Lake Mineral Wells State Trailway

I drove out to Weatherford today to spend a couple of hours riding the Lake Mineral Wells State Trailway. Weatherford is about 25 miles west of Fort Worth. The trail runs 20 miles from Weatherford to the town of Mineral Wells. I wasn't planning to do a 40 mile out and back ride today so I determined that I'd turn around after I hit the 10 mile mark. It was nice to get out of the city for a change.

This is how I haul my bike. It's a 1992 Toyota Landcruiser that I bought used in 1998. I believe the 1992 model year was the last year that the vehicle was more of a truck than a luxury vehicle. There is no wood accented dash or leather upholstery anywhere in this truck. It's very reliable and built like a tank although it is way underpowered.

This is how you haul a horse. That's not a cheap setup. I don't know if there's a cabin in the front of the trailer or if the air conditioning unit is for the horse.

The Weatherford trailhead.

I couldn't have asked for better weather. It was warm enough that I didn't need a jacket but cool enough to keep sweating to a minimum.

This photo gives you a good idea of what the majority of the eastern half of the trail looks like.

Be alert for signs of altitude sickness.

Just past the 10 mile mark I found myself at a trailhead in Garner, Texas, population of about 100.

I rode across the street from the trailhead and decided to grab a bite to eat.

This....is a chicken fried steak. It ranks right up there with Tex-Mex as a state favorite. I'll rank this particular CFS as one of the top 5 that I've ever had, and I've had them from one end of the state to the other. It came with mashed potatoes (including the skin), covered with cream gravy. Awesome! Did I say Awesome? Yes, it's awesome.

Here's an undercover photo of your typical small town Texas lunch crowd. I think the lady on the right was on to me.

I waddled out the door stuffed to the gills.

The Garner trailhead as I headed back west towards my truck.

An interesting old stone building near the trailhead. This style of building is fairly common in this area.

Horses grazing peacefully in what was once Comanche territory. More on that in another post.

As I was leaving town I managed to snap a photo of the Parker County Courthouse, built in 1885.