Day 1
March 25, 2006
Houston, TX to Sonora, TX



“Is that frost on the windshield?”



It was early and it was cold. Not as early as it should have been for the aggressive plan to get out of Texas in one day, but also not as cold as it could have been considering the oddities of the weather in Houston.

“At least it’s sunny,” and that it was. Clear skies and open road awaited the group as we headed west. First stop was the gas station on the corner to top off the tanks and adjust the tire pressure on the now heavily loaded bikes. Breakfast from a gas station is never great, but it’s fast, and easy, and cheap.







Traveling down the freeway, each rider had an issue that warranted a stop. Oddly enough, none thought to pull over before Erik finally made the “over there” hand signal near Luling. Seems nobody wanted to hold up the group with their own issues, not realizing that they would be helping the others out with the stop as well. Gavin had a severely runny nose, Rebecca had left some vent zippers open on her jacket and was freezing, and Deb and Erik were both in pain from their earphones. We topped off the tanks again while we were there, and headed back out with even more determination to get some miles under our belts.

As we hit San Antonio’s city limits, the clock showed 12:01. We’re not making great time, but we should be able to make up for it after lunch. Or so we thought…

Stopped for lunch in Boerne (pronounced Bernie, go figure) at the Flagstop Café. It seems Gavin and Erik had eaten here once before and were pleased with the selection and quality of food.



Spank made it known that he was being tossed around on the back of the bike – enough that his tail and foot were hitting Erik’s rear tire.



We tried to make it up to him by treating him to a big lunch, and some fresh brewed iced tea to wash it down.





Erik showing off his woman and his mug of fresh coffee…



Another stop in Junction, TX for some wake-me-up and more go-go- juice, and we concede to failing at our first mission: high-tailing it out of Texas on day one.





We knew it was a stretch goal, but we didn’t make a very valiant effort. Each gas stop took almost an hour, and lunch even longer. To make matters worse, we stopped twice as often as we had planned based on fuel consumption – the smallest tank in the bunch can handle about 175 miles, but we stopped at just under and just over a hundred. Only once did we actually go until Deb’s low fuel indicator came on.

We had to choose between a campsite 8 miles away or 60 miles away. Hmm… we all agreed we wanted to get as far as we could before the sun began to call it quits. We pass through Sonora and arrive in Ozona, but the “campsite” was actually an RV park. New plan – head into the adjoining restaurant to look up some campsites and sit a spell.



Drinks all around, and some toast for Rebecca. The waitress suggested Sonora as the nearest town with a decent campsite. A quick call to the Caverns of Sonora confirmed the availability of a primitive tent site for $11. We were on our way!

Arrived with enough time to set up the tents and hammock in the remaining half hour of daylight, and then we headed up to the store/souvenir shop/tour center. They run guided tours through the caverns every half hour, and we might do that in the morning before we head out. They also make their own fudge, so a sampling was in order. YUM!



As we walked back to our site in the dark, one glance upward revealed one of the reasons we were out here on this trip: the stars. Without all of the city lights polluting the view of the night sky, the most amazing field of astronomical miracles makes itself known. It’s a shame they hide behind all the smog back home – more people might be tempted to see them and enjoy the calm of the country if they knew what the universe had to offer in place of the evening news. (Note: Our feeble attempts at photographing the night sky were useless. You’ll have to take our word for it or get out from behind your computer and come see it for yourself.)

Sleep begins early for weary travelers. Although the mileage wasn’t impressive, it was a good start to our journey. Then again, any day on the road that ends with all of us alive and well sleeping peacefully in our tents is a good day. Might be a good night too, that is if the sheep will stop with all that racket and go to sleep already!