Remnants of Hwy 87 and Sea Rim State Park

J Everett

Suspension Lift
Founding Member
Location
Houma, LA
Anyone interested in making a go of exploring what used to be Texas State Hwy 87? Say meet in Orange or Port Arthur and try to make it via the old road bed and the beaches to High Island and then on to Galveston for food?

http://www.texasfreeway.com/statewide/Statewide/abandoned/TX87_closed/87_eroded.shtml


EDIT: Here's the plan so far. Meet at 9am Friday August 3, at the Walmart at:

4999 N Twin City Hwy
Port Arthur, TX 77642

http://goo.gl/maps/qHGA

Then head out toward Sabine Pass once everyone has arrived, tanked up, and picked up last minute supplies. The plan is that we should finish the run that evening. It is only 20-30 miles, most of it on beach sand. I expect a few obstacles, but nothing that can't be overcome. We'll probably make a few stops to fish. Once we reconnect with the part of Hwy 87 that's good, in High Island, I personally plan to head to Galveston to stay the night. I'm hoping we all head that way for dinner at The Spot together.

That being said, I am bringing camping gear to camp on the beach if we run into unforeseen trouble. Since no one we know has been there, and all accounts of the route are several years old and third-hand reports, I reccommend everyone plans for that possibility.

Definitely going:
Me (J Everett)
RATTFINK
Roninjiro
Metzican (from TNX)

I will continue to edit this post when we get more people lined up as definitely going.
 
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J Everett

Suspension Lift
Founding Member
Location
Houma, LA
Bit far for either of you to come down for what I think will be less than a day of wheeling, but you're more than welcome to join us. I have a feeling it may only be me and Johann. I hope some others will be interested.

Whoever comes, I promise to take tons of pictures for everyone else.
 

RATTFINK

XN OG Admin.
Founding Member
Location
Conroe, TX
87e_warning_sign_8-sept-2001_lres.jpg



...Sounds perfect to me. :D
 

J Everett

Suspension Lift
Founding Member
Location
Houma, LA
Johann, you up for it sometime over the summer? Maybe we can round up jmac and Peck and Ricer too.


Sent from high Earth orbit via Telstar I.
 

RATTFINK

XN OG Admin.
Founding Member
Location
Conroe, TX
Yeah, I am down for it. I know 5L33P3R would be down for it too. Looks to be the only challenging off-road "rocky stuff" near us.

This would have to be planned out way in advance to get the rest of the guys.

Maybe meet on a Friday evening and find a place to make a bonfire (if legal) and camp. Sat. morning head out to ride the old highway.
 

Muadeeb

Nissan al Gaib
Admin
Location
Dallas
I might be able to work in an official Houston trip for this. You know, the kind where work pays for off roading.

sent via carrier pigeon
 

J Everett

Suspension Lift
Founding Member
Location
Houma, LA
The more the merrier, Muadeeb. We'd love to have you along. Maybe Roninjiro will have his diesel swap completed in time to join us too, though that's a long way to go for a shakedown run. He'd have to travel almost as far as I do.

I'm thinking maybe July 13-14. Everyone who's interested, chime in and let me know.

I've scrutinized the route as closely as I can on Google Earth. Their imagery is two years old, but it still looks like 90% of the route is sand. I don't know how soft it will be. There are a couple of small spots where we might have to climb over and onto broken chunks of the old highway, and a possibility of some soft mud. Since none of us have done the route before, it will be nice to have at least three Xer's if we need to pull anyone out. I think I'm gonna look into a set of sand ladders as well. May be overkill, but you never know. Don't want to get caught out there with the tide or a storm coming in.
 

Diadaga

Suspension Lift
Founding Member
Location
Virginia
July 13-14 is still kinda gray area for me as far as if my unit will be done with all our reintegration and stuff. So I'm gonna hold onto a possible until I'm actually back from here and have my X back from my parents house.
 

Diadaga

Suspension Lift
Founding Member
Location
Virginia
Don't adjust just cause of me, go with when yall wanna go. Right now the biggest issue will be if we have completed the reintegration training, how much of the stuff I ordered has been put on and how cash I got for gas.
 

J Everett

Suspension Lift
Founding Member
Location
Houma, LA
When's your unit due back, and where? Fort Campbell? Long way from Kentucky to do what's more than likely gonna be just a half day's expedition, if we can even call it that. Ratt may be onto something with camping, though I think that's gonna depend more on the tides than anything else.
 

RATTFINK

XN OG Admin.
Founding Member
Location
Conroe, TX
I've scrutinized the route as closely as I can on Google Earth. Their imagery is two years old, but it still looks like 90% of the route is sand. I don't know how soft it will be. There are a couple of small spots where we might have to climb over and onto broken chunks of the old highway, and a possibility of some soft mud. Since none of us have done the route before, it will be nice to have at least three Xer's if we need to pull anyone out. I think I'm gonna look into a set of sand ladders as well. May be overkill, but you never know. Don't want to get caught out there with the tide or a storm coming in.


This depends on the weather leading up to the time we do this. If it has been hot and dry, the sand will be very loose. As long as everyone has a good set of tires and airs down a bit, we should be good. Going to San Luis Pass one summer it seemed that everyone but me in my X were getting stuck in the hot, arid, and deep sand. I have a tow strap and recovery points, so I am ready if anyone has problems.

I look forward to broken chunks of road, just hope there isn't a lot of exposed rebar.
 

