love this place, looks like a nice camp ground, glad i decided to stop... Chance of rain but that is OK i am ready for it... as i mentioned earlier, chance of rain tonight... I like the colors on my sleeping bag, somewhere on it it says good to 20 degrees; figured that would be good enough... You can even see my ground cover, it serves its purpose, nice barrier between me and sometimes the moist ground... this is a picture of radar, time stamped 1:25 am forgot to thank Pat for showing me this app, works well, loads quicker than the other ones i have, need to delete a few of those apps... The blue dot, thats me, kind of looks like i am being kicked with one of those boots that was left on a fence post... Rained for a couple hours, felt nice in my little warm cacoon... Could hear the rain on my tarp as i checked radar every now and then to find out the status of the storm... You can tell by the picture that i was hit with light rain, more of a drizzle to downpours... Still i was comfortable, recall thinking about all those signs CAUTION WATER ON ROAD AT TIMES possibly being stranded for a period out on the highway... The radar picture above was the end of the storm, i was still nice and cozy... Oh, my feet... What the heck...pulled them up toward my chest, that is not right, thats water... reaching out beside me i felt water, my hand was covered in water what the heck was going on... Hey i am getting wet here???? I grab my phone, turn on the flashlight, great how you can use your phone for so many things... Where did all this water come from... i stood up, had the sleeping bag and my trusty tarp over me as the rain began to let up thought what the heck, climbed on a picnic table and went back to sleep, for a while that is
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stayed at a KOA last night, first time on this adventure... Was OK but as a simple camper it has disadvantages, many of which could be simply because it was a Saturday night... Was prewarned by Adventure Bike that many of these camp grounds charge the same rate as a RV, yet a cyclist is not really using the facilities, such as electric... Was nice to get a shower two days in a row... Tonight i hope to try a state campground about 42 miles from here, considering the weatherman is calling for rain most of the day that could be a challenge... Have a lot of open country today, by open i mean little civilization... Also appears the legs will be challenged the Guadalupe River; the 4-5 miles i have viewed is a very pretty river, water looks clean. Access to it in this area is limited, property owners have it posted... Here at a picnic area off the highway i can hear the water flowing over the dam, also because it is raining i am listening to the rain on the metal roof.. And a noisy duck?
hills for the next couple days, 700 foot climb is the biggest challenge... I have mail at Camp Woods Texas, approximately 110 miles... Post office opens on Monday morning so that is my goal... Should i have issues with the bike, the store pointed out one issue i should watch, then i will be stopping in Kerrville for a part this photo was taken by a lady who was helping her husband complete the 2nd half of the southern tier, she had stopped to fix him lunch... He had completed the eastern half last fall and just started the western half... two houses on the same property, one has been maintained and had an addition, both sit on a knoll with a beautiful view... Talked to Jim the owner of the maintained one, said the place has been in his wifes family for years and years... The tracts were 240 acres, owns 40 now (divided amongst family members over the tears) and that the tracts were long and narrow to give all the land owners access to the river... Said they just added on the the original house and moved back in a week ago looks like a fix it upper!!!! Morris Ranch hotel In 1856, New York broker Francis Morris bought 23,000 acres (93.08 km2; 35.94 sq mi) of land in Gillespie and Kerr counties for twenty-five cents an acre. He eventually sold off all but 16,000 acres (64.75 km2; 25.00 sq mi), and hired his nephew Charles Morris to manage the acreage for horse breeding. Charles was ranch manager until 1910.[7] Francis Morris died in 1886. The land was inherited by his son John A. Morris, who spent $500,000 on capital improvements and converted the property into a community dedicated to the business of raising thoroughbred horses. The improvements included a hotel for entertaining influential and important individuals, a general store and post office, a school, a cotton gin, and a flour mill. Approximately 200 mares and ten stallions were at the ranch, with yearling colts either being sold or boarded at the Morris stables in Winchester Park, Maryland. Adjacent to the ranch was a racetrack and living quarters for the jockeys, where Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse trainerMax Hirsch got his start.[8] Anti-gambling legislation passed in New Jersey and New York around the turn of the 20th Century caused the horse racing industry to go into decline, and Morris Ranch along with it. The ranch was inherited by John's sons Alfred and David Morris and eventually by Alfred's son Captain John A. Morris.