Desert Views (April 10, 2015)

It has been five more days of riding through West Texas.  Five more days of viewing varying types of desert flora.  Five more days of dealing with wind.  But five more days of seeing an area of the country that I have not seen before.

Other than the desert, most of the things unseen before have to do with the many small towns that one passes through ... small towns that are for the most part closing down.   The Southern Tier route in West Texas primarily follows the railroad tracks.  Many of the small towns developed around the economic boom brought along with the building of the railroad route in the 1880s.  The highways then connected these towns as the era of automobiles came in the early 20th Century.  But then the Interstate Highway system was built in the 1950s-60s on more direct routes, and the smaller towns were bypassed.  So now many of the small towns are returning to the desert as the mostly wooden structures deteriorate.

If it were not for the overwhelming presence of the Border Patrol, I don't think there would be much of any economic activity in this area.  Most of the larger towns (population of 1,000 +) usually have a large Border Patrol facility ... each of these facilities must have in excess of 150 vehicles patrolling their specific area.  Helicopters, blimps and hundreds of vehicles searching the area for the illegal entrants.

It seems as though this whole "close the border" campaign has been relatively new to our society.  In reading some of the historical roadside plaques, I have become aware of the fact that there were "mounted watchers" and bi-planes used in the post-WWI era, which means the chase has been on for some time.

Anyway, since leaving Van Horn, the overnights have been at Marfa (75 miles), Marathon (57 miles), Sanderson (55 miles), Langtry (60 miles) and Del Rio (60 miles) ... all in West Texas.

On the ride from Van Horn to Marfa, I finally met up with the Canadian couple I had been hearing about for many a day.  Out in the middle of none-thing-ness (about 26 miles west of Marfa), there stands a lone structure showcasing Prada products.  Lounging in the shade (which is a rare commodity in this part of the country) were Cynthia and Rollie.  So very nice to meet-up with other touring cyclist.  We had a short conversation and thought we would be seeing each other on a daily basis.  Even though it turns out we overnighted in the same towns, riding schedules did not coincide.  I again met up with them yesterday in a restaurant in Comstock (30 miles west of Del Rio).  Again, the conversation was very enjoyable.  Alas, they are taking a rest day today, and are considering (due to a health issue) renting a small Uhaul van and driving to Austin.  I will be arriving in Austin on the 15th of this month (body and bike willing), so don't know if we will be getting together again.  Not many other riders heading east, so it could continue to be a solo ride.

So, time to load up the bike and head east, hopefully the desert views will soon be a thing of the past.