Day 27 – Monarch Butterflies

Miles Completed: 52.6

Cumulative miles: 1416.8

Miles to St Augustine: 1635

Today we rode from Seminole Canyon State Park through Comstock to Del Rio, TX and then to Laughlin Air Force Base. It was another casual ride with no major concerns but it took a while which I’ll get into shortly.

Yesterday and today we saw hundreds of Monarch Butterflies making their migration south to Mexico. Their migration path through Texas funnels down through Del Rio. It was a treat to see so many butterflies.

We also crossed the Amistad Reservoir which is part of the Amistad National Recreation Area. One interesting thing about the Reservoir is that some of its southern shore is in Mexico. That must be a challenge controlling that part of the border through water.

Tonight we are staying at a campsite inside Laughlin Air Force Base. Our tour leader, Tammy, is retired from the military and she sponsored us to get on base. The RV and tent camping area is similar but a little nicer than other campgrounds we’ve stayed at. I believe this is the first time I was ever on a military base.

We had to coordinate our ride and time to go onto the base. Most of us rode to Del Rio around noon. The Air Force base was another 10 miles but we agreed to meet at the visitor center at 3:00 to check in. I was riding with Brent and Chris when we arrived in Del Rio. We decided to stop at Starbucks (haven’t seen one of those in a while!), and relax on their outside patio with a coffee and a light lunch. After that, we rode to the bike shop where Dana, Felix, Mark and Brent were all trying to get some bike service. Unfortunately, the service was slow and they all had to wait a long time and weren’t all pleased with the result. They are hoping the fixes will get them to Austin where there should be some better bike shops.

By the way, if you’re keeping track, Felix was able to get his third rabies vaccine in Del Rio this morning.

While they were still waiting at the bike shop, I rode the last 10 miles to the base. We all had to show ID’s and the military performed a background check. Then we got photographed and fingerprinted. It all went very smooth. Since some riders were running late, I was able to get on base with the first wave of riders. I was able to pitch my tent and take a shower at the base fitness center. It was very nice!

Not all went perfect however. As you know, Felix lives in Scotland and is a Foreign National. Because of a mixup in communication, additional paperwork was needed for him to enter the base that we did not have. Felix was not allowed on base and they had to set him up in a hotel room. The good news is he had a hotel room, but we missed him around camp tonight. I know my blog readers have expressed concern for Felix with all his trial and tribulations, and I hope to report better news soon!!! I keep telling Felix he gets mentioned in my blog the most, and he always laughs and stays in good spirits.

Finally, my friend Carlene (married to retired military Jerry), warns me not to take pictures at the military base, but I snuck some in anyway. Just don’t tell them until I leave tomorrow.