2013-04 - Drive to Bagdad, Florida

Day: 1
4/05/2013
29 Palms, CA
Campground Above Three Way, AZ
Miles: 487
Miles to Date: 487

I left home to about 10:00 this morning. By 11:40 I was at Rice which had taken 10+ hours of hard work to reach on the bicycle.

I pushed it too hard and ran out of daylight before I found the campsite I hoped for. I am at a nearly deserted Forrest Service campground just beyond the pass between Three Way and Mule Creek. I will sleep now.

Day: 2
4/06/2013
Campground Above Three Way, AZ
Van Horn, TX
Miles: 362
Miles to Date: 849

5:30 AM : The camper down the way fired up his generator at 4:30. I got up to pee then tried to go back to sleep to no avail, I got up about 5:00 and put everything in the car but the tent and made a cup of hot chocolate. I am in the car with the heater running. It is a bit brisk at 6200' although not too bad. As soon as it is light enough to see to put away the tent I will pack up and head out. I am sorry I missed seeing the last 40 miles in daylight and do not want to miss more.

I could tell in the dark that the climb from Highway 70 over the hill into Three Way is a long steady climb and steep enough. The hill between Three Way and the pass, my current location is nasty. No shoulder at all most of the way and very steep. It would certainly be a challenge on a bike and especially a fully loaded one.

Day: 3
4/07/2013
Van Horn, TX
Del Rio, TX
Miles: 317
Miles to Date: 1166

I Got on the road about 10:00 and drove to Kent on I-10 and turned south towards Fort Davis. The road is hilly but not as steep as I expected although there were at least two pretty good climbs prior to reaching the top at the McDonald Observatory at 6,200 feet.

From the top down to Fort Davis and Alpine was pleasant and scenic. I stopped at a picnic area in the canyon below the Fort Davis and boiled water and made Top Ramen for lunch.

At Alpine I turned onto US-90, my previous bicycle route and had an enjoyable and pleasant drive with very light traffic to Del Rio where I got a room at the same Motel 6 I stayed in last week.

Day: 4
4/08/2013
Del Rio, TX
Lafayette, LA
Miles: 564
Miles to Date: 1730

2:50 AM: I drifted off about 10:00 last night and slept well until the people upstairs, including a coughing lady, came in around 2:00. I don't have much to report. I have noticed how easy it is to slip into though while driving and to not really notice long stretches of road. I think it happens on the bike too but something about the physical effort and the lower speed makes it harder to not notice what is going on around one.

Day: 5
4/09/2013
Lafayette,LA
Bagdad, FL
Miles: 320
Miles to Date: 2050

10:17 AM: Yesterday I left Del Rio at about 10:00 and took US-90 to San Antonio, TX, then I-10 to Lafayette, LA. It was a pretty uneventful drive.

I listened to most of the NCAA Basketball Championship game on XM. I was distracted and did not watch the GPS closely and missed the exit to my motel. It took me 45 minutes to find my way back to it because of some strange road configurations compounded by the fact that I put the wrong street number into the GPS earlier.

I probably drove too far yesterday but it will be an easy one today.

Day: 6
4/10/2013
Bagdad, FL
Bagdad, FL
Miles: 0
Miles to Date: 2050

3:17 PM: I arrived here about 6:00 PM last evening after a pleasant drive across the Gulf States including a detour through New Orleans where I missed a ramp and had a nice detour through the west side of town.