Day 22: Fort Davis to Marathon, Texas

Day 22: Fort Davis to Marathon, Texas
Miles: 59.46 ------------ Total Mileage: 1,222.86
Theme: Every Day Is Better Than the One Before! How Can This Be?????

Well after a day of rest yesterday, it is back in the saddle again. We had a great breakfast at Fort Davis Indian Lodge. We ordered from their menu so everyone was happy. Sleepy - but happy! People straggled in one by one, but soon everyone was there. When Diane came in various people said hello, but she heard nothing. So the entire table said "Good Morning Diane." Diane is a bit hard of hearing. She finally heard her morning greeting however! Nancy came - still trying to wake from her sleep. She mentioned that when she walked over she heard some rustling and lo and behold it was a Havalina. I have seen a few dead on the roadside and had wanted to see a live one. So I took the opportunity and it was still there. The ranger warned not to get to close as they can be vicious. It looks like an overgrown pig with very bristly hair. When it is annoyed it raises it bristles to look bigger. Havalinas are actually called Peccaries. They are medium-sized animals, with a strong superficial resemblance to pigs. Like pigs, they have a snout ending in a cartilagenous disc, and eyes that are small relative to their head. Also like pigs, they use only the middle two digits for walking, although, unlike pigs, the other toes may be altogether absent. Their stomach is non-ruminating, although it has three chambers, and is more complex than that of pigs.
Peccaries are omnivores, and will eat small animals, although their preferred food consists of roots, grass, seeds, and fruit. Pigs and peccaries can be differentiated by the shape of the canine tooth, or tusk. I took a very close look to make sure it was a Peccary - yeah right! In European pigs the tusk is long and curves around on itself, whereas in peccaries, the tusk is short and straight. The jaws and tusks of peccaries are adapted for crushing hard seeds and slicing into plant roots], and they also use their tusks for defending against predators. As you probably guessed I didn't rattle that info from the top of my head - I copied it from Wikipedia.

After breakfast we got our snacks for the day and then had our map meeting. And then it was back in the saddle again. When we started out it was very cold. I had on my long fingered biking gloves, arm warmers, leg warmers and my light jacket. The 3 or 4 miles were downhill and it was chilly. When I stopped to take a photo my fingers were cold and clumsy! I am still finding the scenery very interesting - yes, the Texas scenery! The sky is so blue and there were wispy clouds. Against the golden straw and the barren fields, all of a sudden you will see the brilliant green of spring. The contrast is startling!

We quickly reached the first Sag Wagon - and of course all the layers came off as the day quickly began to heat up. Today feels like a short day, only 60 miles. The riding is fabulous. We are basically riding parallel to the train tracks, so when it is uphill it is very mild. We are cruising along! It couldn't get better than this, could it?

We leave the Sag and start off toward the town of Alpine. It is a cute town of just over 5,000 and the Texas State College of Sul Ross is located here. Unlike most days, we (Liz, Tex, Kathie and I) decided not to stop in Alpine but to ride through and get to our destination earlier rather than later. Destination - Gage Hotel, Marathon, Texas. Again we were just flying down the roads - with the wind mainly at our back. It felt wonderful. There is literally nothing between Alpine and Marathon. So when we came over a rise and saw some sort of city in the distance, we knew it must be Marathon. We were finished riding before 1:00. We easily found the hotel --- and I can say without question that this is an amazing place to stay!!!!! Thank you WomanTours! I have to say that Tex. Liz, Kathie and I all looked a bit out of place standing to check in. Here we are in our biking shorts, jerseys and shoes ---- to top it off, helmet hair Now this is a top rate hotel! Fortunately the hotel is used to WomanTours coming each year so they didn't chase us out!
Our rooms are ready so we can go to the rooms, drop off the bikes and get lunch. The rooms are fabulous! It can't get better than this! The hotel is very well maintained. I certainly can't do justice in describing the place. It is an made up of adobe buildings with a courtyard in the middle with water fountains, flowers and western items such as old saddles and the likes hanging on the walls. The rooms are spacious with large spanish tiles on the floors, an old wooden chest, hardback leather chairs... Hanging in the bathroom are two robes and a fabulous shower. Oh life can't get better than this! Tex is threatening to declare tomorrow as another rest day just so we can stay here again! Now that's not a bad idea other than it would mean doing about 175 miles when we got on the bikes again. I guess we better enjoy our night here!

As always there is much more to write, so many things that happen between the cracks! This experience continues to be fantastic. All of us on this tour are so, so, fortunate. Pinch me and tell me this is all real! As Tex says; "Each day you think, it can't get better than this, and yet somehow it does. Amazing!"