“It is good to have an end to journey towards, but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” 

-Ursula K. Le Guin

Over a century ago, The Bankhead Highway brought together communities, political figures, and economic forces to make Manifest Destiny possible for every person in America. It created the first all-weather, all-season route from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Days ago, the Machine and I set out to find what was left of the Bankhead Highway in Texas.

A forgotten road.

A lost road.

A dead road?

Past Pecos, The Bankhead is now the service road for Interstate 20. We glide along the side of the big road and less than highway speeds. We are in no hurry.

Toyah, Texas, a haunting ghost town remembered for acts of violence, an expressively spooky abandoned schoolhouse, and the temporary home of Amelia Earhart.

Toyah is where the original Bankhead Highway bridge that crossed the Pecos River currently resides.

Today the bridge is located on private land but can be seen from the road.

Soon the Davis Mountains will appear. First soft, with a purple hue, against the southern horizon. Gradually the flat land begins to roll. Foothills introduce me to a change in elevation and the Mountains grow taller with each passing mile.

Decay existst all along the road, such as The Joker Coffee Shop.

The Joker harkens back to the day of classic midcentury America.

A time when colorful comradery would cumulate between patrons and

waitresses. Inappropriate comments would linger in the air, mixing with the blue smoke of Marlboros and Winstons.

Vinyl booth cushions – thick with dirt and grime. Broken springWideick duct tape repairing the rips and tears.

A place of curious locals. Investigating out-of-state license plates with due suspicions.

Depraved ethos and morals from America’s greatest generation – I love it!

Below is an abandoned stretch of the road – slowly being reclaimed by Mother Nature in this harsh and arid climate.

Van Horn, Texas, is at the crossroads of multiple National Parks.

A town that owes its life to the Texas and Pacific Railroad, my traveling buddy.

Van Horn is full of friendly folks, vintage lodging, and Chuy’s Restaurant, home of the John Madden “Haul” of Fame.

The Historic El Capitan Hotel is located in Va Horn. The El Capitan’s sister property, The Hotel Paisano in Marfa, hosted the stars of the Hollywood production of Giant. The guests included Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean.

Lindsey’s Cafe was also in a movie.

The location was used in the 2005 film, “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada,” starring Tommy Lee Jones. The iconic Sands sign has since been removed, but some memorabilia still exists inside.

Van Horn is a bit of an art town. Random sculptures and quirky art can be found along Broadway, the Bankhead’s original route.

The Taylor Motel is one of several early 20th century courts. Serving the traveler with budget-friendly clean rooms with an attached garage.

West of Van Horn segments of the road appear – headed west on private property.

I take a moment to park and walk the road.

The dry morning air fills my lungs, easy to beathe. A cool north breeze creates a comfortable balance with the warm summer sun.

Desert grasses and yucca surround me, a world away from the pine trees, wild ferns, and assorted deciduous trees of East Texas.

Long stretches of pavement have been abandoned for decades, curving around the landscape, rising and falling earth’s topography the earth.

Soon my path will drop into the Rio Grande Valley. Fertile lands where orchards thrive and produce an abundance of fruits.

I stop at the mod rn rest area. I view vast vistas of Texas, a view that has not changed in hundreds of years.

I pause to appreciate the determination of my forefathers.

In a time before service stations, cell phones, or bottled water, they would venture out into hostile and dangerous enviroments. Exploring, pathfinding, and creating, what would become one of the greatest system of roads the world has ever seen.

The Mountain Time Zone adds an hour to my life, I stop to spend it in Sierra Blanca, Texas.

The town is a collection of decay.

Random relicts, soon to be rubble, front the old Bankhead town’s Mainstreet.

The town is not Pop Star friendly.

Snoop Dogg, Willie Nelson, Nelly, and Fiona Apple have all been arrested in the town of fewer than 600 residents.

The crime, drug possession.

The “Sister Gift Shop and Rocks” is open and I  decide to pay the store a visit. Inside I find a collection of random rocks and jewelry, trinkets and novelties, dusty odds, and broken ends.

