Fort Davis Frontier Fort, National Historical Site

Hi all, Dianne here.  This is our last post from Davis Mountain State Park.  One afternoon we decided to visit the Fort Davis National Historical Site, which is just outside the state park.

Fort Davis was constructed to straddle the San Antonio-El Paso frontier road in 1854 to protect emigrants, mail coaches, and stagecoaches traveling through.  Troops were stationed there until 1891, including the famous Buffalo Soldiers black infantry troops.

First, Roger and I watched the short video in the visitors' center narrated by Kareem Abdul Jabbar, then we set out to walk around the grounds.  We enjoyed viewing the foundation ruins of many of the older buildings.

Some of the buildings that are still intact have period furnishings, such as the above interior view of one of the soldiers' barracks.  All of the furnished displays are behind glass partitions, but I was able to photo them by putting my camera up to the glass and turning off the flash.


One of the interesting features of touring Fort Davis was the schedule of bugle calls given out at the visitor's center.  Thirty-two times per day, at different intervals, a loudspeaker would sound different bugle calls.  Our bugle call schedule told us what each call meant in the soldier's day.  For example, the call that we heard at 1:50 was to alert cavalrymen to put on their riding boots and saddle their horses.  It gave us a flavor of life on an active military post.


Here is a shot of the homes in Officers' Row:

The Commanding Officer's quarters were furnished.  

Once again, I took a few photos through the glass partitions:

The photo below shows the children's room:

Before we left the Commanding Officer's quarters, I sat for a minute on the porch swing on the shady front veranda and enjoyed the cool breeze.  All I needed to complete the vignette was a glass of lemonade!

There were four abandoned two-story officers' quarters on the site; nothing inside but decaying floorboards over dirt floors, broken plaster, and stairways to nowhere (I peeked). 


After we toured the fort, we went back to the visitors' center to look at the museum displays inside.  Here's one I found especially interesting:

We really enjoyed touring the fort, even more than we expected to.  


History nerd that I am, I'm also reading a terrific Texas history book entitled "Gone to Texas."  512 pages, so it's not for the faint of heart!  I'm just now up to the civil war, and I've been reading it for weeks.  Here's a link to Amazon if you want more info,

but I bought the Kindle version for $19.  If you do have a Kindle, I also discovered a FREE book download that had been recommended to us by a man (a retired Texas oil man) that Roger met at our campground.  Here's a link to the book info, but to get the free Kindle version you would need to look for that specifically on the Amazon web site (guess they don't give links to free stuff!)  

I can't wait to read this one, because the man Roger spoke with said that Larry McMurtry used this book as a source for some of the Lonesome Dove story lines.  The author, Andy Adams, actually kept logs on cattle drives he went on as a teen and wrote this book in his later years.


Okay, that's your Texas history lesson for today.   


 Here's the pet photo of the day.  This is a more flattering shot of Charlie the Cat than the "basketball kitty" photo Roger posted a few blog entries back:

West Texas Nightlife with Roger and Dianne

Roger here....   The science teachers who taught in the building where I was a principal...and me, as a former science teacher...would be so proud of our fun the last couple of nights. 


 We know that our night life experiences should have taken place when we were in L.A.  Who knew that we would find night-time fun in the desolate vastness of West Texas!


Let's start with last night.  When we knew we would be able to renew our reservations at Davis Mountain State Park -- just outside of Ft. Davis, TX -- I went to the McDonald Observatory website and was able to score the last two spots for a night to remember.  At 6:30 p.m. Dianne and I entered the Starlight Cafe to join a group that would be touring the 107-inch Harlan J. Smith reflective telescope.  


The shadow clock (sundial) outside the reception area was cool.

Hmm!  5:45 p.m.  Early again.  My fault.  I thought the gift shop would be open.  I don't need another t-shirt anyway, but I would have liked one.


We took several shots of the telescopic domes while we waited for the others to arrive and the doors to open.

I counted seven telescopic domes.  There were probably more.

