THC - no not that one.

[Pittsdriverwes]

As I mentioned in the other THCR thread, I wish I could have arranged my trip here to coincide with the gathering of ne'er do wells in April but alas, this was the time I had. I'll drop a few photos and advanced scouting reports in this thread as we go explore over the next couple of days.



Today, we rolled through Austin to check out Franklin's BBQ but were thwarted by their massive popularity and were. closed up by 3pm. The nice lady there told us that by 8a that morning the line was 100 yards long for opening for lunch later in the day. I'm a big fan of Aaron Franklin and his Master Class which instructs in how to make Central Texas treats on a smoker.



So we ambled on down the road about 25 miles west of Austin to Driftwood for a go at Salt Lick BBQ. I wasn't sure what to expect except that someone had told me that that it wasn't the insane long lines at this place but it was every bit as good. We came over the hill and where the Salt Lick was supposed to be was a large parking lot with a sea of cars in it - uh, yep, that's the place. We checked in at about 4p and were told there would be a 2 hour wait. OK, not bad. Just enough time to go into Dripping Springs and grab a hotel, freshen up, and go back for dinner. Sure enough, when we got back they seated us right away.



I'd already tucked in to this meal before I decided it needed a photograph.



It was amazing - the brisket, sausage, and the blackberry cobbler with ice cream for dessert.

Tomorrow the plan is work our way from Dripping Springs down through Boerne to Bandera; then do some looping around through the Sisters and maybe some off-pavement through the Hill Country Natural Area. I plan to check out the closure on 337 between Medina and Vanderpool.

[McFly]

Welcome to Texas Wes!!! Hope you have a great ride!

[Lee]

The last time we went to the Salt Lick there was a long line.
We left, we don't like long lines

[Loggiebone]

Yeh...too much Army reminder

[aviator]

And Doug, whats wrong with that? Huh?

[Loggiebone]

Had my day in greens and lines...time marches on!

[aviator]

Wes, I am a fan of Franklin. I do what he does on the BGE, even have the exact paper he uses to wrap.
Its the TX beef, I tell you. Big difference.
Go anywhere in TX and the beef is different, so mouthwateringly tasty. If you love the taste of real beef.

[Pittsdriverwes]

Today we rode from Dripping Springs to Bandera on some great roads I like to call GS roads (a bit rough but fun rolling and twisty). We parked the bikes by a mural and a guy drives up and parks next to us and turns out, he's the owner of the building and the past mayor of Bandera. Really nice guy wearing a high quality leather NRA jacket. He gave us some tips about where to find the best tacos.



From there, knowing that 337 was blocked at Mill Creek, we took 470 leaving Bandera over to Utopia and up into Leakey for lunch at the Bent Rim. We got a huge laugh when we discovered that the gift shop at the Bent Rim sold Harley Davidson parts.



The rest of the ride was to go 337 west from Leakey to Camp Wood; then north to connect to 337 (my favorite section of the sisters); over on 41 to jump on 336 south back for gas in Leakey.



We decided to ride out and find the Mill Creek construction to see if we could get around it. I'm on my GS and my buddy is on an Africa Twin and we're not bashful about getting them dirty or even stuck in the mud but alas, there was no remotely possible way to get around what they had going on there. Certainly no way over the nowhere nearly finished bridge and going down to the creek was a 15' shear drop off a cliff. It looked like if you were willing to bust a locked gate and trespass on the farm you might be able to find a place to ford the creek. Not willing to do that we turned around and went south to 470 back over to Bandera.







We hardly saw a soul all day out riding the sisters and though it was overcast the temps stayed in the mid to high 60s all day - perfect riding weather says I. We ended up back in Bandera and since we're only staying one night got rooms at the new Best Western (nice for a BW).

Tomorrow the plan is to ride down to Laredo and check out the border shenanigans first hand.

[Pittsdriverwes]

The last time we went to the Salt Lick there was a long line.
We left, we don't like long lines

They took my phone number and said it would be 2+ hours and they'd text me when the table was ready. We went and check in to a hotel in Dripping Springs and got the text 45 minutes later that they had a table. We hustled back over and were seated immediately - no wait.

[Lee]

west from Leakey to Camp Wood; then north

I like that section. Debbie likes to stop and cool her feet.

