As we were traveling along Route 90, I was struck by the infrastructure and manpower devoted to controlling the border with Mexico. During this leg of the trip, we passed by or through a couple of different immigration checkpoints and saw an untold number of Border Patrol agents working. In the tremendously remote areas west of Del Rio, almost every vehicle we saw was Border Patrol. We also saw them out in the desert on hilltops, dragging trails, and patrolling. For the entire length of 90, there is a parallel dirt road on each side. We watched BP agents patrol along those dirt roads and periodically drag them to allow for easier tracking. We did see quite the sight when in the middle of nowhere, we crossed the Pecos River.
As we continued west, the sky cleared and the temperature started to soar. Just prior to turning south on Route 385 to ride into Big Bend NP, we stopped at a little store to get gas. Glenn's credit card company finally had enough and shut his card down. He argued with them for 15 minutes trying to get it re-activated. Ultimately they did but not until after a lengthy delay. I actualy felt guilty (almost) as he sat on his bike in the sun making the call while I sat in the gas station under the air conditioning vent drinking a cold Gatorade :)
Once back on the road and heading down 385, we did indeed discover that hell exists and it is somewhere on that road. I have never felt heat like that in my life. It was like riding into a giant blow dryer set on high and it sucked every bit of physical and emotional strength out of you.
The terrain was equally dramatic with rugged formations of rock that jutted out from the desert floor. Finally, we do make it to the ranger's station to pay our entry fee and get into our campsite. Although there are several camp grounds in the park, we wanted to go down to the Rio Grande site along the river. The ranger cautioned us against that as the temperature was 115 degrees. She suggested instead a site high up in the mountains (5200 feet) called Chisos Basin. We really wanted to see the canyon however at the river so we rode the 20 miles down there. Once there, we talked to the clerk at the camp store and he noted the temp was now up to 116 in the shade. Undaunted, we rode through the campsites, stopped to survey one, then inside of 10 minutes, realized that if we didn't get out of there soon, we were going to have serious heat problems. Now remember that we ride with helmets and full protective gear. Even once I took all of that off, I began to feel light-headed and clammy. As fast as we could, we got back on the bikes, and rode the 30 miles to the Chisos Basin. At that point, the 45 mph speed limit meant nothing. All we wanted to do was get off those bikes and cool down so we took our chances.
The Basin was an entirely different experience. Although still hot, it was over 20 degrees cooler than Rio Grande and in the shade was comfortable. We took our time pitching tents and eating dinner and as long as we didn't move too fast, we didn't get too hot.
Once it got dark, it became more comfortable and we both slept pretty well. Glenn did have to step over a scorpion at the restroom and witnessed the mob scene of skunks running around our campsite in the middle of the night. Luckily, I slept through that one.
Tomorrow will bring the best ride we've had yet!
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