134 miles: Seminole Canyon State Park (near Comstock) – Langtry – Dryden – Sanderson – Marathon
Unfortunately, no rail depots from 1909 still exist along this stretch. The landscape became more and more desolate. In late April, it is already very hot by noon – though the clouds and breeze provide relief. Thinking back on Bedi’s short diary noting a 4:45am start from Eddy, I can imagine he began every travel day in the early morning twilight. Even walking a bike would be exhausting in this heat. He would have wanted to arrive at a destination and find some sort of shade before the unbearable afternoon sun.
As I scanned the areas near the railroad, I noticed many “washes” but no water. Where did he get his water? He could live on jerky or canned food for several days but would have needed lots of water to stay hydrated in the desert. Perhaps he joined cows at windmills and tanks along the way to fill his canteen.
Lillian notes in her story about his trip that he would work on a ranch or farm in exchange for a meal and place to put his bedroll for the night. Maybe he inquired at each small village about ranches and farms along the next stretch of railroad or used the windmills as guides to the few homesteaders trying to eke out a life on the frontier.
Judge Roy Bean , the self-proclaimed "only law west of the Pecos," died in 1904, just 5 years before Bedi’s trip would take him through Bean's Langtry and Val Verde County. The west was still wild out here when Bedi rode through. The building of the railroad had brought more and more folks out, but it was still a rough place. The Mexican Revolution was brewing, the Native Americans were still trying to fend off the encroaching settlers, and there were bandits and lawlessness all about. According to the museum in Langtry, drinking alcohol and gambling were common Langtry past-times that created many problems for Judge Bean. He had no jail, so he would chain “drunks” and “prisoners” to a tree.
A photo in the Langtry museum shows Roy Bean and others with bicycles! I thought bicycles in 1909 may be been a "city thing." Evidently not!
I had wondered how Bedi might have dealt with bicycle breakdowns. Since there were bicycles in rural west Texas, maybe there were bicycle repairmen were as well!
Not much in Sanderson. Lillian notes that Bedi got "rained out" in Sanderson -- not sure how long he stayed here.
Marathon Scenes
Birds in Marathon
We landed in an RV park in Marathon that was a true oasis. There was also a county park with a spring-fed pond -- which is where we saw our first Vermilion Flycatcher of the trip!
Our RV park had other great birds.
