West Texas Highways -- Just thoughts! (Van Horn, Van: vehicle, area, place)

[Rakin]

Originally Posted by lonestar2007

Isn't that the God's truth? I've actually had moments of panic when driving in the metroplex thinking all the land is just gone.

We moved back to DFW from San Angelo back around 98. I had to learn to stop driving "West TX" and become much more aggressive in my driving.

Out west when you judge time to get somewhere 60 miles means 60 or so minutes. In DFW mileage means nothing, you have to figure the time of day & traffic. You also have to learn to let the irate morons go.

I sometimes wish I had one of those james Bond cars with rockets, guns, etc. Probably best I don't, then I would be in jail.

[LilyLady]

Originally Posted by lonestar2007

Tumbleweeds and lots and lots of road!

I lived in far west Texas for eight years and had occasion to drive many of those long, quiet roads during that time. After a while, we could always tell if someone was from around the area or not by the way they reacted to tumbleweed as it crashed into their car. The locals just kept on driving...the non-locals (I guess you'd call it) would hit the brakes, not knowing what to expect when the tumbleweed hit.

[LilyLady]

Originally Posted by catman

No, I never have driven that road. I did drive Highway 669 from Gail to Post, and it was cool because it wound on and off the escarpment to the South Plains. The roads in Far West Texas, Hwys 117 past McDonald Observatory and 166 (I think) out to Valentine and back are my favorites in Texas.

Nothin' quite like it, is there? My favorite road in that area is the 34-mile stretch of Hwy 17 from Fort Davis to Balmorhea. Absolutely beautiful!

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by LilyLady

Nothin' quite like it, is there? My favorite road in that area is the 34-mile stretch of Hwy 17 from Fort Davis to Balmorhea. Absolutely beautiful!

I second that.....not my favorite, but wonderful!

[catman]

I see I made a typo. I meant to type Highway 118 north of Fort Davis near McDonald Observatory. I like Hwy 17 too, but not quite as much. I love that whole area, thinking of it as Baja NM.

[ScrewedupClickV2]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHfGxA1SRVY

Here is a 1080p HD video highlighting THE BEST segements of i-10 in west Texas .. Its not that bad of a ride , but yes over time it will get boring.. Video is my personal video

[Cathy4017]

Very familiar! Since 80%+ of the drive home from NM is via-I-10, it makes for a much easier trip.

I hope I get to see snow on the Davis Mountains again this year, as I did last! :-)

[James2496]

Originally Posted by Rakin

You know you are on a West TX road when you can stop in the middle of the road, see in 5-10 miles in both directions and relieve yourself without a car in sight or stepping to the side of the road.

When you leave a town like Ozona headed west toward Iraan drive 50 miles and maybe pass 1 old pickup truck, that's a West TX Road.

It's not a place you want to have your car breakdown.

Just be careful relieving yourself. Those strong Texas winds can reverse direction without notice leaving you soaked. I am speaking from a sad experience once on Highway 84 west of Lubbock.

[Gunluvver2]

Originally Posted by ScrewedupClickV2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHfGxA1SRVY

Here is a 1080p HD video highlighting THE BEST segements of i-10 in west Texas .. Its not that bad of a ride , but yes over time it will get boring.. Video is my personal video

************************************************** ****
\I loved that video. I spent twenty years driving big rigs all over Canada and the United States. Texas Interstates in the springtime when all of the flowers are in bloom is one of my best visual memories of those years.

I love Texas and if I ever win a big lottery I plan on buying a small ranch in West Texas. Not much chance of that happening though but I do love it out there.

GL2

[TexasReb]

I think I asked this question several years back on another thread about West Texas, but don't remember ever getting an answer. Anyway, I cam going to give it another shot:

Is anyone familiar with a little rest stop somewhere before Dickens (going east to west on U.S. 82) that has natural spring water coming out of a little pipe jutting from a brick retainer wall?

It really isn't a "rest stop" in the sense of those one sees on major interstates, but it has several covered picnic tables, and the area itself is nestled within, and surrounded on three sides, by high hills. An old man once told me that he remembered when the spring just flowed naturally out of the hills. Then, later on, the area was turned into a little stop-along, and the spring contained and capped, so it flowed from the pipe mentioned earlier.

It is a really nice place to just stop and take in the view of that part of West Texas. Does it ring a bell with anyone...?