Monthly Archives: June 2017

Camp Wood, TX

On The Road

Not too hard today.  I woke before sunrise, and the  morning cat greeted me.  The morning cat was a tortoise shell, while the night cat was a tuxedo.  Sorry, I don’t have any food.  I left camp at 7:15.

tortoise shell
Goodbye, Day Room and Morning Cat.
Stripes breakfast
I got two $1.19 breakfast tacos at Stripes. Yes, there were still flies. I also got a chicken salad sandwich from the refrigerator, since there would be no services for the whole 50 miles to Camp Wood.

Heavily overcast almost all day. The Lord is my strength and my sunscreen.

I had eaten up all my cookies, but remembered the Praline that Kyle gave me. It wasn’t like peanut brittle at all, nor was it like a cookie. Mostly it resembled a big disc of frosting that one might find on a cinnamon roll. It was a good boost of sugar.

dry neuces river
This is a typical river in this area. They don’t bother to build bridges. The river was completely dry, but in the rainy season, it must run right over the road.
sheep
The bleating of sheep was unmistakeable. I also saw 4 (live) deer on the way. No rabbits.
melons from truck
I got into Camp Wood at about 3 pm. There were some people selling melons out of the back of their truck. I bought one for $2.
Marilyn's knives
Camp Wood had a surprising number of stores for a town of about a thousand. This was Marilyn’s Knives, Jewelry, Quilts, and Furniture.
sign detail
Close up, these were the humorous signs in the window.
melon in bucket
Cantaloupe á la Motel Ice Bucket.

I walked a few blocks down the main street to Two Fat Boys BBQ for dinner.

two fat boys bbq
Aping what the locals were ordering, I got the rib plate, with beans as one of the sides. I rationalized that a large was okay, as I needed calories for the climbs the next day. The beans were outstanding. Had I known they would be that good, I would have made both my sides beans, or possibly made my whole dinner beans.  The waitress told me that they simmer their beans all night long.
bbq all gone
Not long after.

Tomorrow’s goal is to go over the 4 steep peaks and stay at a motel near Vanderpool. The safety goal is to get to Leakey, over just one peak, 21 miles away. This is supposed to be a very difficult segment. The ACA map warns that it is difficult. A local store owner today told me that it’s a steep climb just to Leakey. And Brian told me that he walked his bike on parts of it. Google Maps says 3 hours for a bicycle. Ha!

I’ve been trying to fine-tune my cyclometer to better match the new wheel circumference. Unfortunately, it locked up late in my ride today, and I had to reset it, so the mileage is an estimate.

Miles for today: 52 (estimate)