[9] Morris Ranch hotel, to the right is a building that looks like a bunk house, that isa speculation... No historical markings around these building, behind the former hotel is a nice swimming pool... part of Morris Ranch part of Morris Ranch the number of goat farms is increasing as i move west took this for Bailey and Gabe :-) first cattle roaming free... I was suppose to turn off of this road about a mile from where i took this photo, when i arrived at the turn the road was shut down, appears it is on private property, the owners shut it down once a year, for how long i do not know, was a ten mile detour... What is ten miles starting to get rocky, can notgrow to much here i look at my total for the day and just wonder how it can be so... Started out 110 miles from camp wood... Still have 84 miles to camp wood... Yet when i add the numbers up on this map i traveled way over 26 miles.... I know the route does not travel the main highways, if so it would be around 2000 coast to coast, pick up an additional 1000 meandering down the highway... The ride was a good ride, pretty country, numerous old homesteads... Plenty of wildlife and hills oh does Texas have some hills!!!! I am a few miles from Hunt which was my destination, had i not purchasedgirl scout cookies i just very well might have made it... vanderpool is about 45 miles from here, may attempt to make it to a state camp ground on this side of it tomorrow, possibility of some rain so i will see what happens Sandy Texas!!! I visited Sandy Texas two days ago, having had time to research Sandy Texas i wanted to add this bit in.... I google towns at times to see what is availiable... Can i get water, carbohydrates and more importantly coffee... Well i googled Sandy Texas and got a list of what was in the town, came up more bars than anything but i thought one store could potentially have coffee... So i am riding my bike, gps telling me Sandy Texas is a mile away, then 1/2 mile then i see the sign SANDY... A farm road comes in from the left to join the road i am traveling on, like a y... My gps says "you have arrived at your destination... Texas likes to make their towns bigger than what they are by putting the city limits a mile or two before the city sometimes, i thought maybe this was the case... I traveled a mile down the road, checked my gps and it tells me to turn around snd go back one mile... I arrived at the y again, gps "you have arrived at your destination" so i take the other branch of the y and this time i get to peddle up a hill, going up the hill i pass a cemetary, SANDY CEMETARY sign points left, i look down the gravel road thinking i am getting closer to SANDY pedal up the hill, look around nothing... Check my gps "turn around and go one mile to your destination" so i google SANDY TEXAS, and finally figure out it USE to be a town, the sign sits in the middle of the y and reads SANDY but nothing is there, i would not even consider it a ghost town... But below you can read about SANDY Texas... I have found these towns are common in Texas.. MORRIS RANCH is another one, it is on the map, you get there and nothing... I can say Morris Ranch did not have a sign but it does have a hotel... Pictured above..
SANDY TEXAS History in a Pecan shell Sandy suffered frequent attacks by Indians, but the land was nonetheless settled and the townfolk were granted a post office in 1872. Sandy became the consolidated school for the neighboring communities of Hickory, Spring Creek and White Oak, but like larger fish eat the smaller - the Johnson City school "ate" the one at Sandy. Sandy's population never went over 30 according to the Handbook of Texas. A Visit to Sandy, TexasPhotographer's Note: Sandy Texas is located at the intersection of FM 1323 & FM 1320 in Blanco County and about 8 Miles NW of Johnson City. The old store at the intersection is about the only visible evidence remaining of Sandy TX. Most of the few residences are off the road and very scattered. The old secluded cemetery is located a couple miles south and a short drive off of FM 1320. - William Beauchamp, June, 2009 Sandy Cemetery Photo courtesy William Beauchamp, 2009 Sandy Cemetery Photo courtesy William Beauchamp, 2009 More Texas Cemeteries Post Office in Sandy TE photo, 2001Cactus in Sandy, Texas TE photo, 2001 olympic high jumping deer? I have noticed many of the ranchers are putting up 10 foot high fence... This could have a lot of implicatiins, more so if you support Trump... Just curious as to why such a high fence is needed, maybe it has to do with hunting and keeping deerin rather than out??? Maybe the great wall of the south has been funded by Homeland???? liked the design, looks as if it wascut off of a larger house could be hunting seen other types of animals fenced in pastures by species... A game preserve or something of that nature... memories... Looks like i should have been riding a bike sooner!!!! :-) never to late numerous goat farms, sheep too... Still riding the hills, nice breeze helping me stay cool... bicycle works in Fredericksburg Texas has my bike working on it now LOOK AT ALL THAT SHIT!!! Fredericksburg is a very nice town to visit, so much to see, so many places to eat and this weekend so few places to stay!!! I did find what i consider a reasonable priced place to stay and if they do not have a washer and dryer can do my laundry a block away... Using the laundromat...