I meet the shop’s owner, Rosenda.

We talk like long lost friends.

Two individuals in a lonely place, removed from time and existing within somethng geater. Something not of our making. Something we respond to. A world that we must respect. An entity we must exist in humbly, for it is too large and powerful to respond or bow to us.

We chat about where we are going and where we hav been. In only minutes I learn about her life, children, challenges, and suc esses. Finally, we ponder the changes that are inevitable and what lies ahead.

I wander out into the afternoon heat, and she continues her business within her shop.

Sierra Blanca is a romantic West Texas ghost town.

Allamoore, Texas, in the 1988-89 school year had a total of three students – the smallest enrollment in Texas.

Below is a photo of the remnants of the Allamoore public school.

As close as I can get to the old road without being on private property is the service road. This allows me to adjust my pace and scan the roadside for the o road. I make frequent stops to enjoy the big sky and gorgeous views of the mountains that surround the huge valleys.

The services are few and far between. Many stops have limited services such as non-working gas pumps, empty shelves, and refrigerators void of beverages.

I turn south at Fort Hancock and head toward the border.

I will be on Texas Highway 20 all the way into Paso. Within an arms reach of Mexican dirt and traveling through the most beautiful orchards in Texas, I meander in and out of Mexican culture and Texas agriculture, a balance that has existed for years.

Today green and white border patrol vehicles are perched along the road. Keeping an eye out of ner-do-wells.

El Paso. An international Texas city. An independant. Wild. Claimed by only those who live within its boundaries.

So here I am at Rosa Cantina. Over 900 hundred miles I have traveled. Changes in culture and climate, scenery and society, economics, and the environment.

An eclectic mix of people and places that all exist in Texas.

That cool morning days ago outside of Texarkana, Texas, has brought me to this warm afternoon in El Paso.

Emotion hits me that my journey is over, and I recall the first quote I borrowed from Henri Frederic Amiel – “The best path through life is the hig ay”. I asked if the best path through Texas the Bankhead?

Today, I declare that if you are not in a hurry to end your jou ney. If life is too short to rush thro gh. If you think you could find a friend in an unfamiliar place. If there are things hidden in the trees that you would like to see. If the world is a prominent place that still has something to discover. Then yes, The Bankhead is the best path.

Thank you to all who experienced this journey with me. I hope this will encourage you to embark on your own adventure to experience something new.

God Bless.

“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.”

-Edward Abbey

Solo motorcycle touring in vast unpopulated areas can seem daunting. The what-ifs and what then circulate in my mind.

Constantly.

The Machine’s sounds have become so familiar to my ear.

I find a rhythm in the ticks and bings. Then, while chugging in the jugs and pops in the pipes, fill out the rest of the melody.

We take it a mile at a time, me and the Machine. Neither expecting any more from each other than what we are.  

To hell with the what-ifs, westward.

Bankhead signs aplenty.

This one is next to a cemetery on the route into Colorado City.

The Colorado Hotel, aka The Baker. While not as grandiose as the other Baker properties, she still has an attraction, at least to me.

Read more about the Colorado City Baker, Hotel here.

Outside of Colorado City, Texasradio’s KVMC radio larger-than-life mic is partnered up with a Bankhead Highway sign. Follow the link below to learn more about the history of this station and its owner.

KVMC radio station is known as  the “Voice of Mitchell County.”

The old Bankhead Alignment headed west into Big Springs, Texas.

Keep in mind, that if you are on the interstate, you are not on the right road.

The Hotel Settles recently underwent a 60 million dollar renovation, repositioning its status as the most fabulous Hotel between El Paso and Fort Worth.

More about the Hotel here.

Big Spring, Texas, is a nightlife town. Great restaurants and bars sit below the Hotel Settles.

I still claim that Lumbre has the best fish tacos on the planet.

A stop at the oldest Harley Davidson dealership in Texas, which just happens to be on the Bankhead Highway.

Keep an eye out for  Quanah Parker Arrows along the route.

