It Don't Feel Like Texas

The second largest!

Travis?

No, but I went to Travis Middle School

Manny, I’ve ridden from Dalhart to Del Rio, El Paso to Beaumont. And I’m not talking about just dirt cycles. 

The wife and I are seriously considering moving to Texas as my Grandma's side of the family has been in the Canyon, Texas area since the late 1800's, hence why I was named Travis. My Great Grandma was best friends with Margaret Harper and was instrumental in helping launch "Texas" in the 60's. 

Also my Great Uncle, her Brother, was Oscar "Ox" Eckhardt from Yorktown. To this day he is still holds the all-time professional baseball record for batting average counting both major and minor league stats.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ox_Eckhardt

We’ve got the Palo Duro Canyon, it’s a hole in the ground……. 

Palo Duro makes a cameo in 1923 this season. 🙂

The 'real' Eiffel Tower

Rrmt is a shell of its former self, ruined by SXS

Which cities make up the hill country? I’ve heard that is beautiful. I’ve been to Austin, Dallas, Houston aka hell on Earth, Round Rock and Mineral Wells. Really like the state but couldn’t live in Houston. Or New Orleans. Too f’ing hot.

I-35 separates the Hill Country from East & Coastal Texas. Driving south from Ft Worth on 377 (which kinda rides the western edge of HC) it starts to feel and look like the Hill Country around Granbury. FM219 to Cranfills Gap provides nice undulations and a stop at the biker-friendly Horny Toad restaurant. Lots of options south/southwest from there. The famous 3 Sisters west of San Antonio are littered with bikes most weekends so they’re best ridden Mon-Fri.  As long as you steer clear of Austin (which is a shell of its former self) you’ll have a fantastic time exploring. 

Awesome. Thank you. Yes, I’ve heard about the sad state of Austin. Really sucks because that was such a cool, weird town and I really dug the vibe there. This was about 20 years ago.

The past two decades, especially,  have been the demise of that poor city.   The locust have descended on that area and us homegrown Texakins stay the fuck away from that commie infested kook kapital.

Had to run to Lampasas's not long go to get some heavy panels for a cattle pen,  I drove way, way longer than needed to go around that shithole,  but was worth it.

My last Texas ride was on a Yamaha MT07 & MT09 with my good friend Bruce from VP Race Fuels of San Antone Texas…yes, San Antone…not San Antonio! 😂

Up north this guy is looking for ya.  And in Wi. All kinds of 500+ lb bears r hungry. This 11 yr old girl killed what could b the biggest bear 700+ lbs.  I delivered 55 gal drums of honey to a narrow gravel rd in Oct 29 degrees . I had the front windows cracked open because I had the heat on & idled to leave the clearance lights on . Do a 12 yr old wouldn’t run into me at night.  A pack of bears showed up & woke me up with there noise .  

In a blizzard now winds up to 70 mph & snowing hard in Iowa .  Rain all day in KC then got a ld going to Omaha.  Hundreds of thousands of sparrows flying together , probably flying for cover somewhere.  Huge fields of seagulls . Then a hard freezing rain with 45 mph winds.  Without wind the drivers door & window makes a constant loud wind sound.  With the wind it’s bad.  Then my oldest Sister calls I had a ear bud in . I say I,m in a high wind & rain storm.  She says I don’t want to hear it plz stop , like usual.  Then says Dad died today .  He was in a nursing home with dementia. She text me sat saying the dr thinks he only has 30 days.   I had a Nice visit with him Sunday .  I stick to the 70,s crazy fun stuff . He was the same as 2 yrs ago he gets everything from yrs ago. Then he talks about u living on the farm or working on a metal roof then gets a quite mumble of non words for a minute +.  I just say oh yeah & wait . Then he comes back in real time.  So the Wildest Father ,Son Team is Done .  When he was manic & in & out of mental clinics 71-76 .  I went on a wild ass journey with him.  He chocked to death while eating in the nursing home .  A few nurses did the Heimlich maneuver but it did not work.  My head hurts soo bad from being sick . Bad time for a funeral .  

I think I missed out on a little bit of crazy weather so far this week. The resort employees all were talking about how windy and rainy it was, but from the inside of this Irving all-inclusive luxury resort with the worst food, never heard or felt a thing!!!!!!!

Wife said that there was a tornado warning in place until 11 AM today up here in Irving, never heard any wind or rain here in the resort. Especially when Dr Anesthesia started with his goodies!

I awoke this morning in the middle of a thunderstorm that I thought was going turn in to a twister. Blew some fence down 100 yards away.

The area east of I 45 to the Louisiana border and south of I 20 from Tyler to Beaumont is the best part of Texas...I'm partial of course, lived in the area all my life.  Pine trees, red dirt, sand, hot and humid weather, lakes, rivers, and good down home people.  Every little town has at least one great diner, Mexican restaurant, and BBQ joint.  Please come and visit, but don't stay, we are full 😉.  

It felt and looked like west Texas here yesterday, the Permian Basin dust made it here from the big storm.  That doesn't happen very often.

Last Tuesday blizzard. Another 1 starts at 05.00 in Mn. I made it out to the boonies in Mo. snow here in 4 days.  Sat night KC had 3-4 inches. Pic is the start of it.  I,ve been in snow storms since sept . Another 7-9 weeks ah