Day 23 - Marathon to Sanderson

That was one big storm last night in Marathon. First there was lightning to the north at Fort Davis, then to the west as well. Later lightning all around, 360 degrees. Around 1:30 AM it hit. Wow! Thunder, lightning and extremely heavy rain. Glad we weren't camping, I don't know if the tent would have survived.

I finally went to sleep secure in the knowledge that we wouldn't be riding today. Wrong, sun was shining. We ride.

We left early to get some miles in before the afternoon wind and it worked, to a point. Only the last 10 or 15 miles had us riding into the wind. Same plan for tomorrow. On the road by 7:30.

The day started with wet pavement then fog which is fine with me. Fog means no wind.

Thanks to the Texas DOT for providing picnic areas at the side of the road. They are very nice, we used two of them today.

The scenery is getting better too. Michele is happy because there are more trees. I appreciate the shade, but soon we'll be out if the desert and I find that a little sad. However I am looking forward to different terrain, and more frequent towns which will open up our schedule a bit. More lodging / dining options.

Sanderson is not nearly as nice as Marathon, but we found a cheap motel, took a walking tour around town (not much to see) and ate in the local diner.

Funny thing about the motel. There appears to be a bit of a motel turf war going on. We were tracked down in the street by two different motel owners as we rode into town. Each it seemed was trying to undercut the other. We ended up at the more expensive motel and I paid $36 after taxes. We have a theory on this, but I won't share that here.

Time for bed, another windy day forecast for tomorrow.