{"id":59,"date":"2025-04-22T02:07:36","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T10:07:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/?p=59"},"modified":"2025-04-22T02:07:36","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T10:07:36","slug":"day-two-levelland-tx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/2025\/04\/22\/day-two-levelland-tx\/","title":{"rendered":"Day Two &#8211; Levelland, TX"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It was a lazy start this morning, but I didn&#8217;t have that far to go so I thought I&#8217;d let it warm up a bit &#8211; and it did. \u00a0Not sure what the temp was when I left, but I was plenty good with just my chaps &amp; a jacket &#8211; no electrics.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Straight-Road-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-65\" src=\"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Straight-Road-1024x794.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"453\" srcset=\"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Straight-Road-1024x794.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Straight-Road-300x232.jpg 300w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Straight-Road-768x595.jpg 768w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Straight-Road-1536x1190.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>That picture for my brother Lester. \u00a0It&#8217;s his favorite kinda road, straight and flat. \u00a0The speed limit here is 65 but it&#8217;s difficult to keep it below 90 on roads like this, especially out in the middle of nowhere. \u00a0As the road started up over the mountains the speed limit sign said 55 mph. \u00a0I gave that the big PFFFT. \u00a0Three seconds later I was introduced to a new speed limit enforcement device. \u00a0I&#8217;m going to call it a speed dip. \u00a0At 55 probably no big deal, but at 80 &#8211; it will take your breath away and send you looking for an &#8220;adjustment.&#8221; \u00a0I don&#8217;t really believe in chiropractors, so <strong>I adjusted<\/strong> my speed, and hoped my back would recover. \u00a0I don&#8217;t know the story, but I believe this guy failed to make the proper adjustments.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/RIP.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-64\" src=\"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/RIP-1024x668.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"381\" srcset=\"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/RIP-1024x668.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/RIP-300x196.jpg 300w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/RIP-768x501.jpg 768w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/RIP-1536x1002.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/RIP-2048x1336.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/RIP-460x300.jpg 460w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It is one of the most elaborate road side memorials I have seen. \u00a0There were several memorials over the next 15 or 20 miles. \u00a0Fun doesn&#8217;t come without some risk. Exceeding your experience level can be, and often is, fatal. \u00a0Or &#8211; you can be doing the safe &amp; sane thing, at or even below the speed limit and an opposite direction car just crosses over into your lane&#8230;&#8230; \u00a0Rest in Peace.<\/p>\n<p>My destination this morning was the Billy the Kid museum in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. \u00a0A friend of mine at the golf course told me that it was worth visiting ~ I have to agree. What it looks like to me, is that the museum opened in 1953 to showcase some interesting Billy the Kid stuff. \u00a0Then, everyone within a few hundred miles with something to donate to a museum did, and the place started to grow into what it is today. \u00a0Some Billy stuff but lots of other very interesting items from times gone by.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Guns-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-61\" src=\"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Guns-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"438\" srcset=\"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Guns-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Guns-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Guns-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Guns-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Guns-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Guns-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>For those who might not know, here is a condensed Billy the Kid story: \u00a0William H. Bonney was born in New York City. \u00a0He moved to Kansas with his family where his father died. \u00a0His mother re-married in Santa Fe and they moved to Silver City. \u00a0When Billy was fifteen, his mother died of tuberculosis. \u00a0That&#8217;s when he started his life of crime and was arrested for steeling a bundle of laundry. \u00a0Billy was jailed for the crime but escaped and left Silver City. \u00a0Billy was a primary figure in the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lincoln_County_War\">Lincoln County War<\/a> and continued his criminal career. \u00a0He was captured by Sheriff Pat Garret at the age of 21 and sentenced to be hanged for killing Sheriff William Brady. \u00a0He escaped from the Lincoln County Jail (killing two deputies in the process) and went to Fort Sumner to marry his girl and flee to Mexico. \u00a0Sheriff Garret trailed Billy to Pete Maxwell&#8217;s house where he shot and killed Billy the Kid, 11 weeks after his escape.<\/p>\n<p>The Billy the Kid story is full of inconsistencies: \u00a0Billy said he killed 21 men, while the actual number was closer to 10. \u00a0Did Pat Garret kill Billy in his sleep, or (as Pat Garret said in his book) was he lying in wait in the dark bedroom when Billy came in. \u00a0Who was Billy&#8217;s girlfriend, and was she pregnant? \u00a0The list goes on and on. \u00a0I&#8217;m confident that anyone with a story to tell either embellished it to make themselves look better or Billy to look badder &#8211; or both. \u00a0So &#8211; the full truth of the life and times of Billy the Kid will likely never be known&#8230;&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Rifle-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-63\" src=\"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Rifle-1024x476.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"271\" srcset=\"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Rifle-1024x476.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Rifle-300x139.jpg 300w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Rifle-768x357.jpg 768w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Rifle-1536x714.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Rifle-2048x952.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Rifle-500x232.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a>This is Billy the Kid&#8217;s rifle that he gave to one of his friends after he escaped the Lincoln County Jail. \u00a0If you&#8217;re in the area it&#8217;s worth the 30 min walk through. \u00a0AND you can get a tour, which would probably be a much better experience.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Horizion-Road-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-62\" src=\"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Horizion-Road-1024x767.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"437\" srcset=\"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Horizion-Road-1024x767.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Horizion-Road-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Horizion-Road-768x575.jpg 768w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Horizion-Road-1536x1150.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Horizion-Road-2048x1534.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Horizion-Road-401x300.jpg 401w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Back on the road out of New Mexico and into Texas. \u00a0Plenty of time to look around here but not much to see. \u00a0I was passed on this road by someone going <strong>well<\/strong> over 100 mph. \u00a0It&#8217;s not a good enough road to be pushing it much past 80 with a loaded motorcycle; not to mention the 20 mph crosswind.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Willie-Wirehand-2-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-70\" src=\"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Willie-Wirehand-2-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1929\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Willie-Wirehand-2-scaled.jpg 1929w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Willie-Wirehand-2-226x300.jpg 226w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Willie-Wirehand-2-772x1024.jpg 772w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Willie-Wirehand-2-768x1019.jpg 768w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/Willie-Wirehand-2-1157x1536.jpg 1157w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1929px) 100vw, 1929px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This last picture is for my dad. \u00a0That cartoon is Wille Wirehand and he is the mascot of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. \u00a0My dad used to work for the Sulfur Springs Valley Electric Co-op in Willcox, AZ. \u00a0This building is the offices of the Lamb County Electric Co-op in Littlefield, TX. \u00a0And just in case you didn&#8217;t know, \u00a0Littlefield is where Waylon Jennings was born &amp; raised. \u00a0 See you tomorrow&#8230;..<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/zMap-Day-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-78\" src=\"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/zMap-Day-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1908\" height=\"818\" srcset=\"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/zMap-Day-2.jpg 1908w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/zMap-Day-2-300x129.jpg 300w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/zMap-Day-2-1024x439.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/zMap-Day-2-768x329.jpg 768w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/zMap-Day-2-1536x659.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/zMap-Day-2-500x214.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1908px) 100vw, 1908px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It was a lazy start this morning, but I didn&#8217;t have that far to go so I thought I&#8217;d let it warm up a bit &#8211; and it did. \u00a0Not sure what the temp was when I left, but I &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/2025\/04\/22\/day-two-levelland-tx\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80,"href":"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59\/revisions\/80"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redrideraz.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}