Like most things, this started out with an idea. The idea evolved into a plan. And the plan was good. Unfortunately as is the case with primates and rodents, the plan was derailed -- by a cold.
So a new idea led to a new plan. Rather than the original idea of a long weekend trip to NW Arkansas, the new idea was a Friday, Saturday trip to East Texas. This would make it a more manageable trip and hopefully allow us to see some of the fall foliage out there.
The plan was still coming together when the salvos started to fire. First, rather than the standard staffing call that punches a hole in my fridays, a decision was made to add a follow up manager's meeting call to the end of that. That would mean I'd have to figure out a two hour stop somewhere along the way for those calls. A bit inconvenient, but not all that bad. The first real issue to call the plan into question was Peter's battle with a cold. From the sound of things it seemed like it was really questionable whether or not he'd be able to make the ride. As the plan had started to come together, I had invited two other riders to join us for the quick overnight. I hoped Peter would recover in time so we could finally get that long ride we both seemed to really need.
Peter and I spoke Thursday evening and things still sounded questionable so we agreed to touch base Friday morning with the hope that he would be feeling up to the ride. In the meantime, Francisco was looking questionable. Only Cory was still all clear with the trip. Friday morning I got the call from Peter that he would not be able to make the trip and Francisco's plans didn't work out. At that point I touched base with Cory and confirmed a place to meet in Palestine, TX.
The proposed route looked something like this:
I got underway and in Corsicana pulled over to take my 11:00 staffing call. I was hoping to find a Starbuck's or some kind of coffee shop. As I was running out of time and getting frustrated with my search I finally settled on a Taco Bell... Yeah, it didn't sound that great to me either but I was out of options.
Unfortunately rather than finish one call and go right into the other, we had to push the 2nd call back about 45 minutes to allow someone to deal with rental return and airport check in. That meant that I'd likely be somewhere on the side of the road for that call. I quickly saddled up and tried to make as much progress as I could in the next 45 minutes.
About 20 miles from our meeting spot in Palestine, I ran out of time and had to pull over for the 2nd call. I found what seemed to be an out of use community center with a heavily shaded area in the front. I pulled in and got on the call just as roll call was being taken.
It was about 5 minutes into the call that I realized that the building across the street was some type of school. I started to worry that someone would take issue with the strange motorcycle guy camped out in front of the school. About an hour later, we wrapped up our call and it was then that a car pulled up. The lady seemed nice enough as she asked me if I was lost or needed any help. I explained that I had to make a phone call but was about to get on my way. She wished me well and I thanked her for checking. Chalk up another point for small-town friendliness.
About 20 minutes later I pulled into Palestine and found Cory at the convenience store we had discussed. It was nice to catch up after over 10 yrs. He seemed so grown up in some ways. Turns out he'd only been riding about 3 months. I assured him, we'd take a calm pace and just enjoy the ride. After a quick bite and a fill up, we got on our way taking a round about route to Rusk and then wandering on to Nacogdoches. We had about an hour of light left when I asked Cory if he wanted to push on or try to find a place in Nacogdoches. Turns out Cory may have the makings of an Iron Butt rider in him as he said he was ready to keep going. We filled up again and continued east taking a very scenic route into San Augustine. We wandered around town a bit and eventually stopped in at the police station where we asked the dispatcher what our hotel options in town might be. She suggested the San Augustine Inn. If a local makes a recommendation, you've got to think they know what they're talking about... right?
We checked in and then walked next door to get some dinner at the mexican restaurant. Aside from the fact that I ended up getting sick and losing my dinner later that night... it wasn't too bad. Though both Cory and I agreed that we'd likely consider camping out next time.
Saturday started out near perfect with cool temperatures and a light fog. We left San Augustine and headed for Hemphill hoping to find breakfast.
We didn't find any of that but on the way there, we did find FM1. That may not seem like a big deal but FM roads in Texas are numbered sequentially which would indicate that this should be the first FM road in Texas.
Anyway the day turned out to be great and we stopped here and there for pictures and gasoline. A great easy trip to East Texas and one I'd highly recommend, especially in the fall to appreciate the leaves changing colors.
On the long bridge between Broaddus and Zavala:
A stop in Apple Springs for water, gasoline and angry bees:
We finally parted company right outside of Crockett.
I rolled into the driveway around 6pm. A little on the tired side but some great memories filed away.
Google Maps route