[EricM]

I bet some years she doesn't have to go to the river for that...the river comes to her.

[Lee]

I bet some years she doesn't have to go to the river for that...the river comes to her.

[Lee]

Wes, we need more pictures.

[Pittsdriverwes]

A poster for a really bad movie (but has some nekkid titties in it) in the Bent Rim:

[Lee]

Where's the top picture?

[Pittsdriverwes]

Lee, that's just north of Leakey on 336 going south toward Leakey.

[Pittsdriverwes]

With all the news about the "crisis at the border" we had thought that we might run down there and see for ourselves. It was only 200 miles from Bandera to Laredo, which was reported to be a hot spot for river crossings and if you listen to the news, we expected it to be a sea of humanity similar to the exit from a college football game coming at us standing on the banks of the Rio Grande. And, it turns out that the back road way to get there took us directly through Carrizo Springs, the location of the HHS youth detention facility.



These tents are about the size of a couple of football fields and are divided up inside into studio apartments like you'd find at oil field work camp and such.





This is the sign on the highway pointing out at the facility:



We talked to a CBP officer that said they get in big trouble if the meals and snacks aren't offered right on schedule and everything runs like clockwork here. These facilities are all air conditioned and nobody is drinking out of toilets. Think about it, you're an unaccompanied minor that's just walked from Guatemala - I'm guessing this seems pretty nice.

After doing a bit of googling, I determined that the hot spot for crossings in Laredo was about a mile stretch of river that went from behind a grocery store down to a college campus and there was a sports park on the river by a dense neighborhood were most of it was happening so we headed there.

These guys are parked about every half mile along that stretch of river and this guy was very friendly:



We spent about 45 minutes listening to his stories about how they handle the situation there. As you might expect, there are cameras everywhere and huge flood lights on generators all up and down the river in these places. We've cleared all the land on our side of he river in preparation for the border wall that likely won't get built now that Joe is sleeping at the wheel.



The officer said that they try to get them to turn around and swim back to their side of the border. Failing that they meet them on the bank with a taser in hand and tell them that if they cooperate they will give them jugs of water and power bars; and if they don't, it'll be the longest 5 seconds of their life. He told us that almost everyone cooperates but occasionally someone will be carrying a backpack of drugs and guns that don't want them seized and will put up a fight. He pointed to a cartel safe house on the far bank up the hill where they stage the people that will be attempting a crossing and that the cartels control everything on the other side of the river. Sometimes they'll stage it where a large number try all at once so the CBP can't catch them all. They run across the soccer fields and disappear up into the neighborhood. We hung around for about an hour and a half and didn't see a single soul try to cross the river so he said we should come back at night to see some action. We got checked in to a hotel in Laredo and came back after dark:





Our friend was out standing on his SUV with NVGs scanning up and down the bank and told us that about 10 minutes after we left earlier a bunch of adults swam across into the loving arms of US CBP. We cruised around up and down the neighborhoods next to the river and once again, didn't see a single soul try to make it across. Our guy said it gets busy right before sun up so we called it a night and came back at about 6a. Well, we must be a better border deterrent than helicopters, drones, and armed CPB officers because over two days of watching the situation, there was no situation. I walked up and down the bank of the river where this kind of stuff is littered everywhere:



After they swim across they leave backpacks and clothes all along the bank before they flee up into the neighborhood. Our guy mentioned that sometimes they'll find a duffle loaded with drugs and guns and there would likely be someone up in the neighborhood watching for a chance to collect it.

The river is only about 50 yards wide here:



I rode up and down a bit in the cleared area for the border wall:



So not at all what we expected to see but a meaningful experience to see the non-event this "hot spot" was. I came away with affirmation of what I had figured was the case - this is all blown way out of proportion by the media, the right and the left. If there's a crisis, it's in the drugs from China are flowing freely across the border and it wouldn't be in places like we visited.

[Pittsdriverwes]

From Laredo we were generally headed for home and let me just say that I wouldn't wish the ride from Laredo to Houston on anyone. It was long, straight, and crazy gusty winds that kept trying to twist my head off but we made it through Houston to an overnight in Beaumont Texas. Did you know that there's a Catholic Church in Beaumont that has Pope John Paul II's hat? It is also home to the worlds largest working fire hydrant. We skipped seeing both of those and made a beeline for the coast road back into Louisiana through Acadiana Cajun country. Another interesting factoid, Acadians settled in Nova Scotia and eastern Canada but some made their way down here. We'd visited Maine last year on a ride so we were connecting the dots between Acadian cultures.



