Texas Rangers Camped Here, and here, and here, and here….

Everything is bigger and better in Texas.

“It’er rainin’ like steer pissin’ on a cactus plant.”

I left Denton and found it was surprisingly cool.  I packed up after looking up on Yelp for a breakfast place, nothing was nearby so I settled for a protein bar that was about as satisfying as a cold damp towel after nice hot shower.  I pulled out of the parking lot, took a left on the feeder road, and wham!  Right next to the *&#$ing Motel 6 was a Denny’s, and behind that was a Waffle House.  For a breakfast places those two are the contestants at the Miss America pageant that don’t get to display their talent on TV, but make the stage for the opening ceremony.  My Fiber One bar didn’t even make it past the Miss New Jersey contest.  I passed on hot eggs and pancakes and proceeded out of town on the only west bound road to Lubbock.  The sky was grey and the temperatures were satisfying pleasant compared to the previous humidity I faced on this journey.  The terrain wasn’t much to look at, the road straight, but the most disconcerting aspect was the speed limit.  This was a typical two lane byway, but the farm trucks and occasional semi, even I flat bed towing a large harvester, zoomed along at 85 mph.  When one of those tractor-trailers would pass me in the opposite direction I was blasted with a brick wall of air that wanted to push my bike head-over-tea-kettle.  I stopped at a few historical markers to learn that Texas Rangers didn’t travel very far between campsites.  Another fascinating aspect of today’s journey was the dramatic change in flora and geography.  Unlike the well defined climate change heading over the Cascade mountains with cold rain forest conditions on the west and arid desert conditions on the east, the Texas climate had no apparent physical barrier.  The surroundings just changed from humid deciduousness to dry and desert.  The soil also changed from brown to red.  It happened with a rapidity that I blinked and found myself in parched air and sage brush.

Nota bene, I found evidence of an Titan Indian attack in one town and a Sheriff’s office that looked like something out of a movie set in another.  In some little nameless town with one gas station and a Dairy Queen I stopped for lunch.  When I finally climbed on Trafalgar a Texas size raindrop plastered itself on my face shield.  As I proceeded out of town the rain came in earnest and I became anxious about the road conditions.  Not wanting to hydroplane or slide on oil residue I tried slowing down, but Texans do everything bigger and better, including speed, so I got sucked up in the mad rush to Lubbock.  Thankfully, the traffic was light, the roads relatively oil-free, and the hydroplaning kept to a minimum, making it safely into town.  After that last stressful hour and half I found a pleasant cigar shop to unwind.  I bantered with the patrons until the sun poked itself out, a big Texas sun, and found a Comfort Suites room across the street.  Another day of adventure.  It’s all part of the fun, rain and Texas roadways.