BBNP 2023. Subtitle “No, it does not!”

[Cav47]

Today we hope to get some proper off road. Despite what Ranger Amy said.

However, the mornings were still cold.


In this episode, we witness the birth of a certified Black Gap off off-roader.

First a breach


Careful manipulation rectifies the situation


He is almost here.


Congratulations we have a Cajun Sasquatch


But first, we need breakfast.


Pants is always quick with some fresh fruit. I like my oatmeal. It’s not very healthy, but the fruit makes up for it.


Preston likes his protein shakes.


Something so simple just tastes better out here.


We went into town to pick up Kevin. John had other plans as we were gonna be off in the sticks.



On our way out to the nefarious “Black Gap” we stopped here for a photo op and some beatnick came pedaling up. I would venture to say he was flying about the same elevation as the mountains in the background.


Lots of people have no idea how much fun this is.


We do!


We had a plan in mind. If Black Gap was too bad, we could just continue down Glen Springs. From there we can connect with River Road if needed.


Now was the time to decide. We had lunch here while we thought it out.


AJ was “looking at the map”


This is the start of Black Gap. The beginning is pretty hairy. Lots of ledges to drop down. Nothing we couldn’t handle.

I took some video and pulled these still images.


AJ and Preston took off first into the unknown.


They are making progress nicely.


Kevin and Pants went next.


I had Pants on the coms. While I usually talked him through, all I could hear was him coaching himself.


He got himself down with no incidents.


At least 3 min of video and audio down this long grade.


The concept of being “Rim Rocked” came up.


Those unfamiliar with the term, it means never ride down something you can’t ride back up in case you encounter a show stopper which is impossible to continue past.


No such issue present at this time.


There was one spot commonly know as The Step. We all got up no problem. Must be nice to be inseam blessed. Lol.


Preston and AJ always waited for us.


At our rendezvous we discussed next steps


What road to take next.


Mainly it was to just soak it in and think about how fortunate we are.


On the way to the River Road, we pass the old mine.


We could ride right up to it but signs discourage that. The long uphill walk in gear with three heat caused us to pass.



More in a few.


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[Cav47]

The mine would have been cool to explore.



We came through just a few spots that would be sketchy due to the mud, but all was well.


Preston says he is gonna ride up to t he top of the hill. I do exactly what I tell my students NOT to do………


Retired cop AJ watches while I take photographic evidence of shenanigans. Lol.


We were headed to the Rio Grande village for fuel and supplies.


AJ, Kevin, and Preston put the hammer down. Pants and I didn’t mind riding sweep and drinking it all in.

Screen grabs from some video on top of the hill.



At the village, it’s after lunch…you know what is gonna happen. Pants is finding is ice cream.


We were on the East side of the park. It was time for us to check out Old Ore Road.


It was a long day and all of us were getting tired for sure. Occasional rests in the sparse shade were needed.


The GPS was off just a bit but mirrored the road perfectly.


At one of the stops, I happen to look over and see something looking back. We sat there in amazement at the grace and agility of these animals.


They are a long way off, but they are there. At times we can see a half dozen of them.


Babies seem to have the same skill set


This is at an overlook on Old Ore Rd. The pictures don’t do it justice.


The sun was going down in a fine day, but I still had some cooking to do.




The sky was a great that gave us an idea for later.


We pulled the grill grate off of AJs propane grill and cooked over the coals of some oak one of us brought from home. If we are nothing, we are resourceful.


Dinner was late and not my best ribeye over a campfire, but it was decent.

Good enough for one last bite.

No one went hungry. In fact someone didn’t finish their steak.


I pulled the fly off my tent as no rain was expected and temps were perfect. I hopes to see some stars through the mesh.

I absolutely did, but forgot to take any pics as I drifted off to sleep thinking how fortunate we all were to be experiencing such an amazing day.

More tomorrow!


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[bigjohnsd]

The Cav-grilled Ribeye was perfect! The man can cook!

[Cav47]

It was back into the park today. We had some hope about previous closed West River Road and some other plans. Remember Ranger Amy right??

We headed down Old Maverick Rd, recently opened as we learned yesterday. It heads down to Castolon.


The scenery here does not disappoint.


Look at that thing. So Fast, Agile, and Powerful. Look closely….. so amazing


On top of the rock formation.


Zoomed all the way in.


As we were taking a break, I spotted the animal on the horizon. My reading vision sucks but obviously distance eyesight is fine. Typing this on my phone is kinda torture.


Looking back down the road it was fast gravel with only a few technical spots.


Yeah, the 450 is still pretty nice. The Santa Elena is in the background.


We line up for a pose.


It’s big down here and reminds me of some of the wide open places in Wyoming/Montana.


While lining up, we were passed by a Border Patrol agent.

Pants asked to take our picture. He wasn’t thrilled about it, but relented and did his best.


Not the most friendly but he prob has better things to do than put up with a bunch of gringo tourists.

The border presence was minimal here. It must be very difficult to cross here due to the terrain. The river definitely is no physical geographical barrier as you will see later.


Another perspective at the visitor center. Mexico is there and the other side is still the US


There is a trail on the right. It is usually dry but with the recent rain, others were crossing further to the right. Look closely on the face for people.


I did eventually get a rock thrown to the other side. It took me way more tries than I wanted. But it did get done.


I walked out into the water a little.


Our plan was to check to see if West River Rd was open. We really wanted to ride it. There was some talk about maybe trying to get around a gate but as luck would have it, I saw a ranger with an impact wrench. It appeared he may have just unbolted the gate. It was open and we made a break for it.


I missed many picture ops here as we enjoyed an easy ride most of the way. In the first part of the open River Rd we saw only one set of tracks. Likely from the ranger truck that opened the gate. It was perfect.


