A visitor to our camp site at Ft. Davis
Thursday – Ft. Davis attractions
Why did we come to Ft. Davis? The folks in the Airstream caravan we met in Terlingua gave it high marks. Our adventures today confirmed their recommendation.
- Ft. Davis – the city has the highest elevation of any in Texas … nearly a mile. The Ft. Davis National Historic Site is here. The fort, named for Jefferson Davis, protected the area from1854 until 1891. It was the home of the famed “buffalo soldiers” and provided primary protection for the El Paso-San Antonio road travelers. The tour of the restored grounds and buildings was very interesting.
- McDonald Observatory – the observatory is at nearly 7,000 feet. It’s operated by the University of Texas and has 12 telescopes of various sizes. We toured the 107 and 432 inch telescopes. The “432” is the 5th largest in the world. We registered for the “Twilight Program” and “Star Party” that begin at 7pm tomorrow.
The 432" observatory
The 107" telescope
- Davis Mountains Scenic Tour – we drove this National Geographic recommended route after leaving the observatory. The 2 hour drive offered wonderful views of mountains, hills and deserts. There were lots of ranches and cattle.
Tidbits:
- We had 4 hungry deer around our picnic table while we were fixing dinner. We retreated to the trailer.
- A javelina strolled through our campsite. They are very aggressive.
- Bugs (mostly butterflies and grasshoppers) abound. The car grill was a mess when we got back from the tour.
Friday – Ft. Davis
- We had to move the trailer to a tent site (no water, elec or sewer) because all trailer sites were previously reserved.
- Drove the skyline drive high above the campsite and had a picnic lunch
View from the top of skyline drive.
- Viewed the Ft. Davis courthouse (built in 1910).
- Went to McDonald Observatory for the Twilight Program and Star Party from 7 to 10pm. The experience was phenomenal. Carol volunteered to be Mercury during a Twilight Program demo ... she had to run around the Sun 4 times faster than the guy playing Earth. It was really funny. The sky was crystal clear. We got to view the Milky Way, Venus, Jupiter, the Big & Little Dippers, North Star and many constellations. A satellite and the Hubbell telescope passed overhead during the viewing. We looked at Jupiter, a Nebula and several star clusters through a telescope. Wow!
Tidbits:
Saturday – Seminole Canyon
- Today we drove 196 miles to Seminole Canyon State Park (30 miles NW of Del Rio). The park is by the Pecos River where it spills into the Rio Grande. Ancient people carved homes in the steep cliffs along the river.
- We stopped at Langtry on the way. This is the home of Judge Roy Bean (the “law west of the Pecos”). Do you remember the TV series starring Edgar Buchanan? Langtry isn't visible from the highway, it's tucked behind a hill and consists of the historic site and a few little businesses. How can such a small place have such a large impact on history?
Tidbits:
- We had frost at Ft. Davis
- We're in a very remote area. Terrell County only has two towns that show on the AAA Texas map. Suspect they flipped a coin to decide the county seat.
- We saw a Road Runner (beep-beep) in Langtry
- The park is in the desert. We're parked on a rise that lets us see glowing red sunsets and clear, star-lit skys.
Sunday – Seminole Canyon
- We took a 2 hour guided canyon tour of Seminole Canyon. The canyon has caves with world-class examples of indian stone painting (pictographs) that date back approximately 4,000 years. We hiked to the Bell Fate Shelter and saw the paintings below ... and many more.
The river bed we walked to Bell Fate Shelter
Artwork
- We then drove to Del Rio to look for historic sites that date back to the Civil War. We were tempted to walk over to Ciudad Acuna Mexico, but didn't have the needed paperwork.
- We drove through the Amistad National Recreation Area. It includes the huge, beautifully blue Amistad Reservoir.
Tidbits:
- Gas was $2.469 per gallon in Del Rio
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