This area of Texas was known as Comancheria. The Comanche occupied this land for 100s of years.

Anglo settlers began to tame the wild west by relocating the Native Americans to reservation lands. This was a time of change for the Kiowa and Comanche.

Quanah Parker became a great Comanches leader during this transition time. Quanah assimilated while maintaining his Comanche culture. He bipartisanly negotiated with Anglos and Native Americans to develop mutually beneficial understandings.

Several of these arrows, celebrating Quanah Parker, can be found in  Bankhead Highway towns.

Right off the Bankhead Highway route is the childhood home of President George W. Bush, in Midland. I guess it would have also been President Bush’s, President Bush’s dad’s, home.

I find a great one-stop shop on the route in Odessa, Texas.

Midland and Odessa are full of incredible sights. Vintage motels line the route, as well as museums and shops.

I continue on down the Bankhead.

Just west of  Odessa, the Machine and I fall off the Caprock. A dramatic difference in landscape and flora.

Now it seems like a desert.

There is my sign. Right next to my tried and proper railroad track.

The Monahans Sand Dunes collect just north of my path. The sand dunes are home to the world’s largest, most minor oak tree forest.

The forest is over 40,000 acres and the trees are not more than three feet tall.

Check out the link to learn more.

Next to my route is a water tank for the old Texas and Pacific Railroad.

I stay on the service road, the original alignment, away from the motorists in a hurry.

From Pyote, Texas, I take a detour to Wink, Texas, to check out a museum.

Wink, Texas, is the hometown of Roy Orbison.

The small town celebrates its Rock-n-Roll legend with a museum right on Mainstreet.

Visitors can actually try on a pair of Orbison’s own glasses.

Back on the Bankhead, I find the Rattlesnake Bomber Base. 

The second airbase we visited out in west Texas was utilized for training pilots and crew during World War II.

Rattlesnake Bomber Base was the B-17 Flying Fortress crew training base. After the war, the base became home to new aircraft, including the Enola Gay.

On December 2, 1953, the Enola Gay was flown out of Pyote, Texas’ Rattlesnake Bomber Base to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C., the last time it was in the air.

On to Pecos, Texas, home of the first rodeo.

Yes, the first rodeo ever.

Big Boots in Pecos outside the museum with a bit of BH on them.

It is disheartening to find things turned to rubble. Sometimes it is Mother Nature reclaiming what is hers. Other times it is Man clearing the way for progress or removing an eyesore.

All that is left of the Boulder Courts in Pecos is the sign and arch entry.

Why couldn’t they just have torn it all down?

I will end Across the State in Eight (part 7) – A Bankhead Highway motorcycle adventure with the final pour from Cisco’s own Red Gap Brewing “Gunsight Hefeweizen.”

Stay tuned for part 8 and the end of the Bankhead Highway Adventure.

“Don’t worry about losing. If it is right, it happens – The Main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away.”

-John Steinbeck

West Texas is big!

Wind turbines are everywhere. Their uniformity is eerie. I wish they would paint them like pinwheels, giant pinwheels planted by Goliath in the Big Sky Country.

Or it could be that I suffer from Megalophobia.

Since Texarkana, the railroad tracks have been a constant companion. I can’t tell if I am chasing the engines or if they are chasing me. A game of cat and mouse across Texas.

Those rails witnessed the birth of the Bankhead nearly 100 years ago. At that time, the Texas and Pacific Railroad operated the tracks.

Abilene, Texas, owes its existence to the Texas and Pacific Railroad.

In 1881 cattlemen began using the location to stockpile cattle awaiting shipment to market via the T and P. They name the town Abilene after Abilene, Kansas, the terminus of the Chisholm Trail.

My traveling companion is the reason Abilene exists.

Following my partner’s tracks downtown, I discover the historic Hotel Grace.

The Grace was built in 1909 and served the needs of travelers riding on the Texas and Pacific Line. The Grace was renamed The Drake in 1946.

As passenger-train travel waned, the hotel began to decline, and in 1973, it shuttered for good.

