2017 10-09 Sanderson to Comstock (89.1 miles)

We left Sanderson for our destination of Seminole Canyon State Park & Historic Site, where we were to camp for the night.  There are no groceries available at the park or near the park so the group was to meet at Langtry, a small town (population 14) about 20 miles before the park.  It would have been an 81 mile day if this plan had worked out.  The first group of riders arrived at the “grocery store” in Langtry only to find it was closed and out of business.  Some options were considered but the final verdict would be for our leader, Ken, to make.  He arrived and after some discussion, we finalized alternate plans and would now be staying in Comstock, 8 miles further along route at a small hotel.  The hotel had the 6 rooms we needed available, and at a very reasonable price of $66 per room.  The rooms were surprisingly nice for this price, and a lot more comfortable than a camp ground.  Dinner was across the street at a diner and breakfast will be across the street at a café.  All in all, things worked out nicely.

While waiting for the group to arrive at the designated meeting place in Langtry, some went into town to visit the museum of Judge Roy Bean.  He was a colorful character who was appointed judge of the territory west of the Pecos and who presided over his court in an unusual manner.  He owned one law book, which he hardly referenced, and instead applied justice according to his own standards and ideas of justice.  No jail was built in Langtry, so instead of being locked up, a guilty person would be charged a fine, and that fine went straight to Judge Bean.

The ride started out with clear skies but soon turned into a ride in the clouds, a fog that is.  Visibility was so bad that you could not see more than 50 to 60 feet.  Trucks and cars would appear and then quickly disappear in the thick fog.  Although it wasn’t raining, we would get wet from the water droplets in the air condensing on our skin.  Later, this cleared and the sun was extremely strong and the temperatures soared.  It was a long day with extremes of riding conditions.  On the plus side, tomorrows ride will be shorter since we road some 9 miles of it today!

Pictures 

Map