Spirit and I were in for a surprise yesterday morning!… I know… banal… common for all you northerner… ice! You probably and do… just wish it went away! But transport yourself to a Tropical Island type setting and you will understand our surprise. The water finally froze…

At the same time, as my getting out in this real world is getting later and later every morning, it was already warm and Spirit after his breakfast looked at me like… "how in the world am I going to drink this!". It made a great frisbee… shattering in many pieces!

And the grill next door seemed like it had gone through an ice storm… do not despair, it was not so! The trees here have a watering system, specially clever during the summer, hot… with temps above 100 degrees, well, one of the lines obviously had split and the geyser created this replica of an ice storm…

The maintenance engineer was passing by driving his golf cart… alias the local singer and guitar player at the Starlight Theater… and we had a good laugh! Great gimmick he said!… lets start doing this everyday to every tree and advertise the unique scenery it will provide… vivid imagination… It would work I said, this is the land of opportunity… bizzaro world… there is no doubt it will attract more campers! Every day that goes by makes me feel more and more at "home"… Terlingua is indeed a unique town… As I was up the Basin yesterday after a couple short rides, I had a chance to meet a very interesting fellow, Mike Boren, the Executive Director of the "Big Bend Natural History Association". And we talked… and talked as two souls that have traveled the world including some great Culinary stories… a couple phone calls Ara, he said… and this area I know could keep you busy for the winter in some neighboring kitchen… more Writers, more Poets and more Artists live here, he said… this is where such a variety of civilizations meet from not only this country but from also south of us… he gave me enough thoughts to think about it all…

As we are finally rolling, it was time for Becca to leave and head toward Houston where the Urban Jungle reality slap was waiting. Short stay, a quick 650 miles each way to be with us… plus some much local riding including Fort Davis for a day.

Her nickname?… "RocketBunny"… I would like to call her "NeonBunny"… I had never seen a BMW with neon lights!… An attraction she told me at the many Bike Nights she goes to in Houston!… 6 bars with a remote, all changing colors on command… still or blinking… from front to back, from back to front, LED’s no draining the battery… a moving on two wheel Xmas tree…

How appropriate for the occasion!… and the good part is… this mod fits her! "NeonBunny’s" was delightful, a bubbly two wheel trooper with 21000 miles already within the first year of owning her bike, she has one of the greatest personalities I have ever met… And if that was not enough, as credit should be due where it belongs, today’s Blog format is due to her coaching me through the maze, for me for sure, of posting… again… "many thanks NeonBunny… we miss you here!" and hope you made it home alright.

And it was time for us to get going also… a couple new roads I wanted to explore, Croton Spring and Paint Gap… unpaved, nothing too serious… giving us a chance to get away from the main roads.

In the Valley before Panther Junction they also offer some primitive campgrounds, with bear proof food locker included… As we stopped, it was total silence. So quiet that your ears feel hollow… same incredible scenery… as the mountains surrounding us were guarding us safely,

away from the outside world providing such a secure feeling as one can see for miles and miles…

Spirit as usual is having a blast… he is sniffing the ground so hard to quite often he gets into a cough! Only wish he could tell me what had passed by!

NICE!… don’t you think???… As I was fueling before my ride, 2 KTM 950’s also pull in… much gear… full leather… his and hers… I am a sucker when it comes to meeting riders on the road…

I just have to… I cannot just waive and go… I have to meet them… get their names… stories… where they are going, where they are coming from, offer my help, go on about the roads that I have learned, the places to eat… I am the tour guide offering the knowledge that I learn daily!

And I enjoy it as so many in turn have helped me and made me feel comfortable in unknown lands… That should be the way of the world and it is up to each individual, on the road or not, to be as such. We need to detach ourselves from the daily grind… and extend ourselves to each other with open arms… we only have each other… the rest is replaceable!

Martha Marteney and Bob Nelson… I told you I would find out!… From East Vermont, been on the road almost three months as long as I have, sold their home and all… sounds familiar right?

And… left! Lucky man… Lucky lady… what more would anyone want but such a riding partner, going through life in unison as such… sorry Spirit!… glad that he cannot read this!

Where are they going?… how long?… the where is like me… South/Winter, North/Summer…

and no time limit… they have it all on the road… as we have it all… how about a world suddenly where no one has a home and everyone is just traveling… but there was such a world… I have read about it… progress, we went forward… did we? Oh! Yes… I will meet them again…

We left the Basin… the campground is full… and will be as such this week till the New Year! Tomorrow night is a get together with some members of the Big Bend Forum, we don’t even know if we will have a table or will they hike to the top for a midnight snack?… As I return to my camp, it is also filling… there must at least 20 more dogs around here since I left, all shape, all sizes and age , it looks like a little village now! But still… no one is camping on my hill, I am still all alone here… can I say that I like it that way?… well, bikers are welcome!

6 more days in Big Bend… I still have lots of riding to do, mainly going back to Terlingua Ranch and crossing over East to the Park… get back on the river road to Presidio and enter the State Park… what else?

Till then… enjoy… and be well…

Ara and Spirit

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 27th, 2006 at 3:50 am and is filed under travel, spirituality, pit bull, sidecar, motorcycle, cooking, photography, riding, homeless. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.