Today the building has been brought back to life and houses a downtown museum.

Abilene’s downtown has been restored with preservation in mind. Theaters and museums are all conditioned to today’s standards while utilizing the character of design and construction to make them attractive.

I head west down the Bankhead and pull into Burro Alley for lunch.

Sitting right on what was the Bankhead, Burro Alley’s courtyard is a hidden gem only a few feet off the road.

The restaurant, shops, and courtyard path is very Santa Fe -ish.

Surrounded by a collection of stores and a restaurant, this oasis in Abilene is a must-stop.

The food is excellent.

I find a little history on Burro Alley, but an old postcard shows that La Posada, as opposed to El Fenix,  was the original restaurant.

Only a few yards east is the Ponca Motel.

The Ponca Motel was built in the 1930s.

Comparing the Ponca today to early 20th-century linen postcards, little has changed. Still operational and welcoming guests along the Bankhead Highway.

Several other Bankhead-era properties can be found in Abilene, including the Abilene Courts.

The town deserves more time than I can give. I push on.

Merkel, Texas. My favorite town is on Bankhead Highway.

The Merkel Restaurant’s fabulous roof.

Abandoned with everything left inside, the restaurant has become a roost for pigeons. Hundreds of these feathered squatters are gathered in the cafe. Gives a real Alfred Hitchcock feel to the place.

While in Merkel, be sure to check out the Merkel Museum and learn about the Hollywood movie shot in Merkel titled “Independence Day.”

Yes, Independence Day was filmed in Merkel, Texas.

On to Sweetwater.

Again, the West Texas Music Hall of Fame is closed. I peer through the window and see a collection of music memorabilia. Maybe someday, I will get to go inside; until then, I will have to just look at the website.

Across the street is the Sweetwater Municipal Auditorium.

The Sweetwater Municipal Auditorium has hosted performances from Fred Astaire, Roy Acuff, Eddie Arnold, and the King, Elvis. Elvis visited Sweetwater in June and December of 1955 to put on a show.

A pendulum hangs motionless, without purpose, over the old Bankhead route in Sweetwater.

During World War II, most male pilots were actively engaged in combat overseas. This resulted in a shortage of pilots.

A need arose to shuttle planes to bases across America. With a lack of male pilots, the solution was to train females to fly; thus, The Women Airforce Service Pilots (W.A.S.P) was formed.

The women of W.A.S.P were stationed in Sweetwater, Texas.

The Bankhead route will become the south service road of I-20 for a while. I enjoy this lonely stretch while I can.

A Recycled Rex is watching over his cement pillars.

Outside of Loraine, I find a prize. More glass marbles.

Hidden behind a more modern and practical reflection implement, these glass marbles have been embedded here since 1929.

I will end Across the State in Eight (part 6) – A Bankhead Highway motorcycle adventure with a pour from Midland’s Tall City Brewing Co.

Stay tuned for part 7 of the Bankhead adventure.

“For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else.”

-Emerson

The Bankhead Highway route out of Mineral Wells is the gateway to the Palo Pinto Mountains – well hills. A beautiful country where springs feed creeks that flow into the Brazos River, supplying life to the balanced collection of arid and semiarid flora throughout the region.

This was Native American land. Kiowa and Comanche roamed this section of Texas for centuries. Many nations tried to tame Comancharia, and many failed.

Today the area is calm. Ranchers have staked and claimed the land, posting up the consequences for being on the wrong side of the fence.

Palo Pinto is named after a tree, a tree with spots. It is also the county seat of Palo Pinto County. Aside from the courthouse and other government offices are a few remnants of the old Bankhead Highway such as this Sinclair Station.

Many Bankhead bridges still can be found in Palo Pinto, with original glass marbles embedded in the cement. These were used as reflectors in the early 1920s.

On to Strawn, Texas. Home of t e “world’s best” chicken-fried steak.

The Bank.”d Hotel was built in the early 1920s on the Bankhead Highway in Strawn, Texas.

A 1924 photo can be found at the Strawn community museum of the bricks being hand-laid in front of the hotel.

