A couple miles East of Alpine, TX. Susan and Joe from my previous post stayed in Alpine Sunday night. In the middle of the night the town was evacuated due to the escalation of one of the many desert fires burning in the area. As I approached Alpine the scorched Earth was all the evidence I needed to see why there was a state of emergency.A cool bicycle shop in Alpine.
The ride between Alpine and Ft. Davis was a welcome diversion from the last week. Although the ride was uphill and a strong wind was barreling down on me it was nice to see so many trees with green foliage. In a couple spots there was even a little shade!
The scorched earth outside of Alpine was nothing to the damage done to Ft. Davis. Everywhere I looked was burnt. No houses in Alpine were damaged. Ft. Davis wasn't so lucky. Several houses and buildings were lost. A local told me that the fire burned for 28 days and one day traveled 24 miles in less than 2 hours due to 50 mph winds.Land for sale...get it while it's hot!
Ft. Davis courthouse
As I type this, it is day 25. There are countless fire warnings and even more severe wind warnings...35-50 mph. I was advised by a few forest service workers this morning to stay put. Fort Davis will be my temporary home for a second day. Pedaling BIG RED across Texas has been a chore. If things go my I should make New Mexico by Sunday.TRIP STATS:
Total miles pedaled: 1934.11
Route miles pedaled: 1925.9
Saddle time: 139:11'42
1 comment:
I google map everytown you stop in. And all of them in West Exas are just these small little towns in the middle of nowhere. Cracks me up.
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