This type of riding was so much easier and Pants was loving it.


He was letting it loose and in the flow. My video screen grabs show a much faster rider.

The other guys are out there somewhere.



I wasn’t quite quick enough with the camera but the super soft deep sand claimed a victim. Preston was nice to go help.



Out of nowhere a black horse appears. I hoped to grab a picture before he disappeared. Little did I know he would let me get a video.

He trotted toward us.

The screen grabs don’t do this Justice at all.



At one point he turned broadside and presented himself and let out a commanding/bellowing nay



It was magical


And just like that, he disappeared into the desert.


I also found a bush pig in its natural habitat.


The backside of Chisos basin from River Rd


It was a long day and we finally made it back to Panther Junction. Someone went in and reported they didn’t have ice cream. Those reports were obviously false. I bought 4 of the last 5 pants they had. Everyone had their own spoon and we shared with no issue.


I didn’t buy them all because some weary traveler was gonna need that last one.


We pounded the pavement back to camp. AJ was making fajitas tonight and they were even better than the breakfast burritos.


I might had had 4 of them. NO shame, NONE


John approved. As I had my 2nd or 3rd


Yeah, it was 4.

As everyone who has camped with Pants and I, you know you aren’t going hungry. AJ and Preston held up their end and assimilated to our our customs very well. They are definitely in the club.

Only a couple things left to do after a perfect day. Watch the sun set from our campsite.

Here we noticed a couple silhouettes on the horizon.

These guys climbed up and gave us an idea for tomorrow.


We would absolutely be there


Might have to fight them for the spot


Kevin and John were pushing off tomorrow. The sun was setting on this adventure with them, but sure as the sun coming up tomorrow there will be another one. I look forward to the next with our Dakota friends.


The sky cleared up and I remembered to get what I could with my IPhone


You know the stars are good if you can pick them up with no special camera.



Tomorrow I we go back to conquer Hen Egg and the mud.


More tomorrow


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[Bugnatr]

Excellent report and pictures.

Big Bend is similar to Death Valley as they are gargantuan parks and the back country is awesome.

[gixxerjasen]

Last update was 2 days ago. Well, 1.5 but still, don't be a spawn.

[wheatonFJR]

Last update was 2 days ago. Well, 1.5 but still, don't be a spawn.

lol
He's doing fine...

Certainly don't wait two years to post the video. No sir!

[Cav47]

If you call recall back to our first riding day, we encountered mud, lots of mud. I had a couple tracks from Mark Sampson on ADVRider who goes by Big Dog Adventures. This was the plan for the day.



First AJ had to worm his horse or something. Here he and Preston are pinning it down. Maybe it was to check the patch on the tank. AJ kept that bike running all week when it tried to quit.


The riding here was nothing less that some of the best we had all week.


We all thought we could spend another week just exploring out here if given the time.


The Garmin XT is a great device. Such an upgrade from my old 550. I have 3 bikes with mounts and I just switch the unit back and forth. Highly recommend if you are interested in a dedicated GPS. *** NOTICE THE LITTLE BLUE LINE......... Foreshadowing some adventure.


The gravel is easier and allows some more relaxed pace.


We were having a great time and the weather was perfect.

“It’s not an adventure until something goes wrong.”

Well, I wouldn’t say something went wrong, but we came upon a little water crossing. At first, I thought it could be a show stopper. Meaning we would have to go back or find another way around. This was after we all made it across and had to work on the air filter of on AJ’s bike. The KTM filter is very low.


I got this picture looking back. The water is muddy from all the bikes crossing. Both upstream and down, the water is really shallow and hardly moving. This just happens to be a deeper spot.


I have crossed plenty of waterways and each one deserves to be respected but not feared. If it has a solid bottom, no huge rocks, and isn’t fast moving, I will likely ride it after careful observation. I walked all the way across this time to be totally sure.


We all got across and no harm no foul after a little hiccup with a slight naval navigational error. We could have used BigJohn’s sea going knowledge.

We tipped the KTM up and drained a little water out of the pipe, cleaned the airbox, dried the filter and it came back to life like a champ.

We kept plugging along and came out north of Terilingua on the main road. We cut over to 385 on some more fast and easy gravel. Our plan was to hit the Chisos Basin and explore there a little. That meant we needed to pound some pavement south.

We ran into a nice Fossil Discovery exhibit.



My feet were still soaked from walking the creek. I know I am the immature one, but it doesn’t take much direction to get these clowns going.




The wind was whipping here and it was nice to get dried out a little.


We hopped back on the bikes and quickly arrived at the top of the hill. The road going up was good and I really could have used some super moto tires. The elevation gain was significant.


We took a little walk down toward the “Window”



It made sense based on the high walls that surrounded us that this was an ancient volcano.


As Americans we are so spoiled with our scenery. You just have to get out there and experience it.





We headed back to the campground and took our position on top of the nearby hill to get a great view of the sunset.


The past few days we had seen people up here and all great ideas are fair game to be copied.



There was just enough room on the ridge for 2 chairs


The show is about to begin. We got our drinks ready.






Looking back toward the campsite. We were around to the right of the awning




The moon and a bright star appears right as the light faded.

Pants and I got back to camp and the boys had pizza waiting for us. We are living large for sure.



Just when you think it couldn’t get any better, our camping neighbor shows up with some fresh apple crisp.




Looking in this general direction, the only lights you can see are some across the border into Mexico.


We finished the night looking at the stars and the could even see the Milky Way after you let your eyes adjust.



This trip is almost over, but the memories will live on forever

More coming later.


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[CraigRegs]

Another fantastic report, Cav! What a trip!

[Abercrombie FJR]

Man, I'm envious I left early and missed out on the pizza and last day of the riding. Thanks for letting me crash your dual sport ride and joining in.