earning a living selling beer and whisky to workers building the trans Texas railroad between San Antonio and El Paso. He was the 'Law West of the Pecos', and mixed dispensing justice with selling liquor - the courtroom was also the local saloon and billiard hall. His reputation for colorful behaviour grew on account of his rough, arbitrary justice methods and particularly after the staging of a heavyweight boxing championship on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande in 1898, at which time fighting was illegal in many US states including Texas. Both village and saloon (the original 'Jersey Lilly') were supposedly named in tribute to the English actress Lillie Langtry with whom the judge was infatuated. They never met but she was to visit, in 1904 shortly after the judge died aged about 79 following a drinking spree.

Here's a picture of his place: http://www.americansouthwest.net/texas/langtry/bean_l.html

Langtry to Del Rio

The terrain is mostly hilly with a slight downhill grade. It was not as hot as the day before, only 95 degrees. We made sure to carry lots of water!! There was only one town between Langtry and Del Rio, a place called Comstock. The gal that owned the local store/gas station was very friendly and helpful.

We chose to stay at an RV park located a couple miles before Del Rio. It was a great deal!! It had a pool, a full kitchen with TV, a rec room with pool table and another TV, laundry facilities and a wonderful grassy secluded, protected, treed, quiet area to put our tent. All for 12 dollars. We paid 16 dollars for a place once that had absolutely nothing.... What a difference. We cooked in the kitchen and watched Hidalgo the movie. We both got a great nights sleep. However, the birds woke us up in the morning. There must have been 5000 birds of all sorts making a big racket at 6:30am!!

I knew Taran liked the place because he got up before me...which is an extreme rarity. The reason being...he could go and watch TV.

We're in Del Rio at the moment heading to Bracketville. There is a fairly stiff head wind, but we do not have to go too far today.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ian:

You can expect the temperature to decrease, but humidity to increase as you move towards the coast. (They offset!!)

I'm not sure what route you are planning, but you should be in to Hill country soon.

Hang in there!