Ride #29, 376 miles.
So about 10 minutes after I posted yesterday afternoon about the weather guessers changing the forecast from rain to no rain, I started hearing thunder and we got a pretty good soaking. The benefit was cooler temps again this morning and no rain in the forecast for today. I got up early, hoping to be on the road by 7:00, but it was super foggy from yesterday's rain. By 7:45 it had cleared out. I was on the road just before 8:00. Big day planned. Similar to Terry, today's date is a day to memorialize a couple of personal events. Glad to be able to do that on two wheels.
I left the house with 14,999 miles on the Scout's odometer, headed for Brackettville, TX. I had never been this far southwest of the Hill Country before, plus I just discovered on Google Maps a route called the "Three Brothers". I was panning around the other day, looking at roads and saw a marker on Google Maps for one of the corners of the Brothers route. I did some digging on the web and found the complete route. I've ridden the "Three Sisters" often, most recently on 5/18, which are Highways 335, 336 and 337 with shorter sections of Highways 41 and 55. Unlike the Sisters, the Brothers roads aren't consecutive...Highways 334, 55 and 674 make up the Brothers, but the route is longer than the Sisters with faster speed limits.
My first stop this morning was on 41. I stopped at an out of the way country store for a break, to be greeted by a couple of chickens. When I got off the bike there was a fresh, dead grasshopper on my seat. Must have hit me and fallen between my legs. I threw it in front of the black chicken and it inhaled it. The spotted chick must have thought I had a bag full of those things. I moved my bike over to some picnic tables and it followed me. Turns out it was a rooster, making rooster noises. I was leaning on a picnic table, looking at my phone trying to ignore it, and out of the corner of my eye I saw something move in front of me, thinking it was the rooster. It was a peacock! The blue matched my bike. Had to get a pic.
Having had enough of the birds and some coffee that I had packed, I was back on the road again, headed for Rocksprings. I passed the northwest corner of the Three Sisters loop where I stopped for a few pics in front of the memorial tree. Back on 5/18 when I was there the 335 sign was missing. They had a new one installed. I always take a pic in front of it when I'm there, so I did the same today.
Back on the road again, I got to Rocksprings and filled up. I was officially on the Brothers route. It's a beautiful ride heading south to Campwood, TX. I've ridden this section of 55 before. Campwood was the farthest SW I had been before today. Campwood is the SW corner of the Sisters route, where the Brothers and Sisters overlap. I carried on south and turned east on 334. The terrain began to flatten out the closer I got to Brackettville. It was much more desert like, with a few hills. Pretty much nothing but ranches the whole way. The temps were starting to rise too. I passed through what looked like a mobile Border Patrol Station, but they weren't stopping traffic headed in the direction I was rolling. I was only about 20 miles from the border, as the crow flies. I made it to Brackettville. I don't know the history of the town, but it looks old. Took a pic of their colorful courthouse and some old, dilapidated buildings. Not much else there. I filled up again at their one gas station and peeled off a layer. Was getting warm. Took a few swigs of coffee and started my trek north on Hwy 674. I rode past Alamo Village, but missed it. This is where John Wayne's 1960 Alamo movie was filmed. The set is still there and was a tourist attraction for decades. It's been closed to the public since 2010. Would have been pretty cool to see. I did stop at Kickapoo Caverns State Park for a quick break. I didn't go all the way into the park. I stopped at a bat cave sight, drank some water and left. I didn't see the cave. I need to go back some time and investigate. The terrain started to get really hilly again. Beautiful, rugged lands. Very similar to the Sisters loop at this point. Stopped for a few pics here and there.
I carried on to Rocksprings again, and completed the full Brothers loop. The Brothers loop is 138 miles, with the Sisters being 97 or 98 miles. I had enough gas to get Junction. I was getting hungry. There's a popular BBQ joint there I was going to stop at, but it was about 1:30pm and it looked packed. Instead, I got some cold water and some peanuts at the gas station and headed to the river side park I often stop at in Junction. I had an apple with me, so that was my lunch.
I zig-zagged my way home and arrived with 15375 miles on the odometer. Was a great ride. I'll sleep well tonight.
