Day 28 - ending near Turkey, TX - The Great Plains Trail - Sort Of

June 11, 2023

Day 28 - ending near Turkey, TX

Day 28 - Goodlett, TX to Turkey, TX

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I woke up at 3:55am this morning and decided I might as well get started on the report. Took a break for breakfast because the next opportunity for food is several hours away in Childress. After breakfast I called Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailways to get a permit to camp overnight tonight at Tampico Siding along the Caprock Canyons Trailway. My $17 camping permit includes use of the trail until 10:00pm the next day. I'm all set. Now, I just need to get there. I had it figured as 57 miles away.

Shortly after leaving the campground at 10:50am I passed Pease River Cowboy Church. A fellow in the parking lot said the service would be starting shortly, and that I'd be welcome. I told him I was running late already, but thanks. Back on highway US-287 for traffic noise riding along its wide, debris-filled shoulder. I arrived at the road to Kirkland right at noon, having done 10.4 miles.

At 1:05pm I was at the east side of Childress. No shoulder here for the in-town section of highway, but there is a sidewalk that worked for me. I came to JT's Drive-In at 1:20pm. They have inside seating and there was only one table left. I put in my order for their Steak Plate and a sweet tea. Received free ice for my thermos as I left. Thirty-seven miles to go. More sidewalk riding through town brought me to Pak-A-Sack, where I bought Gatorade and Clif Bars. The sidewalk ended for me at 2:52pm, near where the highway's shoulder started back up.

I won't complain about the tailwind I had - that was a good thing - but the highway and shoulder has a bumpy surface, which was slowing me down. Later I noticed that the eastbound lanes hadn't been resurfaced, and had nice smooth asphalt. This had me contemplating moving over there and riding against the traffic, but I didn't. I entered Hall County at 4:37pm. They have a smooth highway/shoulder, but I only had 2 miles left before I'd be leaving this highway.

I arrived at Estelline at 5:07pm. Took some pictures and a break, then started my ride on TX-86. Twenty-two miles left to go, and I had an even stronger tailwind. It didn't take me long to appreciate how much nicer it is riding without the traffic noise. Picture opportunities were better, too.

I parked the bike and was taking a picture across the road when a sheriff's vehicle pulled up. The officer got out, walked over to me, and said they'd had a report of an elderly man in distress walking his bike. I was thinking that can't be right. I haven't walked my bike today, though I did stand beside it a lot. Guess I can't argue with the elderly man part. I told the officer I was doing fine. He said that the temperature was over a hundred today. That really surprised me. [He must have been referring to the heat index. My weather radio said the high was 92F.] 100F here is certainly not like 100F in Central Illinois - or in Houston the officer added, since he had worked there for a while. I apologized for causing him to come look for me, but he said it was on his way to another town he was going to. He shook my hand, wished me well, and was on his way.

At 7:35pm I hopped off the bike to get a picture of a millipede crossing the road. I heard a noise behind me, which was the bike falling over. Hasty poor parking on my part. I got it flipped back upright. The only casualty was a small hole in one of the water jugs. This has happened before on other trips. I'll just buy another water jug.

It looked like a storm was beginning to form to the northwest. I started thinking, "Probably won't have an opportunity for a good sunset picture tonight."

When I got close to the turn-off for the trailhead there was a sign indicating a historical marker on the road going the other way. I was curious of what the marker was about. The marker was down the road a ways and I was hearing thunder, so I turned right instead of left onto Farm Road TX-657. It was a short ride from there to the parking area for trail access. This trail actually runs from Estelline in the east to South Plains in the west. But I'd read at home that the trail between Estelline and Tampico Siding was in really poor shape. Looking east at the trail, I'd say I agree. Looking west, the way I intended to go, didn't look a whole lot better.

I got on the bike for the short ride to the Tampico Siding camping area, figuring this would be a test to see if I could ride the trail on this loaded bike. I could, but it was slow going.

Arrived at the camping area at 8:43pm. The interesting sky to the northwest was distracting me from unpacking and setting up the tent. Finally, I took some time to see where I might set up. Down near the trail seemed too low if it was going to rain, so I looked around on higher ground where the outhouse is. There's some flat areas, but they're covered with vegetation. I finally made a decision where to set up. Sleeping would be on a soft but bumpy surface tonight. I had the tent set up and loaded with the gear by 9:45pm. The approaching storm was producing some awesome lightning, none of it too near, fortunately. The first raindrops arrived at 10:01pm. I was a little alarmed when my elbow, resting on the floor of the tent, was getting wet. Looks like I'm going to need to add more seam sealer to the back of the tent. The rain was all done by 10:35pm. Stars were coming out to the west - another awesome site. I'm so blessed to get the experience all this!

I've been running a little short on sleep so went to bed at 11:10pm without doing much with the report. We'll figure that out in the morning.

Jeff

Spent: $15.70 plus $4 (lunch) + $14.17 (Gatorade, Clif Bars) + $12 (camping permit) + $5 (trail permit) = $50.87