After a delicious Texas-style brisket dinner we adjourned to the auditorium where Judy, a museum docent,  did an excellent presentation of spectroscopy and its role in analyzing stars and 
planets.  Oh, to have had the advantage of gaseous vacuum tubes, bright lights, and spectroscopy filters when I was a science teacher.  Her explanations gave a clearer explanation to what the resident research astronomer would present.  


Paul Robertson, an astronomy doctoral student from the University of Texas, talked with us about the Kepler Project.  The Kepler Satellite is documenting, through spectroscopy, the presence of countless stars that have planets in their orbits -- many of them rocky planets with water that can support life.  I have always believed that we are not alone.  This research is amazingly convincing.  Do you remember Jodie Foster in Contact?

After the presentation, we got in our cars and traveled to the top of the mountain.  The sun was descending.


The multi-level dome protecting the Harlan J. Smith Telescope was imposing.

We walked seventy steps up into the observatory to see the largest telescope that the general public is allowed to observe.  

It gave me chills watching the dome revolve as the slot opened while, at the same time, the 160-ton telescope moved to the exact position for the viewing.  It was an otherworldly experience;  it felt like Star Wars.  

We saw real-time views of Saturn and its moons (no ability to take photos), followed by real-time (minus a multitude of light-years) photos of the M-3 star cluster.  I never imagined that I would get to experience this, first-hand.  Amazing.  


Speaking of otherworldly....  A couple of nights ago at twilight, while walking the dogs, Dianne said, "Let's drive to Marfa and see the lights."  I was weary and wanted to head for the couch, but WOW, am I glad we went.


Marfa is a small Texas town.  Its claims to fame are its beautiful court house (seen in the prior post), the site for the movie set of Giant starring James Dean, Rock Hudson, and Elizabeth Taylor, and the infamous Marfa Lights.

The Marfa Lights...  Since the 1800s, white men and Native Americans have observed this unexplained phenomenon -- unexplained lights near the horizon viewed across the flat plains during the night.  According to rumor, they are visible about 10 percent of the time.


I must admit that I was skeptical.  I expected the two of us to be standing in the dark, alone, attempting to see something that was not there.  I was wrong.  When we arrived at approximately 9:30 p.m., other people at the viewing site pointed out the lights to us.  OMG. They were there.  They were not a hoax.  
They were evident and prominent in the sky.  Sometimes they were bright and stationary.  
Other times they were faint.  
Sometimes near the horizon; sometimes, slightly higher.  
Sometimes vertically above a previous sighting.  Sometimes horizontally to the right or the left.  Sometimes, popping in and out of view.  Sometimes fading in and out.  
They did not move in a line, just popped in and out of view.  
Sometimes alone.  
Sometimes with as many as four other lights. 


 I could not believe that I was actually seeing them, but there was no doubt, as others in the viewing area confirmed the same thing that I was seeing.  Close Encounters of the Third Kind came to mind.  Remember the scene of the fanatics standing outside, waiting for the spaceships to speed around the curve in the road?  We were the fanatics!


I wanted to hum the theme from Close Encounters, and should have.  People would have laughed.  But I didn't.  


I don't know what we saw, but I know that we saw it.  Wow!  Contact, Star Wars, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind -- three of my favorite movies all in just a couple of West Texas nights!


The pet picture of the day is entitled a cowboy and his dog.

Davis Mountain State Park

Hi all, Dianne here.  The Traveling Whippet-Mobile headed north from Lajitas about 100 miles, to the higher elevation of the Davis Mountain State Park.  Several weeks ago, around April 9, the Texas State Park folks had called us to inform us that they were closing Davis Mountain State Park because of the serious Rock Hill wildfire that was burning thousands of acres in this area.  We cancelled our reservations and were contemplating a "Plan B" until last week, when we found that the park had been reopened.  We promptly made new reservations for the same dates.

The wildfires in Texas are no joke.  There has been little or no rain in parts of Texas since last September.  We know personally that it did not rain the entire four months we were in Mission, except for scattered drops one night (that didn't even wet the pavement).  

As we drove north from Lajitas and entered the area around Marfa, we encountered acre after acre of blackened landscape.  Here's a link to a Reuters news story about the Rock House fire.  One of the four photos in this story shows a temporary sign "Loose Cattle" along the roadway.  We passed that sign as we drove to the state park, and I thought at the time I'd never seen a sign like that before.  Turns out, the fire had burned fences and let loose the cattle!  http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/18/us-texas-wildfires-ranchers-idUSTRE73G2I220110418

The small town of Marfa, Texas (best known for its mysterious lights) also has one of the beautiful court houses that can be found in towns all over Texas:

This photo Roger took at our campsite at Davis Mountain State Park (#16) shows just how close the fire came to burning the entire campground down.  This burn area is only a few feet from our picnic table.  We understood why the park was closed!  The Rock House wildfire burned for about three weeks.

We took a short drive on the skyline road the next day, and saw an area of the park that was not so lucky as the campground.  The park's radio building was completely burned, as well as the entire hill surrounding it:

As we walked around the burned area, a park ranger drove up and started snapping photos of the burn damage.  We talked to her a bit, and she explained that the wildfire roared this way from Marfa in 26 minutes' time, and that they had only a half hour to evacuate the park!  Marfa is about 22 miles from Ft. Davis, so that means the wildfire was traveling around 60 miles per hour!  

They evacuated to the McDonald Observatory, and from that hilly vantage point could "Watch our whole world burning," as she put it.  Her home was spared, but she explained that two park employees lost everything they owned in the fire.  

The wildlife here is amazing, even though part of the park has burned to a crisp.  The three deer in the opening photo walked right up to our motor home to eat some brush at our site.

 There is a bird observation area, with a covered shady nook with benches overlooking several types of bird feeders.  While here, so far I've added about 18 birds to my life list!  Some of the more interesting ones include the black-headed grosbeak (shown), blue grosbeak, rose-breasted grosbeak, a female summer tanager, black-crested titmouse, lesser goldfinches, acorn woodpecker, and many more.  I think we have good timing, because this is bird migration time in Texas, so some of the birds we've seen are just passing through on their way north.  The observation area is set up mainly to observe the Montezuma quail that frequent here, but I have not seen one.

I hung my hummingbird feeder out when we arrived here, and within ten minutes a flock of black-chinned hummingbirds were swarming it.  I've had to re-fill it each day since we arrived.


Roger had his own close encounter of the animal-kind when walking Bandido.  I'll let him fill you in on that one!


Roger here....  Bandido and I were taking a short walk back to the motor home from the bird blind.  We passed six javelinas that were wandering around a parking area.  Bandido did a little growling, but did not want to get close.

A few minutes later, while approaching the motor home, I noticed one of the javelinas at our water connection.  He seemed to be nudging and chewing on our water filter.  When we (Bandido and me) got closer, we saw that water was spraying in all directions.  He had damaged the filter to the point of causing a leak.  Poor thing.  He was just trying to get some water, but he needed to move on and I needed to stop the leak.

As Bandido (very subdued - the big chicken) and I approached and challenged the javelina, it stepped aside, turned toward me, and started a staring contest.  Look at those eyes -- I don't think he liked us.  Mr. Javelina was saying, "Hey, I found this water and I am not leaving.  I will charge if you don't leave me alone."   Bandido was saying, "No problem, let's go Dad!"

I have to admit I felt a little bit of discomfort as I picked up a rock to defend us (me and my dog).  The stare-down continued for longer than it should have.  Then the Javelina trotted away.  Score one for me and the chicken-dog.


In Bandido's defense, another javelina approached the campsite just a few minutes ago.  Dianne was outside with Bandido.  This time our brave dog growled and barked, no doubt protecting Dianne.  Good Dog!

Dianne again:  There are two pet photos of the day.  The first one shows how Bandido likes to treat "Mommy" like a chew toy.  When he's scolded, though, he'll give me a big hug:

I think the title of this photo should be "Big Hug from a Big Lug."

