Yo Texans - 40-Mile is on the way

I'm headed to SW Texas in June and I want to do it right. I'm planing on spending at least 9 days in West and South West Texas. I'll be coming in from Las Vegas, NV via Roswell and dropping down to Marathon and then doing Big Bend NP. After that I only have San Antonio and Corpus Christi on my must do list.

Any ideas on other must dos/must sees or any interesting routes, roads or places. This will be two up on a K1200LT. The wife won't do the GS on long trips, so no cow trails.

I know this is a big request and 9 days will never be enough time to do justice, even for the SW portion of your great State, but any POI's or advice will be appreciated.

Cheers,

Bruce, AKA 40-Mile Desert Rat

Depends on how your wife likes curves...the Three Sisters would be on the way to San Antonio

Thanks, we live for curves. I'll check it out.

Bruce

Take 180 east out of El Paso and cruise by Guadalupe Peak. Then head south on 54 to Van Horn. Great views. 90 out of Van Horn will get you to BBNP and all points south.

That's what I'm looking for and that's what is drawing me to the State.. Oh, and not to forget the history and historical locations of Texas.

Thanks

Not too much to see in Corpus Christi, but North Padre Island is nice, and if you go to Port Aransas via Aransas Pass you can see some nice blue/green water and take the ferry to ride on the public beach, other than that Rockport is a decent town to visit, but as far as sights go I don't think there is much to see other than flat farm land

duh.

Other than the Gulf, what's to see heading down to Hatlingen-Port Isabel? Is it worth/safe running down the Border? Or, is it better to go East and drink beer in Shiner?

Unless you love brutally hot weather, I would think about rescheduling for late april or october. June in BBNP means daily temps well over 100, while the rest of the state hovers around 100. An LT with all the wind protection means you will be slow roasting.

Its a little cooler up in the chisos lodge due to altitude.

speed limit is 45mph in the park, and there is radar.

Finally, keep a camera handy, i've been overflown by b1 bombers on training runs out of dyess afb just about every time i've been to BB.

River road from Lajitas to Presidio, then up to Marfa and the Davis mountains...I like that loop there too

I looked at the three sisters. It's doable for me either coming in to San A., if I don't drop South first, or heading out of San on my way back to points Northwest. I don't know if I'd make it a loop, but if heading home out of San A. it looks like riding up the 16, then West over to Leakey. At Leakey I could go North, or maybe cut over to Camp Wood and go North again.

Your opinion on which is the best route?

While South Padre Island is always nice, getting here from any direction other than from the water is boring, flat, and no fun! (and long!) Corpus is the same really. The coastal plains doesn't really have any twisties in it.

I'd recommend from Big Bend heading up to the hill country, that would be Austin, and enjoy the twisty roads up there.

On a big bike you'll run out of pavement pretty quick in Big Bend. Sure there's some nice stuff, but you'll be looking to get off of the pavement pretty quick as there's just to lure you out there. RVs travel some of these dirt roads, so a big bike can do it also.

Wanted to go to Corpus. An aunt lived there years ago and I remember visiting when I was a kid. I may take a pass on the Gulf this trip. I've been looking at Google Earth and the Hill Country is larger than I thought. I'm thinking now that I'll do the NP and then visit Langtry heading East. I'll say hi to the Judge and then really get to know the Hill Country.

I've done Dallas, Ft.Worth, Huston etc., on non-pleasure trips and I've ridden Texas above Dallas on the 82. Did it East-to-West/border-to-border through the oil wells and the cotton fields. So the Hill Country is really the missing part for me.

June it is. So if it's hot....can't be any worse than Las Vegas

Added to the trip.......Do I need to bring a gun???

Hy 170 is safer than most if not all other roads in the U.S. Sweet ride. No problemos. Skip Corpus in June, go during the winter.

Spend your time in the Texas Hill Country and Big Bend. Texas is a BIG state, better roads in the Hill Country and Great places to eat. Check out Luckenbach, outside Frederiksburg, Tx. Wife will enjoy that town. Lots of great B&B's to stay at. And Touristy shopping places. Hill Top Cafe outside of town is killer. The roads around Leakey are not to be missed.

Yes, it will be HOT. Only cool place will be at Chisos Basin in Big Bend. Cool road there.Great Cabins at Chisos Basin, Book NOW. Kathys Kosmic Cafe in Study Butte is worth the stop in the morning. Fort Davis Loop is a nice ride.

You are headed to the Real Texas. Skip the cities, though they are Great cities, not good for riding in summer. Sun Screen & Water are your best friends that time of year. Hydrate,Hydrate.

I was just going to suggest that you measure your route. Texas is kinda big, and everything south of SanTonio is flaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat and not very pretty. One can get a bit tired of scrublands after the 10th hour or so. It's going to be nasty hot too. You may think you know hot, but if you're a westerner, you don't. South Texas is not only hot, it's humid. Heatstroke is a real danger in the summer and a wet Tshirt only helps if it's not too damned humid. At 99 degrees and 70 percent humidity, you cook.

There's nothing to see on the coast except Corpus and Padre Island. It's mostly swamp and bays, with the intercoastal between the roads and the gulf. Lots of shipping and oilfiled businesses and prisons (the biggest employers in several of those coastal counties) but no scenery until you get far enough east (Lake Jackson area) to get into the bayous and forests of almost Louisiana.

How about you move things up a month? April and May are the best times to experience the hill country. Riding season around here ends in June. It's just too damned hot.

Revill
Austin (Center of the Universe) Texas

I'm going to drop the Corpus stop and spend the time in Big Bend and the Hill Country. I've see enough water and sand.

So, I've been here and on some other sites and I've found, or have been told about a ton of things to do and places to see. Kosmic is now on the list.

I'll enter the HC after I do Big Bend. I will be heading due north from Uvalde. It looks like there are two roads from there, so any ideas on which is more fun would be welcome. Then up to Leakey or Camp Wood to do the three sisters loop. After that I'll cruise East, starting a bigger loop or figure eight to cover the area.

OK on that, Corpus and the Gulf are out. So far, the trip maps to 3,400 miles, door to door from Las Vegas. I've got 17 days and I can stretch it a bit longer if I need to. The first and last 1,000 miles will be quick at four or five days total.

I'm planning on at least eight days to do Big Bend and the Hill Country. Is that doable??

Yes, doable. Agree with dropping the coast, flat hot humid and mostly industrial. Be sure to visit the McDonald Observatory by Fort Davis. Come down 17 to 67 to Presido. FM 170 between Presido and Lajitas has been on the Top 10 best roads in some mag before. Plenty of good paved roads in Big Bend. Take your swimmy and hit the Hot Springs.

North of Uvalde is some of the best Hill Country riding in Texas. It flattens out then north of Hwy 67. Avoid Austin and San Antonio if you are truely wanting to moto-tour, they will be a traffic mess. As mentioned before, the 3 Sisters around Leakey are not to be missed. That would be Ranch Roads 335, 336, & 337. Hwy 16 between Medina (RR337/Hwy16) and Kerville is great. From Kerrville, take any of the Ranch Roads from Comfort to Luckenbach for a beer and kick tires and have a cold beverage with the other dozens of bikes that will there. Spend the night in Fredricksburg, the wife will be talking about the downtown area there to all her buddies back home. Around this area, check out FM 965 to Enchanted Rock. Worth the hike up the rock if you are into that. Then do the Willow City Loop off of Hwy 16. All this area can be done in a day. And I'd drop the gun and pack some extra water bottles instead.

An most important of all, be safe and enjoy the trip!