Reluctantly we pulled out of Indian Lodge around daylight. As we left, I knew from the sign that we were getting close to the south just by reading the sign.
Before we left the hills, I saw a coyote beside the road, his eyes asking what in the world was I doing on that road. One historical marker told of the first rural school west of the Pecos River. Numerous Texas historical markers indicate spots where settlers were attacked and killed by Indians. I observed that most of these markers were erected in the 1930s and seemed to have an anti-Indian slant. Around mile 30 we entered the town of Alpine, after fighting a cross wind for about 15 miles. Time for a break. Somehow cyclists always know where the bakeries are. Despite what the sign says, they did let me go in for a blueberry muffin.
Shipped a gift to Bill from Alpine. Don't tell him that it is "hubcap" art. We will have to find just the right spot at home for it.
The town seems to have a lot of pride as evidenced by the many murals.
The rest of the ride to Marathon was uneventful, except for the wonderful tailwind. For the first time on the trip, I found myself in the big front chain ring. Maybe I am getting stronger. The ride may have been uneventful, but our stay in Marathon was not! Our first stop was the coffee shop for more baked goodies. Two of us tried out another mode of transportation, but decided to stick with the bicycle.
For my last post, I was at the public library in Marathon. It was about the size of my living room. We had to sign a release, and give them our "photo ID", which they copied before we could use the computers. The dear lady at the desk must have been a volunteer and about 80 years old. She was so proud to tell us of their summer reading program, to which we left a donation.
We stayed at the historic Gage Hotel (http://www.gagehotel.com/). Unfortunately, by the time I arrived all of the massage appointments were taken. We stayed in one of the rooms in the photo. And the pool was nice, too.
Before dinner, we held our nightly meeting to give out cue sheets for the next day's ride and talk about the happenings of the day. Everyone agreed that there was no need to leave at the crack of dawn. We only had 54 miles to ride the next day. And, who would want to leave this place?
For the evening, we dined at the hotel. Not too shabby! I had BBQ pork medallions (probably not representative of true Texas BBQ, but really delicious) Wonder if any of the cows in the photo contributed to the steak dinners some folks ordered.
