Day 5

2004_0406Image0003.JPG Small oxbow lake (megsker?) 2004_0406Image0005.JPG Lake Leon 2004_0406Image0006.JPG A longhorn, if I'm not mistaken 2004_0406Image0008.JPG 2004_0406Image0009.JPG self-portrait at I-20 2004_0406Image0010.JPG Downtown Eastland 2004_0406Image0012.JPG Between Eastland and Cisco 2004_0406Image0014.JPG West Texas is vast 2004_0406Image0015.JPG Courthouse in Albany

4/6/04
Stephenville to Albany - 92 miles, then driven up to Ft. Griffin State Park

Before I forget about it, yesterday right by where I took the pic of the house on the hill, said hi to a road crew of inmates.  Must have been county, and not state, prisoners because they had the black-and-white horizontal striped outfits.  Didn't think they'd appreciate having their picture taken and posted on the web.

Small town Texas is definitely dying.  Town after town I pass through, most of the buildings in town are boarded up.

Had a couple of flats coming into Albany.  People are really friendly in these parts, several people stopped to see if I needed help.  Didn't get into Albany until about 7:00, so didn't think I would get out to Ft. Griffin for camping.  However, I asked someone where a motel was at the convenience store and started talking with a couple of real nice locals, Amy? (I think, I'm terrible with names) and Mike, and her husband (another Mike) ended up giving me a lift to the state park!  By the way, they wanted me to mention that Bluebonnet Nursing Home is the best nursing home in these parts (where they worked).

I'm clearly going to have to reevaluate my travel plans.  Between the wind and the hills, I'm just not able to go fast enough to cover the mileage I have planned unless I ride 7-8 hours a day, and I just can't hack that.  I think what I'll do is have a plan of riding to the first lodging or camping after 5 hours on the road or so.  We'll see how it goes.