2011 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500

Trip to the Big Bend area of Texas with the Terlingua Preservation Society.

This was the first stop.....Marathon Texas, site of the historic Gage hotel.........I didn't get to stay there, but stayed in a great house at the end of a gravel road.  Ask me sometime about where the railroad tracks are located.

Great Breakfast here, but they were out of beans and also out of ham.

Pictures as we traveled through the Big Bend National Park.

We were stopped at the cones for construction ahead and had to wait for the pace vehicle.  Turns out they had a patch in the road to work on.  We waited about 20 minutes for a short ride behind the construction truck.

Second stop was in the Ghost Town of Terlingua.....home of the world famous Terlingua Chili Cook off since 1967.  This is the Terlingua Trading Company store which is next to the Starlight Theatre.

There are more than enough bugs, grasshoppers to go around.

Someone's idea of art.

Hwy 170 runs from Study Butte-Terlingua through the Terlingua Ghost town, Lajitas and to Presidio.  The only fuel is in Study Butte and Presidio.......about 65 miles apart.

Next stop was the Lajitas Golf Resort and Spa.  Great accommodations.

The served us a great chili dinner out on the veranda.

That's the Rio Grande river and Mexico on the other side.  Very rugged country.

All day Friday was at the Lajitas International Airport.  1/4 and 1/2 mile runs and a slalom course.  Local kids came out and took rides in the car and then the high school kids came out in the afternoon and did a car wash for their school.

Everyone that participated signed Ken Boone's hood and it was auctioned off for charity at the Friday night dinner.

That's Bill Neale..........one of the founders of the Terlingua Chili Cook Off and owner of the Terlingua Rabbit Crest rights.

There must have been something interesting under those tents........actually this was the driver's meeting.

1/2 mile run down the runway.

Slalom course and had to back into the box. 

These next few pictures are in front of the Lajitas International Airport.

5 Star Restaurant in the Badlands.

View from the restaurant.

Those homes in the picture below are in Mexico.

This is the road from Lajitas to Presidio.  50 miles bordering the Rio Grande River for most of the way.

Lots of Border Patrol these days.

At this point everyone had to stop because the lead car (Sean Cook) rounded the corner and hiding in the shadows was the remains of a rock slide.  His car took quite a bit of damage including two flat tires, two ruined rims, damaged front fascia and front suspension.

This is why you have to watch out for rocks on the road.

This is the result.

Rest stop with picnic tables under the teepees.

It appears that cactus grows right out of the rocks.  These are growing out of cracks and are just about all that hold the rocks together.

Coming into Marfa.......home of the Marfa mystery lights.

Main square and the court house.

Managed to get a great tour of David Kimble's studio in Marfa.  He's the guy that draws the incredible cutaway pictures of cars/planes/Star Trek/jukebox's etc that you have seen in many advertisements and magazines.    That's David on the right in the black shirt.

A couple of examples of his work.  That is a 2010 Camaro on the left and a GM eco-boost engine on the right.

Here he is explaining his involvement in doing the work for the Star Trek series.

And a little bit of his humor.  A staircase that leads to nowhere.  His home and studio are in an old movie theatre in Marfa.

His C5 Z06 and a couple of motorcycles.

The 'Stable' in Alpine.  Car collection owned by Dave Durant.

Queuing up for the High Speed run down Hwy 118.  The Sheriff's department closed down a 16 mile stretch of the road, let the cars go at 2 minute intervals and we were free to blast at will.

This is how many miles my car had on it as I was getting ready to blast off for the top speed run.   Note to self.........get a speedometer that goes higher than 160 for next year.

Saturday night dinner was at the "Boat House" in Terlingua.  I couldn't find any water anywhere around the place.

A view up the hill at the Terlingua Ghost Town.

View out the back of the Boat House Restaurant.

All in all, I drove about 1,800 miles and including all the high speed events, the car averaged 19 mpg over the entire trip.  Had a blast and am ready to go back again.