Note: This is my report on riding the Vanhorn and Marfa loops in March of 2021. The narrative will be considerably shorter than most of my previous ride reports. I did not ride the Dell City Loop as I’ve ridden it before nor the Chispa Rd. north of Candeleria.
I left Lubbock pulling my recently finished cargo trailer/camper loaded with my DRZ-400S and drove straight through to Vanhorn, Texas. Cruising the town looking for free dry-parking, I found a nice concrete slot behind the Pilot truck stop and parked next to the 18-wheelers.
Friday morning I headed south on US-90 before turning onto CR-150. After about five miles I came to a locked gate even though the road showed to be county maintained on the Texas DOT Grid Map. I rode back to Vanhorn and headed northeast by the airport and came to two more locked gates on supposedly county roads. Eventually, I left FM-2185 and headed southeast on gravel Kent Rd. for several miles. I then headed north and made a large counter-clockwise loop before riding west on Toyah Rd. back to 2185. I turned west off 2185 on Jay Capp Rd. making a loop of a few miles before heading south on 2185 back to Vanhorn. Most of the riding was on smooth gravel roads through very desolate, high-desert prairie. Almost no wildlife, a few cattle, and occasionally interesting topography and scenery. Rode about 220 miles and got back in time to eat supper at Chuy’s. Fun ride but not very challenging, the best part of the ride being the Jay Capp Loop.
Saturday morning the temps were around 40 which made for some chilly sleeping in my unheated trailer. After cooking eggs and pancakes, I geared up and rode Scott-King Rd. SW from Vanhorn then turned NW on Greenriver Rd.. Nice ride with some sections a bit technical. When I turned north on Guest Ranch Rd. I came to a “bar” gate which wasn’t locked so I passed through and continued north, crossing I-10 on Garren Rd.. The landscape changed immediately and I enjoyed a great ride through a very scenic area of plateaus and buttes before turning SW on Macado/Big Tank Rd.. I left the buttes behind as I neared Sierra Blanca on I-10 where I stopped to fill up.
Taking FM-1111 south of I-10 the pavement ended and I rode SW on Cowan and Quitman Pass roads. Quitman Pass was really fun and scenic as I rode up and over some mountains. Just the right amount of technical. Nearing the Rio Grande River I began dropping off a plateau and noticed a dark line following the river at the base of the mountains in Mexico. Finally decide it was the “Border Wall”, just a dark brown line for miles and miles. I turned SE on the Ranch Rd. headed toward Indian Hot Springs. At one point I surprised a herd of 10-12 javelina grazing in the road. After several miles, I met another rider and we stopped to talk. His name was Jack from Las Vegas and sported a sign on his number plate reading, “Riding Texas Border Land, Living the Dream”. He too, was on DRZ-400S, set up much like mine minus the panniers. He told me there was a locked gate at Indian Hot Springs so I turned around and “tried” to follow him back the way I’d come. He was a really fast rider and after a couple of miles I decided to ride my own pace. I caught up with him back at FM-1111 and decided to follow him SE to the river on Indian Hot Springs Rd.. Once again he left me in the dust and after a few miles my GPS track indicated turning back SW to meet the river road, the other end of the road with locked gate. He had continued SE but I wanted to see if I could get through to the other previous road where the locked gate was. After about 5 miles of increasingly washed out road, I decided the smart thing was to turn around and head back to Vanhorn. So that’s what I did, riding the I-10 access road most of the way from Sierra Blanca to Vanhorn.
It was a much more fun and interesting day but really wish people would quit locking county roads. I figure they are buds with local county officials who simply won’t enforce the law. Rode about 185 miles. Back in Vanhorn, I loaded the bike in the trailer and drove the 70 miles to Marfa. I happened on a camping-park on the south edge of town where I again parked free. There were a couple of RV’s and several tents along with some rentable yurts. I passed on the $17 cheeseburger at an artsy foo-foo restaurant and grabbed a sandwich at Dairy Queen.
Sunday morning, I left Marfa about nine after another chilly night, headed SW on FM-2810. It was a fun ride on a curvaceous undulating prairie blacktop and I kept thinking it would be a good road-bike ride. After about 30 miles the pavement ended and the gravel road became Pinto Canyon Rd.. The scenery was spectacular as the road passed through the mountains and descended a thousand feet into the canyon. It was the most awesome scenery I’ve experienced in Texas. Riding through the canyon I suddenly realized I had a rear flat. Finding a fencing staple in the tire, I spent the next hour replacing the tube. Two or three people stopped to make sure I was okay which I always appreciate in such remote areas. Back on the road, I continued to descend toward the Rio Grande and met TX-170 at Ruidoso. The pavement continues NW to Candelaria and then becomes the dirt Chispa River Rd., eventually hitting US-190 at Lobo just south of Vanhorn. Jack, the rider mentioned above, said he had ridden it and I was tempted to try it. My better angel talked me out of it, due to the distance and time factors, and instead I made a 15-mile loop to the gate of Chinati Springs and back to the Pinto Canyon Rd. and into Ruidoso again. From there it was a roller-coaster-ride (the ubiquitous low-water crossings) down TX-170 to Presidio. I gassed up there and headed east a few miles before turning north on gravel Casapiedra Rd. (FM-169) which cuts through the NW corner of Big Bend State Park. The road was mostly easy gravel with an interesting mix of canyons and mountains thrown in. At the ghost town of Alamito (Circa 1870) , the road was paved and after several miles brought me back to Marfa.
I spent another chilly night in the trailer (about 42 degrees inside), arose at 6 a.m. and loaded the bike in the dark. Ate breakfast in Alpine then met a friend in Midland for lunch. Little excitement south of Lamesa as I drove through a combination thunderstorm/haboob with near zero visibility while dodging a plethora of tumbleweeds. All in all, a great trip, would do it again but really would like to ride the Chispa Rd. Scroll down to see pictures: