Davis Mountain State Park, Texas

 

Can't get enough of the sunsets.

We left the Big Bend National Park area after many days with a greater appreciation of how large and diverse the area is. 

Fort Davis is north and the elevation lets us see more green bushes and the flowers along the road are are blooming. The sun is shining, not a cloud in the sky, cattle and horses dot the landscape.

 

Our new home

It is a little cooler here and after we checked in we had a bit of housekeeping to do as well as some grocery shopping. We hit the local market and were impressed at the selection there was in the store. We were able to replenish our craft beer selection with local beers so life is good.

To find mountains in Texas you have to travel to the western part of the state, called the Trans-Pecos region. This region is dotted with mountains, mostly small with desert plants. The three highest ranges are the Guadalupe,Davis, and Chisos ranges. These are tall enough to create their own weather. As the winds blow over the mountains the air rises, cools and condenses out rain. These areas receive about 10 more inches of rain than the surrounding desert does. This cooler temperature and more precipitation to foster the growth of forests on the mountain slopes. Davis Mountain State Park lies in this  lush area. The Davis Mountains are the second highest range in Texas. They are named after Jefferson Davis the Secretary of War who ordered the construction of Fort Davis, a frontier military installation. The mountains were formed some 35-39 million years ago by a volcanic eruption spewing ash and lava to form them.

 

Believe it or not I do not have any pictures of the Mountain or the campground we were in except for the sign. This picture give you an idea where the mountains are by Fort Davis.

We did go to town to have lunch one day and went to the nut house. Pecans were their thing. They did get their pistachio nuts from Alamogordo, New Mexico which we visited last year. You may recall the worlds largest Pistachio picture in my blog from there.

Fort Davis Natural Historical Site is the best preserved frontier fort in the southwest. Honestly it was an informative and a delightful day. It is too bad it is so far off the beaten path and too far for field trip for schools in the area. There aren't to many schools and the distance between schools make it an unlikely choice for a day trip. 

The Fort was established in 1854 to protect travelers and settlers in West Texas from attacks by Apache and Comanche Indians. It also was garrisoned  by black troops called Buffalo Soldiers by the Indians. Except for interruptions during the Civil War the fort was occupied until 1891. After that, some of the buildings were private residences until it was taken over by the National Park System.

 

Officer Quarters

 

Remains of walls of some of the other buildings

 

Typical camp site of the soldiers. A lot of the exhibits were covered in plastic to protect the during roof repairs.

 

Beds inside, heat system, gun racks. Bill chatting with volunteer.

 

Uniforms

 

Actual walls remaining in some buildings.

 

Bill got to visit with a volunteer about the rifles they used in the day.

 

It was very interesting and just a fluke the young man was there that day. 

 

Two specialty bullets. Notice the difference in the shapes. You will have to check with Bill about them, I was visiting with the roofer in the truck!

 

A statue commenerating the Buffalo Soldiers

 

The hospital 

 

Hospital Tools

 

Enough Said

 

 

Talk about a headache.

 

Lieutenants Quarters

 

Children's room. Check out the fox.

 

Sitting Room, Not to shabby.

 

Remains of another building 

 

Stables, Spectacular view, why would you want to leave here.

 

To the west of the fort rises another high wooded peak called Mount Locke. It is crowned with the white and silver domes of the McDonald Observatory.

Every day you can take guided tours of the facility, see a Twilight program discussing the moon and its phases and look at constellations that will be appearing in that nights sky. After dark you can return for the Star Party and look in the massive telescopes to see the craters on the moon, stars and planets in the night sky. Amazing. The night we went it was so cloudy we moved indoors and went to a series of chats about the moon and the new planets discovered. I think there are seven. By the time that was done the sky had cleared and we could go back outside and look through the giant telescopes. Volunteers were on hand to tell us what we were looking at. 

We saw Venus, Taurus the bull, the seven sisters and the moon. So very cool.

 

The Big Boys

 

 

The Observatory. The silver one by the building is the one we saw the moon in. The roofs open up and the whole Roof rotates as the earth turns and the view needs to adjust. 

Well, I want to get this posted so we can move on to Pancho Villa State Park in New Mexico 

See you all pretty soon. Hope you are all smiling! Love you.