Me, "Do we have anything planned for tomorrow morning? I'm thinking about making a run for the border."
My wife, "You want to go where????" (note the extra use of question marks to indicate the perceived oddness of my inquiry)
Me, ""Yeah, but not to Mexico... unless you think that might be a good idea?" (insert a hopeful tone to the last question)
My wife, "No, I don't think it would be a good idea for you to go to Mexico." (insert a not so subtle indication that my sense of humor isn't in top form)
Me, "I meant the state border... into Oklahoma."
Her, "Oklahoma??!?!??? Why?" (at this point there is a slight indication that a call may need to be made to the guys with the white jackets that have really long sleeves and buckles)
Me, "Well... because it's there... and the weather is reasonably warm... and Clyde, the new riding buddy I got for Christmas wants to go out and see the sights... and umm... uhh... I need a fix in a bad way."
Her, "That's fine. I'll just take the girls to some of the after Christmas sales."
Me, "Great!" (afterwards I did start to wonder how much of a hit the wallet was going to take to make up for my border run)
So... the following morning, I got up bright and early, stepped outside and quickly realized it was way too cold to head out when it was bright and early but not yet very warm. After about an hour to put away a couple cups of coffee and watch the thermometer slowly inch upwards, I headed back out and got Clyde all saddled up.
Doesn't he look excited? Or terrified... hard to tell with stuffed apes.
In roughly an hour's time I was out away from the mess of post-holiday shoppers, out where the roads get empty yet more interesting. I really love the FM roads we have in Texas. You never know what you're going to run across or possibly run over. Clyde and I were cooking as I crested a hill and saw a large lump of mud about the size of a halved volleyball in the middle of the road. I eased towards the center of my lane when I realized the lump of mud was also moving towards the center of my lane. Thinking that moving mud was probably not a good thing, I crossed to the oncoming lane and gave it plenty of space as I went by. Clyde being quite the expert on the flora and fauna of North Texas was the first to realize that the moving mud lump was actually a turtle.
We cruised on towards Nocona and then on towards Spanish Fort.
That's where we stopped to take a few pictures of some interesting plaques. This is from the Historical Marker
"Col. Diego Ortiz Parilla, Commandant of Presidio San Saba(Near the Later Site of Menard) had grave indian problems in 1759. Priests and others were killed in Comanche Attacks on Mission San Saba. Comanches and..."
Aw heck, I bet you can read the inscription on the picture if you are interested.
The important part is that I was close the mighty Red River. From here it was a short jaunt to Taovayas Indian Bridge, a long straight stretch of asphalt. Clyde thought my speed across the bridge might have been a bit too exuberant, but I figure he'll get used to it over time.
Once we made our jaunt into Okie country, we quickly doubled back and cruised on down to Muenster for a cup of coffee and some strudel. From there it was a nice casual ride slowly making our way back home. 300 miles later, we had evaded a killer swarm of black flies while trying to take pictures in Spanish Fort
had wonderful strudel and coffee at the Center Restaurant in Muenster and Clyde had a better appreciation for the many miles and many roads we have yet to travel.
