213 miles: Marathon - Alpine - Marfa - Valentine - Sierra Blanca - Fort Hancock - Tornillo
From Marathon, we followed US90 to Alpine on our way to the Davis Mountains | Big Bend National Park detour. We left Big Bend on the western side, drove through Big Bend Ranch State Park along the Rio Grande (highly recommend!) to Presidio, then north to rejoin the bicycle route at Marfa, 25 miles west of Alpine.
Alpine
At the time of his bicycle ride, I don't believe Bedi had been to Alpine before. It doesn't figure much in his or Lillian's retelling of his ride. However, later in life, he would at teach least one summer at Sul Ross State College (now University). The current train depot in Alpine dates from 1942, so not a building Bedi would have seen on his ride. J Frank Dobie also had an affinity for Alpine as he taught a year in the high school after graduating from college. I am sure Bedi and Dobie swapped stories about their time there.
Marfa
Marfa's reputation precedes it. It is a funky artsy town known for the Marfa lights -- a phenomenon that has intrigued folks for generations. I had no idea until recent research that the lights were first reported in 1883 -- years before Bedi's ride! Did he know about them? Did he look for them?
Marfa has no old depot that we could find, but the Presidio County courthouse is the main architectural attraction and would have been there when Bedi passed through. Most of the other buildings seem to date from after 1909. The Hotel Paisano, which opened in 1930, is beautiful and pairs well with the elegant courthouse -- though both seem a bit out of place in the desert.
Our night in Marfa -- with 4 trains passing in the night only 50 yards from our trailer -- made me wonder if Bedi slept near the tracks or intentionally ventured off a bit to set up camp. Trains are loud!
Back in 1909, I imagine the trains traveled more slowly and there were fewer of them. Perhaps they didn't even travel at night. I wonder how many trains passed along these tracks each day in 1909.
Valentine
After Marfa we continued down US90 to Valentine -- great find! The town is nearly a ghost town. At first, I thought there were no buildings of interest and then we found, hidden behind a row of trees along the track, a mercantile that would have been there when Bedi passed through!
And it was OPEN!!! I was afraid to walk in any further, because the floor was not very solid in places. I could easily imagine Bedi stopping for supplies at this store.
In a great book we found and purchased, Railroads of Western Texas, I learned of another hazard Bedi could have faced while following the railroad. Mexican rebels were organizing as early as 1908 along the border and used railroads to transport arms and munitions. Comstock, Langtry, Marfa and Valentine were known destinations. Bedi could have crossed paths with revolutionary gun-runners or supporters of Pancho Villa who were after them.
Sierra Blanca
The tracks left US90 with no road we could follow, so we hopped on I10 at Van Horn. The tracks joined I10 at Sierra Blanca which is steeped in railroad history as the completion point of the southern and second transcontinental railway. The 1881 depot still stands, but was relocated in the 1980s and had served as a museum until recently. It seems to have been basically abandoned due to the ill health of the single volunteer who opened it up weekly (from what I read on TripAdvisor). It was still an awesome find!
Fort Hancock
We found another treasure just off I10 at Fort Hancock -- an old railroad water tower next to a mercantile that would have been there when Bedi passed through!
I also think I found the answer to one of Mom's questions, "Did he communicate with his family during the bicycle ride and, if so, how?"
I know that he sent telegrams to Lillian once he got to Deming, so I think it is safe to say that he sent them to her and his family while enroute. The mercantile is advertising Western Union. Perhaps they offered the service back in 1909.
We left I10 and continued west along highway 20, which follows the railroad tracks more closely, to Tornillo.
Tornillo
Although the town was founded in 1909, it was already included as a stop on the 1909 timetable. This area is currently dominated by pecan tree orchards. According to this article, pecan farming began in the 1930s, so Bedi would likely not have seen such tree farms. With the excessive irrigation needs (100 to 200 gallons per tree per day), I wonder if pecan farming will survive in this area much longer. Their irrigation strategies -- flooding the rows of trees with standing water -- do not seem efficient. It seems they might lose much water to evaporation.
In our apps and on Google Maps, we found Hideaway Lakes RV Park & Campground. Even though some of the reviews described difficulty finding the place, we decided to give it a go. As we headed down the dirt road between the rows and rows of pecan trees, we felt more confident with each little sign we saw that directed us to "the lakes."
We finally made it to the park, but it was the end of the road and the place appeared closed. The phone number we had was no good. There was a house but no way to knock on the door because of four quite barky watch dogs. We noticed that the gate to the lakes and camping area was not locked and the only way we were going to get out of there was to go in and turn around. So just as we started to open the gate, a truck drove down the other side of the water irrigation canal next to us. We flagged him down and he was kind enough to call the owners of the RV park.
Success! A sweet young woman, Tassy, came out of the house and cheerfully greeted us. She apologized and asked us, "Are you travelers?" We looked at each other, not really understanding the question. Then, she explained the majority of their customers were local families who came to fish on the weekends, but that during the week, they hosted "travelers" -- RVers passing through. So, we said, "Yes, we are travelers!" She said, "Great! Welcome!"
Now we know. We are travelers. I like this identity! It seems much more appropriate than "campers" -- since we are basically living on the road for weeks at a time. Thank you, Tassy!
Adrian, the manager, explained that HideAway Lakes are two spring-fed oxbow fishing lakes that were once part of the Rio Grande river. His grandparents bought the place in the 1960s and developed it. Since April/May is the beginning of their season and most of their business is on the weekends, we had the place completely to ourselves on that Thursday night.
We found no depot in Tornillo, but were really glad we stopped there.
New bird for me at Tornillo: Green Heron. He wouldn't wait for a photo.