MAY 11, 2013   FORT DAVIS & THE DAVIS MOUNTAINS

Our plan for today was to drive to Fort Davis and tour the fort before meanandering along a scenic drive that circles a good portion of the Davis Mountains.  The next stop in our proposed route was to stop at the McDonald Conservatory and this is where everything fell off the tracks.  It was here that I discovered there was no card in the camera.  Some idiot forgot to put it back after downloading yesterday’s pictures. Grrrrrrrrrrr.  I am not going to name names but I am not going to look in a mirror either.

Since we had gotten away at the crack of noon and the fact we didn’t have any pictures we decided to head back to the RV Park and start again tomorrow.   We turned it around and headed into Alpine for a few groceries before settling in for the night.

I was initially upset that we had lost a day but then I realized that Hey, we are retired.  Who cares.

 

MAY 12, 2013   FORT DAVIS & THE DAVIS MOUNTAINS.  (Take 2)

It was déjà vu all over again as we found ourselves turning left out of the RV Park towards Fort Davis.  We could see the beginning of the Davis Mountains in the distance and as we got closer we stopped to take a few pictures.  One of which was Mitre Peak, a unique shape that stands higher than the surrounding area. 

Mitre Peak

Mitre Peak



We arrived at Fort Davis and began our tour. 

The first part of the tour was a short video of the history of Fort Davis.  The fort was established by Lieut. Col. Washington Seawell in October 1894.  The main purpose of the fort was to protect travelers on the San Antonio – El Paso Road.  The fort was named after Jefferson Davis who at that time was Secretary of War.   Fort Davis played an integral part in bringing about a peaceful settlement of the region.  It was deactivated in 1891.

 

Fort Davis Parada Ground

 

 

 

 

We left the fort and started on the scenic drive through the Davis Mountains which is the second highest range in Texas. I am not sure which range is the highest but I am assuming we will find out when we get to Big Bend National Park.

Prior to reaching the Observatory this little fellow ran across the road in front of us and then cleared a 5 foot fence with ease.   The second picture is a shot of some of the geography we are driving through.

 

We reached the turnoff for the McDonald Observatory and started to climb. 

 

 

 

We couldn’t go inside the Observatory without taking a tour and that was not on our agenda but we did go to the highest point to get a real nice 360 degree view of the surrounding countryside.  The Observatory is also the highest accessible point in Texas.

 

 



We left the observatory and continued on with our scenic drive and drove through some pretty nice country.  Some of the more notable sights were Sawtooth Mountain and a pile of rocks called The Rock.  Imagine that.   We stopped for lunch at a picnic area and many stops for pictures.  It was a very enjoyable drive.

 

Sawtooth Mountain



The Rock Pile



The Rock Pile



 

 

As we completed the scenic drive we decided to head over to a town called Marfa.  Marfa is a small town with a population of around 1900 people.    Marfa is a tourist destination with attractions that include artisan shops, historical architecture, a classic Texas town square, modern art at the Chinati Foundation and art galleries.  Morley Safer did one of his signature pieces on CBS' 60 Minutes on the town, its history, and quirkiness on April 14, 2013. So we thought we should take a look.  The only problem was it was Sunday and everything was closed up tight.  So we took a drive around the town and then started back towards Alpine.

We had one stop and that was a few miles out of town at The Marfa Lights viewing station.  Marfa is very well known for the mystery lights or ghost lights that occur over the Chihuahuan Desert.  This is where the viewing station is located.  They have gained some fame as onlookers have ascribed them to paranormal phenomena such as ghosts, UFOs, or Will-o'-the-wisp, etc. However, research suggests that most, if not all, are atmospheric reflections of automobile headlights and campfires.  We are not sure if we are going back to have a look for ourselves.

 

Marfa Lights Viewing Station

 

We left the viewing centre and headed home.  It was a good retired day.