The bike is tuned, gears replaced, new chain... cables adjusted for a very good price... It rides better, shifts great and now i can get out of low gear... still challenging the same hill country, imagine i will be for several days... After i tackle these it levels out for several hundred miles... Will be pushing as much as i ride but that is ok, different soreness... vegetation has changed over as has the terrane, more rocks... a minor challenge!!! Lol lost a few gears, already had plans to hump it up the dang hills anyway... Schwinn gave me a number to call for parts, warranty i guess, will give them and this general delivery a try... Except for the winds and they are not really that bad it is a great day to ride, low 70's for the highs, great scenery, fantastic company... What more could a man ask for... wondering... Do people just wake up one day and say i am going to put an olive garden in, will call it The Texas Olive Garden... It is a pretty place but was closed After giving it some thought it is like someone waking up and saying i am going to ride a bike cross country signs all over warning of flash flooding,water possibly covering the road can not cross Texas without taking a picture of some horns I have done about 30 today, waiting on a response back about parts, make a decision then if i will stay here tonight or move on... Stocked up on water and food :-) better than steak right now growth is thinning out Ended up with 40, i am happy with that i may be playing with fire tonight, pear cactus to my right and a rocky hill to my left...
what i have seen of Austin Texas i have enjoyed, really a nice city... Headed west, not sure how much of the day will be spent departing the metro area but imagine several hours maybe more if i get stuck in another clover leaf... starting out from 12th and highway 35 this morning rowers on the Colorado River (little) Austin has a well used Park, the great weather has runners, bikers and rowers all out at the bridge on one of many trails it has to offer... What that same park is like in August with the heat???
Some great hills today, my legs were screaming at me on several of them, will not repeat what they were screaming but it was not too nice... My ride today took me to some gated communities... Pretty nice, if i do 20 today it will amaze me, i did enjoy walking around the capitol grounds and some of the older parts of Austin... Do not know if it is because they support cyclists or what but the drivers are very curteous, be it on a country road or city street, makes riding so much more enjoyable... The city has numerous bike racks where you rent a bike and then drop it off at another place and get a refund... Also has several bike rental places downtown... Need to get in the habit of stopping at certain stores, the distance between them is increasing and the warming trend combined with the hills i am drinking more than double the water i was... I carry enough but need to keep it on hand just in case... austin is impressive, not only the scenery but from the economic side also.... Debating on spending one more night here, may check some of the city out... new brake pads (old ones in photo) have a backup set that i know will work!!! had a cup of good coffee today, a nice change of pace... Walked some of the streets of Austin and had a relaxing morning... Felt good to walk... Tomorrow i will head west again, western Texas is going to be a challenge, one section it is recommened that enough water and food is carried to cover 160 miles... Actual service is 80 miles apart, the recommendations i believe is so enough water and food is on hand in case of maintenance issues or an emergency... Temperatures for this section are suppose to be as much as 25 degrees above normal... Looking forward to the challenge just wanted everyone up North to know i feel your pain, having trouble handling this weather here in Texas
Texas needs painters to flip the smiles on oil /gas storage tanks only... not sure if i will followup on this or not??? Picked up brochures to read later??? 15 miles or so east of Austin, plenty of pear cactus and one heck of a view, miles and mikes and... i am sitting on this concrete pad that they mount freeway signs to in the middle of a clover leaf trying to decide if i want to go N E S or W... Why you might wonder.... The map has me going over the river which i need to cross eventually, Colorado River, why it isn't the Little Colorado River is beyound me.... Anyway i can see downtown Austin way over yonder... But at this time yonder seems so far away... So i am checking google maps to find an alternative route if one is availiable... Now this traffic is almost at a standstill, i am wondering if these good Texans will let me push my bike across the freeway... you ever wonder how a chicken coop is moved... Austin Texas, what a beautiful city!!! Fastest growing city in America by far and you can see the growth riding around, new develops, housing, corporations... Street repair/expansion... Pretty impressive... Loved Lance Amstrong Bike Trail, think the government should stop paying lawyers to get the money back from him and let him putit into repairing the trail named after him.... This hillbilly ended up inthe middle of a clover leaf rather than on a bridge so the trail needs more signs my headboard!!! You ever wake up wondering where you are, Austin's cure for that, could have put it on the ceiling...