Dianne's First Round of Golf

Roger here...  OK, Dianne did not really play a round of golf.  HOWEVER, we did walk the front-nine of the Lajitas Golf and Spa Resort.  The Black Jack Crossing Golf Course was closed due to damage from a hard freeze last winter.  It was closed to golfing, but open for a canine hike for the resort guests.  According to Dianne's pedometer our hike was 6.5 miles.  The last part, when the water was running out, really did seem longer.

Bandido was sporting his new backpack (as a very smart herding dog, he needs a job).  He carried all of our water, including the human water, plus the doggie water dish, and the binoculars.  


Since a young man, I have always disliked golf.  I learned to play when I was nine.  My parents and my younger brother --- a very good golfer --- loved it.  I found it frustrating.  I hated it when I was close to breaking a personal record, and then invariably hit the ball in the creek.  


I coached a JH golf team for a while, and really enjoyed it (even though my 13-year-olds were much better than me).  But golf is an activity that I voluntarily gave up when I realized that I was causing myself more stress than enjoyment.  

Walking a magnificent course with amazing scenery is another matter.  The setting was so cool that I actually enjoyed mimicking a tee-shot into the valley below.  To my brother, Dick....  The scenery on this course rivals the course at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel -- different, but amazing, nonetheless.


Back to the hike...


One must be vigilant when negotiating the cart paths.

Dianne has never been a golf fan, but she had fun on this hike.  There were trees that sported orchid-like flowers.

And other flowering plants...

Oh, and the cart paths in the canyons had waterfalls.

The course was as scenic as a national park hike. The paved cart paths helped make the hike easier on the feet.

The middle of the hike was grueling, as we were running out of water.  Chaplin (and Dianne) were complaining.

Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.... Well, not really...  Bandido got several good drinks.  Dianne and I had several slurps.  Chaplin refused to drink; he seldom does anything unless it is his idea.    

Almost back to the resort.  The scenery continues to amaze..

Time to "reload"?  Too bad, the reloading station was also closed.  Maybe a nineteenth hole later?












Dianne here:  Our friends, Nancy and Bill, asked about the neck "thing-y's" that I wrote about in yesterday's blog.  Here's a close-up photo of them:

The absorbent beads are just in the center half, with bead-less ends for tying.  Here's a close-up of the tag.  The reverse of the tag shows the web site:

www.blubandoo.com

They are actually called "neckbandoos" and can also be purchased from Amazon.com in different patterns and styles.

  If you're clever with a sewing machine, I don't think they'd be difficult to make, if you could find the absorbent beads. -- D.

Back at the resort, I took a short walk along the back nine, while Dianne took the boys back to the motor home for food and more water.  The view from the back nine along the wash near the Rio Grande was so cool.  (Love the colors -- D.)

Dianne will be adding a story about the possibility of an international hole-in-one, before a devastating flood....


Dianne here:  I came across this old article that had appeared on pga.com about the golf course and resort at Lajitas.  Since this article was written, the entire "town" of Lajitas has changed ownership, to what Roger's river guide called a more affordable property for people to visit.  It started out very high-end, with a private airport, etc.


http://dyn.pga.com/news/travel/southwest/lajitas071405.cfm


 Since this article was written, the golf course has experienced a devastating flood, which forced moving several holes -- including the very cool hole shown in the photo of the article -- where you could tee off across the border to a green on the Mexico side.  The only reason to do this was try for a hole-in-one, because golfers were not allowed to cross the border to retrieve the balls.  When I first saw the neat structure from the photo in this link, I thought it was old ruins.  Obviously, it was just a backdrop for this very unique hole-in-one opportunity!  Back to Roger....


After the round, and a shower and clothing change, we moseyed on down to the main street of the resort to find refreshment.

The nineteenth hole was at the "Thirsty Goat Saloon" at the resort.  At one time, it is said that this saloon was famous for the beer-guzzling goat -- Henry Clay.  Dianne and I had a Shiner Bock draft.  No sign of Henry Clay at the bar today, or any other goats, for that matter.

The pet picture of the day shows Bandido as he overcomes his fear of water in one of the many
 streams along the Black Jack Crossing Golf Course.