Across the State in Eight (part 5 – Mineral Wells to Abilene) – A Bankhead Highway motorcycle 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 fed 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.

An excellent example of an old Sinclair Station. 

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…