Walking around i have decided if i ever become homeless i am going to winter in Austin talked with a gentleman for a couple hours abour the values of the American yourh; he was from the middle east.... funny how certain destinations become milestones in ones mind... 1000 miles, TexasState Line... Austin.... Today will be one month i have been on the road, using distance traveled in that month against distance left i would think i will be writing this blog somewhere between here and San Diego in 30 more days.... Which is fine, also means i have two months to do my tax... Lol Hope everyone has a great Valentine day!!! Dinner and drinks are on me if anyone wants to stop over, i will volunteer to be the designated driver if one is needed.... ;-) Chance of showers/drizzling tonight, temps are suppose to be good, did not check winds... i seen an old barn in Texas rebuilding after the fire... Fire did some damage but most people seem to be rebuilding or have moved modulars in.... Seen buildings/houses burned on both sides of the 4 lane highway... Miles and miles of forest burned and the culprit was a replaced bearing on a piece of farm equipment, it overheated while being used and caught the farmers field on fire.... I have followed several major fires and may have even read about this one but to actually see such a large area burned with foundations, slabs for garage or chimneys standing in the burned forest, gives me a better understanding of what these firefighters go up against... The firetruck pictured above remained to long trying to save the house that is being rebuilt... What danger did the firefighters endure to try and save one of many homes... Staying until the fire was upon them, preventing themfrom taking the truck.... fire in Bastrop forest, Oct 13 2015 left a lot of devastation, rode in the park for miles and seen burnt forest, homes and out buildings... like the gate!!!
Round Top Texas... This place must have a large antique show annually, the town is or is being built around it... Several miles of barns and shelters devoted to the event, they continue to build more spaces to rent... Claims to be a world wide event... Follow up required on this Oh yes, my $5.00 cookies in support of the local kids involvement in beef/farming... Tried to figure out how to mount one of these on my bike??? community involvement has/is great for the bake sale, folks constantly dropping baked goods off, in 2013 the population of the town was 93... Small town i would say this is OK, i have never claimed to be the brightest light bulb, in fact i have a philosophy i live by today that 95% of what i have been taught is wrong, or 95% of what i know is wrong, with each passing day that belief is reinforced as i come to understand that "damn i was wrong again" so having said that when i seen the sign above i thought to myself, why would they tell me when they colored the school building... Sorry folks, just the way i was raised, things just are not black and white in my world.... stopped at a small, old store in Warrenton Tx, chatted with the owners, they are retired postal employees, lived around here their whole life... German decent, did a Rhine River cruise for one of their anniversary in 2013... We talked about outhouses, spring water for drinking, milkingcows by hand, chickens hatching and refugees moving in the White House with the Obama's...this little town use to have five cafes, several stores... Today they are it, someone from overseas did offer to buy them out... The antique shows are two times a year, spring/fall been going on for 32-36 years and now they just sale junk... Their words.... Land has gone up to $20,000. An acre and continues to rise... All that info over a cup cake :-) been a good day lol i do not know how far i have gone but it can notbe to far... Laying under this oak tree, music.... Was relaxing... You ever get that special feeling in your heart when you know you are making some person/persons day by entertaining them... It is a good feeling... Everyone should experience it, hopefully once a day at a minimum... Three times now a local vehicle, a black truck, has passed by me and each time with great joy and enthusiasm honked the horn on that truck, oops make it four times, pretty sure they are getting some joy out of it as they should... As for me and that special feeling, the one that makes your heart smile... If i had a rock i would hit that damn truck... And the smile in my heart would grow.... What a thought!!! bridge was built in 1941 this bike is becoming a part of me, learning which way to lay it to make my recliner, perfect for star gazing... The sky at night is gorgeous, no city lights to conflict,
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July 2016
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