Bob Stogsdill recently repainted the Bankhead Hotel sign. I found Bob in the museum and we spoke about the history of Strawn.

Many of these Bankhead Highway towns’ histories are kept in the minds of residents. So when one of these little museums is open, they are worth a stop. The simple experience of sharing experiences is worth the time spent.

The Machine. Sitting pretty y on a 96-year-old road.

Now about that, “World’s Best Chicken-fried Steak.”

Mary has made that claim and might be suitable for the number of cars and motorcycles in the parking lot.

Ranger, Texas, is coming up next.

I have decided to travel about ten miles of interstate and check out a roadside rest area that is a bit of a Bankhead Highway Museum.

Before I get there I see progress, or more precisely the evolution, of the Bankhead Highway. If you look to the right you see a little road “snaking” to the right side of the hill, which is the original Bankhead Highway.

As we created larger machines to make more significant cuts, the four-lane grey road was built next to the old route. For years the s hill of I-20 caused headaches for tractor-trailers as they struggled up the incline.

Today, man and Machine have all but flattened the hill. On the left s the new road: quicker, faster, safer.

At the top, I find the roadside rest area I am looking for. A section o original pavement, along with the appropriate markers, makes an ideal spot to let fido do his business. Watch your s ep – rattlesnakes and dog dung may be in the area.

Inside the rest, an area is an excellent group of exhibits discussing the Bankhead Highway.

On to Ranger, Texas, to ride some vintage brick pavement.

These bricks were laid for a reason. Ranger was an oil boomtown. Fortunes were made overnight and with the wealth came the population.

Ranger was busy with oil field workers running up and down the dirt streets around the clock. Soon Ranger, Texas, was stuck in the mud.

No fear. Thurber, Tex s, now a ghost town and a stone’s throw from Ranger,  had 800 workers producing 80,000 bricks daily. So decision was easy to build those streets with brick.

Today the Machine is riding on some of those bricks.

Eastland, Texas

I make my way into Eastland and find that the town supports the old highway with some Bankhead Banners around the courthouse square.

Within the walls of that courthouse, one will find  Eastland’s claim to fame, Old Rip. The zombie horn toad that visited the White House. Today his b y “Lies in State” within the walls of the local government building.

One will find Josiah Gordon “Doc” Scurlock in a more modest and traditional postmortem plot. A cowboy and gunfighter, he is remembered as a founding member of the Regulators.

Scurlock rode with Billy the Kid during the Lincoln County Wars in New Mexico.

Scurlock died in 1929 at 80 and is buried in the Eastland City Cemetery.

A vintage stop sign on the courthouse square.

Cisco, Texas.

Tons of brick roads; I am not tired of them yet.

In downtown Cisco, I pull into the Mobley Hotel. This hotel was Conrad Hilton’s first hotel. Today it serves as the Chamber of Commerce; although there are period correct rooms to view, it does not provide accommodations for today’s travelers. 

Santa Clause robbed a bank on Christmas in Cisco. Google it. Fascinating story.

The Bank and the historical marker.

West of Cisco, I take FM 2945, unsure if it is the right road. Quickly, I find that it is.

Again, the Bankhead Bridges don’t change.

This viaduct reassured me that I was on the correct route. This rise in the road allows the train to pass without interference in travel.

Initially, the Texas and Pacific Rail Road would run beneath the Bankhead route. We will get into more of that in the days to come.

The next town is Baird, Texas.

Crispy Cold Fruits and Vegetables. A vintage grocers’ prized possession, today scrap.

Couldn’t find that discount beer either. Deceptive.

I take Finley Road out of Baird. A  mixture of pavement, dirt, and rock. The Machine stays under 20 miles per hour and in second gear.

I wonder if I have made a mistake taking this section of Bankhead’s alignment.

This road pays off big.

We have stumbled upon a  worn and weathered, beat and broken, severed and shattered, cracked and crumbling, beautiful bridge.

Rebar rise from the torn towers of the railing like exposed nerves. Hunks of the structure lay below in the shallow creek.