The beach in Biloxi is actually quite nice where it's not blocked by casinos:



From Biloxi we were looking at about 6 hours of droning on the interstate to get back to the Atlanta area so I tweaked my GPS to avoid interstates and pointed it at Phil's house - 450 miles, about 9 hours. Giddy up. This turned out to be a real highlight of the entire trip. The roads leaving Mississippi and going through Alabama are some of the best motorcycle cross country riding I've done anywhere. Endless flowing sweepers and roller coaster hills interrupted only occasionally by a small town for gas and food.



We went right through Selma Alabama about lunch time and trip advisor said the best restaurant in Selma was Lannie's BBQ. Interesting place Lannie's. No indoor dining and let's just say that we might not have been their usual clientele. The scene from Animal House where the guys walk in to the bar to see Otis and the band comes to mind. The people there were friendly and prompt and the pulled pork sandwich was excellent with a generous amount of cracklins on it and the fried okra was as good as I've ever had.

Even though I grew up in Alabama I had never been to Selma so I wanted to see the iconic bridge where Bloody Sunday happened in 1965. Not one of 'Bama's proudest moments and there's a memorial there to the march and its' organizers.



The bridge is still prominently named for the Alabama head of the KKK at the time of the March:



The location where some peaceful marchers were beaten unconscious by state troupers:





We spent the rest of the day winding through the Alabama countryside on great roads and rolled in to Conyers about 7 pm. I really didn't know what to expect from taking the "avoid interstates" route and thought it might take more than a day but we made great time and went from Biloxi to the Atlanta area without a mile of expressway under us.

And there endth the Texas BBQ safari Hill Country Twisted Sisters Border Crisis Deep South backroads adventure of 2021.

[Martin_D]

Acadians didn't "make" their way down there , but were deported by the British in 1755 ..
Too long of a story so I'll leave you the link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expuls...%20as%20Acadia.

Let's just say these were not happy times for the Acadian people ...

[Pittsdriverwes]

Other thoughts about the trip:

If you bring up googly maps, turn off interstates, and put Biloxi at one end and Conyers GA at the other it will put you on a very worthy 450 mile motorcycle ride that isn't on any Butler maps - but should be. There's some really fun riding with very little traffic and we made great time taking that route.

I wish we'd had the time in our schedule to spend another couple of days in Hill Country. There are so many places for reported great BBQ there and so many more fun roads to ride. My backyard is Appalachian hills from West Virginia, Virginia, and down through Western NC and eastern Tennessee so meh, it's a fun place to ride but if not for the BBQ I'm not sure I'd go here again unless it was to meet up with some fun loving like minded people on scooters. We went at what I think is close to the perfect time. Temps in the 60s during the day and 50s at night and almost no other traffic on the roads at all. Two weeks hence I'm told is Thunder in the Hills and I'm pretty happy we missed that.

Also, we picked a great route back from Houston going east. We went out to Beaumont on I-10 but dropped off of it there to hug the coast through swamp lands in Louisiana up until near Lafayette/Youngsville before jumping on US90 to go over through NOLA to Biloxi. I'd definitely do that route from Beaumont to Lafayette again - very scenic and no traffic at all. But, don't pass up any gas stations - long way between out there.

We also stopped at a few other BBQ joints along the way sampling their brisket and smoked sausage. Nothing close to the Salt Lick and really not as good as I make at home on my smoker using the Franklin method. And, if you ever find yourself in Biloxi looking for an excellent Italian dinner, you should definitely look up Jazzeppi's. Great Italian fare with a cajun/crawfish influence - very rich though and go easy on the amazing appetizers there too.

[Pete_Tallahassee]

What a great adventure Wes. Thanks for writing it up. Love the photos and history.
There definitely are hills and dales around north Alabama.

[McFly]

Great write up Wes & thanks for sharing pics & trip details. I rode across LA, MS & AL in '07 riding over to DGR & you're right, LOTS of good roads making your way east.