![\"wide](\"https:\/\/gypsyjudge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC_0190.jpg\")
wide open spaces around City of Rocks State Park<\/p><\/div>
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![\"a](\"https:\/\/gypsyjudge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC_0208.jpg\")
a Great Horned Owl at City of Rocks<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n
From New Mexico, I headed to central Texas to visit friends, Ray, Gary, and Paula. I spent time in several small towns similar to the one I grew up in \u2013 unlike the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico, these were Texas towns where trees grow large and grass needs to be mowed.
\n\tI parked my rig near Gary and Paula\u2019s house in Beeville, Texas. Gary ran a skydiving center there for years and still has the hangar overstuffed with interesting things, like three Cessna airplanes (none of which fly at the moment), and every tool imaginable. Without the benefit of the very heavy paper weight in the rear of my truck originally designed as a motorcycle lift, the one that had been inoperable since Benson, AZ , Gary and Ray unloaded my bike the old fashion way (with an 8 foot solid door, a slight hill, lots of muscle, testosterone, and bravado ) so I was finally able to ride again.
\n \tRay rides a full dresser Harley; Gary has a Triumph Rocket, lovingly referred to as The Monster. Gary only had to offer once to let me ride. \ud83d\ude09
![\"Gary's](\"https:\/\/gypsyjudge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/IMG_0921-2.jpg\")
Gary’s 2,294 CC “dirt bike”<\/p><\/div>
\nTo give you an idea of the difference between our bikes, mine has 650 CC\u2019s; Gary\u2019s has 2,294 CC\u2019s. Mine is 472 pounds; his is almost double that. The guys cautioned me to not let it get away from me, but I was satisfied I could handle it by coordinating the clutch and throttle. I once had a Yamaha FJR 1300 with 147 horsepower !! \ud83d\ude09 so I\u2019ve had some saddle time with a very fast bike. Plus they\u2019ve each dumped Gary\u2019s bike, with scratches to prove it, so if I dropped it, I wouldn\u2019t be the first. The Rocket is an interesting bike \u2013 tons of torque and well balanced \u2013 but it doesn\u2019t have the long distance suspension\/comfort of a Gold Wing. We left the hangar, just riding around. Ray was leading, and soon I was lost, happily following him down rural roads. But when we passed a sign on the narrow two lanes of asphalt that read \u201croad ends ahead,\u201d I was a little concerned. Check out the picture and you\u2019ll see why I was not excited about turning that behemoth around without pavement under the tires. Maybe a mile later, another sign announced \u201cpavement ends\u201d; the sign wasn\u2019t really necessary for anybody could tell the difference between the black asphalt and the chalky brown sand of the caliche road ahead. (Caliche is interesting; when it\u2019s dry it\u2019s as hard as cement, though it doesn\u2019t mind crumbling into small rocks \u2013 when it\u2019s wet, it sticks like wet cement. Luckily, it was dry caliche that day.) I stopped, on the pavement; Ray pulled onto the caliche and looked back at me with a \u201cWhat\u2019s the matter?\u201d expression. I got off the bike, to make my point, so Ray turned off his bike and we talked. (Which at that moment seemed like a useless conversation \u2013 why would anyone ride a 900 pound, 2,294 CC motorcycle in the dirt?) As we talked, I saw movement about 50 yards down the dirt road; it was a herd of zebras behind an eight foot fence enclosing one of those exotic animal farms I\u2019ve read about. But then I saw a horse and carriage approaching on the caliche road. That\u2019s how I learned there are Amish living in the area. We waived the guy down and asked about the dirt road \u2013 how long is it, did it get any worse than this, will we get back on pavement at the other end? The young man explained he was heading over to work his beehives; he smiled a lot; his blue eyes were the color of his homemade blue cotton shirt. He told us about the road, where the bee hives area, where he lived, where the next pavement was, and the kind of work the Amish did. He made a few soft-spoken jokes, and then to my surprise, gave us a business card that included the address and a map to the Amish general store. We waited for him to ride away so the bikes wouldn\u2019t spook his horses. While we waited, I wanted to walk the short distance to see the zebras but Ray wanted to ride over there; then he reassured me he\u2019d help me pick up the Triumph if I dropped it on our off-road adventure, so \u2026. With the carriage a safe distance down the road, Ray fired up his Harley; as he approached the zebras, they bolted into the brush. And I rode the well balanced Monster about 5 miles in the dirt, without incident \ud83d\ude09 And following the young Amish man\u2019s directions, we returned to pavement and then to Gary\u2019s.
\n\tA couple of days later, Gary, Paula, Ray, and I came back in their truck to the Amish general store, using the map on the back of the business card. What a delightful hodgepodge! We didn\u2019t see anything there you\u2019ll find in a predictable big box store. The Amish make and sale a variety of things needed to use a horse and carriage as your only means of transportation. They also sale beautiful furniture, geese, homemade pies and jellies, fresh eggs, honey, and lots of other surprising things. At the corner of the building, I walked over to watch two men trimming a horse\u2019s feet, getting ready to shoe her. I asked if I could have some of the hoof trimmings for my dog (dogs love them, especially if they come heavily seasoned with horse manure, as these were). One of the men smiled a familiar smile and his blue eyes danced; he laughed and asked if I\u2019d gotten lost on my bike ride. I left with a handful of \u201cseasoned\u201d horse hoof trimmings, a homemade pecan pie, and a reminder of the kindness of strangers. On the way back to pavement, we stopped where the zebra had been; none were to be found this time. So I settled for several pictures of bluebonnets in bloom.
![\"on](\"https:\/\/gypsyjudge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC_0252.jpg\")
on a quiet dirt road<\/p><\/div>
\n![\"DSC_0257\"](\"https:\/\/gypsyjudge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC_0257-1.jpg\")
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![\"the](\"https:\/\/gypsyjudge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC_0246.jpg\")
the bluebonnets were every where<\/p><\/div>
\n\tRay and I took several trips and each put 1,000 miles on our bikes. But soon, it was time to see if the guys could get my bike back in the truck. I went inside; we were all happier if I didn\u2019t watch. But they are good, and the bike was securely in my truck. I hooked up the trailer and headed east.
\n\tDriving east on Interstate 10 from central Texas, the world quickly changes into the one in which I was born. By west Texas, you see live oaks; Louisiana spreads its crayfish fields and swamps along the edges of the pavement; the ground in Mississippi squishes.
\n\tAnd so for now, I\u2019m back in Florida. I returned the motorcycle lift; again I left the unloading of my bike to two large males. I\u2019m shopping for a Rampage lift, something I used without incident for several years but later sold. I have to be able to load and unload safely by myself. And I will again, soon.
\n\tAlready I feel a restless call \u2013 I\u2019ll head West again in June. And today I enjoy the tall pines, wide-girthed live oaks, enormous magnolias, and squatty palmettos. <\/p>\n
![\"Mother](\"https:\/\/gypsyjudge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/IMG_1014-2.jpg\")
Mother Nature and her swamps<\/p><\/div>
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![\"what](\"https:\/\/gypsyjudge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/IMG_0371-3.jpg\")
what a gift – going from desert to water and back again – and again<\/p><\/div> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
6. From the deserts to the swamps Gypsies travel. We simply move from there to here. Not to run away, or to run to. Just to see what\u2019s around the next corner. So I said goodbye to my favored spot … Continue reading