Skip to main content

2016 Cross-Country Road Trip Part 2; Weird US 180 in Texas

By
Leaving Abilene westbound on I-20 I was begin to approach the Mountain West and infinitely more interesting terrain than I saw the first three days of my road trip.  I wanted to get to a couple National Parks which meant that I had to divert off of I-20 towards US 180.  My trip on US 180 to reach the New Mexico State Line was through some of the weirder areas Texas has to offer.


I left Abilene at about 6 AM in the morning on I-20 westbound which I consider to be a somewhat ordinary time to hit the road.  On the west side of Abilene I-20 picks up a multiplex of US 84 which I intended to use to reach US 180 in Synder.  As I was making my way down an empty I-20/US 84 a Texas Highway Patrol truck slowed down to approximately 30 MPH in the passing lane and followed me almost all the way to the turn-off for Synder. 

The THP Officer pulled me over just before the breakaway towards Synder on US 84 since I was apparently following a truck at 500 feet at 70 MPH.  I was advised by the officer that there was a lot of drug running on I-20 (The truthfulness of this story I  question) with drivers with out of state tags (This is what known as a pretext stop when you pull someone over fishing for a bigger infraction or crime) and I was asked why I was on the road so early in addition to why I didn't take I-10.  I explained that I was on my way to Carlsbad Caverns National Park for some hiking in the caves and my overnight stay was in Las Cruces.  After receiving a warning ticket for following too close I continued on US 84 and took it to US 180 Synder where I continued west.

US 180 traverses some of the smallest counties in Texas, many are among the least populated in the United State.  Passing through Borden County I encountered the County Seat Gail which largely resembled a ghost town.  Gail apparently has a population of just over 200 and has been the County Seat of Borden County since the 1890s.  Borden County itself dates back the 1870s and has a population of just over 600.




West of Gail US 180 picks up US 87 and heads into Lamesa in Dawson County.  I pulled off of US 180/87 on County Road 20 to stop at Los Ybanez.  Los Ybanez is the smallest incorporated city in Texas with a 2010 population of 19.  Los Ybanez was incorporated in 1983 to sell liquor in the otherwise dry Dawson County.  There isn't much to Los Ybanez aside from some really haggard old looking buildings which I'm to understand were built atop an old World War II era glider base.






Most of western Texas on US 180 was extremely muddy due to a fairly fresh snow melt.  I stopped in Seminole for breakfast after picking US 62 and followed US 180/62 to the New Mexico State Line. 



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

By
After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
4 comments
Read more

Finding the Pre-Emption Road of New York State

By
  The Pre-Emption Road (or rather a series of roads named Pre-Emption Road) follows a survey line called the Pre-Emption Line, drawn in the early days of the United States. The story begins with Massachusetts and New York having competing land claims to modern day Western New York State that have their roots in colonial charters granted by the British. After the Revolutionary War ended, this land became the frontier of the nation and its settlement became a priority for the new American government. During this era, there were a lot of competing land claims that needed to be settled. It was no different with the land claims between New York State and Massachusetts. On November 30, 1786, Massachusetts and New York sent representatives to Hartford, Connecticut to resolve their competing land claims. In less than three weeks, the representatives had reached a compromise. Massachusetts would receive pre-emption rights, meaning the right to sell the land after the Indian title ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more