Still firm, it stands, serving the purpose it was built to do, take travelers west down the Bankhead Highway.

The all-weather, all-season, all-condition road.

I will end Across the State in Eight (part 5) – A Bankhead Highway motorcycle adventure with a pour from Cisco’s own Red Gap Brewing “1878 Lager”.

Stay tuned for part 6 of the Bankhead adventure. Please like and share the Facebook posts.

About halfway there.

Please join us on our ride. Feel free to follow on Instagram and Facebook – links on this page. Thanks.

“There’s something about arriving in new cities, wandering empty streets with no destination. I will never lose the love for the arriving, but I’m born to leave.”

– Charlotte Eriksson

I stay as accurate to the original route as possible through Dallas, Fort Worth, and all the cities. Honestly, this is a challenging part of the ride.

Start. Stop. Red light, green light.

Green, Yellow, Stop.

The knuckles of my clutch hand have had enough, the phalanges have become fused together, and my thumb is stuck in an action figure pose.

Soon I am on the west side of Fort Worth, heading down Camp Bowie Blvd.

A brick road, a fantastic brick road.

Camp Bowie Blvd. takes its name from the Thirty-sixth Infantry Division camp located in the area from 1917  to 1919. Camp Bowie was named after James Bowie, the Alamo defender.

Today Camp Bowie Blvd thrives with trendy shops and upscale properties.

Some mid-century motels remain in certain sections. While the signs might seem as fresh as ever, most properties provide lodging for long-term rentals and a blind eye to shady behaviors.

The historic Ridglea Theater is where the Cottage City tourist camp once served Bankhead Highway No. 1 travelers. At the time, the tourist camp was five miles outside of the city of Fort Worth.

Times have changed. Today, the icon seems to be in the middle of town.

On to Weatherford, Texas.

Miles of great Bankhead exist between Fort Worth and Weatherford. Curving and weaving, dipping and rising, among tilled fields, pastures, and those master-planned communities.

Some like this section seem hidden. Blind curves would have created dangerous travel in the early 20th century.

These Bankhead segments are not abandoned. Still utilized by locals for local business. But, again, I am in awe that these roads have held up so well with little maintenance.

Weatherford, Texas,  is home to the Vintage Car Museum, right off the town’s square and on the old Bankhead route.

I get a quick photo of the Machine in front of the pumps before I make my way inside.

The Vintage runs off donations and has several unique and rare rides.

This is a 1939 Alvis; it was manufactured by an English company until a bomb destroyed the factory during World War II. Check out the odd  “new” induction system – it looks like it has a pre-war turbo.

Ready to find some more of that Bankhead Highway, I bid farewell to Weatherford and search out more forgotten pieces of the old road.

Soon a sign appears. A Bankhead sign.

They seem to be everywhere now. No need for me to get on the interstate when I have this seasoned blacktop headed in the same direction. More character and soul than an interstate could ever have.

Mineral Wells is my next stop. While the Baker Hotel is the big draw to the town, I select someplace a bit different, unique, and honest.

The Laumdronat – Washing Machine Museum.

How fun is this? Wash clothes and learn about the history of washing clothes.

It is not just antique washers on display; cases line the walls with trinkets and wonders of the washateria, including this hanger dispenser.

A quick stop at the Crazy Well for a drink of water infused with lithium, and I am ready to roll.

And a photo with the recreation of the Crazy sign.

Oh – and a quick “World Best” burger at Woody’s 

World’s Best? It certainly is good.

Woody’s is located in a Quonset hut – Google it if you need to. Serving the citizens of Mineral Wells and the veterans who once trained at Fort Wolters in 1951.

I will end Across the State in Eight (part 4) – A Bankhead Highway motorcycle adventure with a pour from Cisco’s own Red Gap Brewing” Big Chief Bock.”

Stay tuned for part 5 of the Bankhead adventure that will journey further into West Texas.

Please join us on our ride. Also, feel free to follow Instagram and Facebook links on this page. Thanks.