J Everett

Suspension Lift
Founding Member
Location
Houma, LA
Looks like most of the severely broken bits of road are asphalt with no rebar, which is why it's so broken up. I also have tow straps and hope to have a solid rear recovery point by then which is why June is the earliest I can do it. Also, Gulf surface temps look like we should be gearing up for an active tropical season so we'll have to keep an eye on that as well. I'd like to have at least one person with us with a winch, but we should be able to get by with straps, a hi-lift, and a couple of shovels. Still, as much time as I spend on beaches, sand ladders are starting to look like a smart investment.
 

J Everett

Suspension Lift
Founding Member
Location
Houma, LA
Found some vids of some guys that have done this on dual-sport bikes:
[video=youtube;XE5c5s1x5s4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=XE5c5s1x5s4[/video]
[video=youtube;USsABCB8KEc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&list=UU3h-lvcppv-sqje6BR_otcw&v=USsABCB8KEc[/video]
[video=youtube;_Ji-5Q_A5w0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&list=UU3h-lvcppv-sqje6BR_otcw&v=_Ji-5Q_A5w0[/video]

Looks like it could be a cakewalk, but I still want to be prepared. This is one of those trips I want to do more to see what's there than to have tough obstacles to conquer.
 

J Everett

Suspension Lift
Founding Member
Location
Houma, LA
Word. I was gonna bump this myself today. Do we have anyone in LA besides me? I remember one guy posted up from the Monroe area (I think) and then I don't think he's been back since...
 

Ricer-X

Test Drive
Location
Houston, tx
Id be interested in this, but my x is 2wd, i may get my xj registered/inspected just for stuff like this. Itd be a shame to get all the way out there just to have yall tow my x through most if it, that would be tragically lame. The dates chosen may be too early for me to swing also, right on the heels of a 5 day trip to the 3000acre hidden falls adventure park
 

J Everett

Suspension Lift
Founding Member
Location
Houma, LA
We'd love to have you along Dustin. Honestly, I.m thinking about pushing the dates back anyway. Hurricane season is my number one worry about this trip at the moment.


How about everyone post up what dates are good for them, and then we can vote on it?
 

TN4x4Xterra

Suspension Lift
Location
Knoxville, TN
Maybe you guys could do a little cleanup (pick up the garbages) along the way...do a little clean up and show others that the Xterra folks care about the trails...
 

RATTFINK

XN OG Admin.
Founding Member
Location
Conroe, TX
Maybe you guys could do a little cleanup (pick up the garbages) along the way...do a little clean up and show others that the Xterra folks care about the trails...

I do this already as a Surfrider Foundation member and will most likely bring garbage bags when I head down.
 

J Everett

Suspension Lift
Founding Member
Location
Houma, LA
Awesome. I would love to have you along James.

So, as I mentioned above, let's start tossing out dates we're available and we'll try to narrow it down after that. I'm available every other week so I'll wait to see when some of you guys would like to go. Right now, I'd like to angle for sometime between Aug 1 and August 5.
 

J Everett

Suspension Lift
Founding Member
Location
Houma, LA
First week of August good for everyone else? I'm free all week, but I assume the weekend is best for everyone else, yes?


Sent from high Earth orbit via Telstar I.
 

Peck

Bought an X
Location
Texas
I'll see what my schedule has planned, business is a bit slow around that time as school nears.

And maybe I'll have my 35s.......
 

Roninjiro

Need Bigger Tires
Location
Austin,TX
I will most likely be working a wacky schedule to where I will have the 1st to 4th off that week, but work the 5th-8th. So right now I want to say it is a yea for me
 

J Everett

Suspension Lift
Founding Member
Location
Houma, LA
I'd like to go on Friday. We can meet up at the Flying J truck stop at I-10 exit 873 in Orange around 9 am (it takes me 4-5 hours to get there and I don't want to wake up too early). That will be a good spot to fuel up, get ice, food etc.. Then we can head down to Port Arthur.

Or, since you can leave I-10 in Beaumont and go straight to Port Arthur from there saving some time and fuel, we can meet in Port Arthur, but I don't really know a good spot to meet there. Maybe a Wal-Mart or something? Actually, meeting at a Wal-Mart would be good if it has a gas station attached or nearby. We can get gas and last minute items there. I'll look it up.
 

J Everett

Suspension Lift
Founding Member
Location
Houma, LA
OK, there's a Wal-Mart right off 87 in Port Arthur that we can meet at.

The address is:
4999 N Twin City Hwy
Port Arthur, TX 77642

http://goo.gl/maps/qHGA

That actually works better for me, since I plan to come along LA 82 through Cameron, LA on my way to Port Arthur.

Any objections to time and place?
 
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RATTFINK

XN OG Admin.
Founding Member
Location
Conroe, TX
I can meet in Beaumont or Port A. Takes me about 2hrs to get to Port A.

First week(end) of August still works for me. My little bro leaves for Texas A&M on the 15th, so maybe he can come too.
 

J Everett

Suspension Lift
Founding Member
Location
Houma, LA
That'd be awesome. I'm trying to get my brother-in-law to come along too, if he can get the time off. He's in the process of searching for and buying an airplane, so he may be reserving his time off for checking out planes and flying one home if he buys. I'd like to have someone along with me though.

I hope to have my new bumper bolted on and my CB installed by then. I should be getting my Volant from the old X installed on this week off. It's still practically brand new.
 

J Everett

Suspension Lift
Founding Member
Location
Houma, LA
I'm hoping to stay that night in Galveston and be home on Saturday. Bringing a tent and camping gear just in case, but I'd much prefer to sleep in an air conditioned hotel with a pool. :)


Sent from high Earth orbit via Telstar I.
 
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