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UPDATED 8/7/18
The altitude of Davis Mountain State Park in Fort Davis, Texas promised some relief from the scorching West Texas heat – at this point anything under 3-digit temps felt darn good to us! Our first night there we were treated to an enormous thunderstorm with driving rain and winds that rocked the trailer hard; but the next morning was fine, and we got an early start hiking to spectacular views of our campground and the Davis Mountain valley. We espied mountain goats – hold the phone! they are Barbary Sheep and considered invasive – clambering on the rocky, sheer slopes. They are true acrobats!
Granted they are small, but how many Barbary Sheep (aka aoudad ) can you count here? We counted at least 7 in the picture.
A fire ban was in effect, so Dorian was surprised to have cool ash land on his arm one afternoon. Turns out this ash had floated over from a forest fire – distant enough for safety; but unfortunately its smoke and ash somewhat obscured our celestial viewing at the McDonald Observatory Star Party, where hundreds of folks gathered to observe nebulas, planets, clusters etc. through the observatory’s collection of powerful telescopes.
We took a scenic drive to Balmorhea State Park, but our attempt to bathe in the park’s famous spring-fed pool was foiled – the pool was closed for repairs. Instead we enjoyed walking the grounds and looking at these huge black catfish in the culvert that feeds the pool.
Our camper is in the lower right corner of the picture.
Texas has an amazing number of wildflowers. One of us has never been that interested in flowers and thinks of wildflowers as weeds but even he admits that the sheer quantity of them was fantastic.
McDonald Observatory in the sooty-hazy air. The other picture reminds us that soot can lead to great sunrises and sunsets.
Signs that you are approaching a dive bar.
A sign that you are drinking at a dive bar with a cat.
Signs that your presence makes the dive bar crowd happy, for some reason.
Nearby Marfa beckoned one evening for viewing the mysterious “Marfa lights” of unknown origin that sometimes wink, float and dance eerily in the desert night sky. We think we saw a couple of these lights – but the real fun was checking out Marfa’s local eateries and watering holes. The Lost Horse Saloon appealed with its cheerful run-downedness and outdoor seating, where Pippi could join us while we enjoyed a libation. There was no access to the outdoor seating except via the musty, dark saloon and then on through…what passed for a kitchen (yes, with Pippi). The cook was poking something around an electric fry skillet perched on top of what looked like a rickety card table…we decided we’d just have a beer and look for dinner elsewhere! Pictured are the saloon’s resident cats, who lounged on the bartop and hissed at Pippi (after she’d been unfriendly to them).
Signs that you are in a dive bar with your phone out, snapping pictures like the tourist that you are.
After being disappointed by our first several Marfa restaurant choices for one reason or another, we serendipitously ended up at the Hotel Paisano. The courtyard seating was gorgeously charming, and the gleaming, Spanish baroque hotel is where Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean spent a lot of time while filming Giant at the nearby Evans Ranch.
Would We Come Back?
Would We Come Back?
Yes! There were a lot of areas nearby that we didn't get a chance to see, such as Balmorhea State Park. Balmorhea is not a disease that you get from swimming at the park, it is the initials of the founders of the town, not one of whom had a good ear for language, apparently. Balmorhea State Park has a really interesting spring-fed swimming pool which was closed to fix a big crack in the pool caused by stress from their high diving board. We peered longingly through the fence at it but were allowed no closer. We'd also like to see Big Bend National Park, which is near-ish to where we were in the Davis Mountains.
Davis Mountain State Park was also great and even had full hookups for RVs. Due to its elevation, it was a bit cooler than most of the surrounding areas and that was actually the main reason we chose to stay there. But it was so nice, with great hiking trails and views of the night sky when the soot clears, that we'd happily go back.
Would We Live Here?
Would We Live Here?
Would we live in rural West Texas? Really? You need to ask that question? Seriously, it is beatiful country there, but it's no country for old men, so to speak. And, as we've been saying for a while... it gets *so* hot there.
(Below text is duplicated for all West Texas/Trans-Pecos River entries)
If we were going to consider living in West Texas due to the invention of personal air conditioners that bathed you in a thin bubble of cool air kind of like a giant, human-sized air condom, we'd then look at the water situation to make sure that area of the country could handle severe droughts without having to resort to water wars.
More recent water disputes are described here http://articles.latimes.com/2013/may/03/opinion/la-oe-0503-moore-water-west-compacts-20130503 or just watch Chinatown, with Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway which is a great movie about the water industry in California.
To be fair, much of the Western US has this problem, not just West Texas.
Just some pictures of the area...
Just some pictures of the area...
Indian Lodge is in the distant background.
Fort Davis in the distance
The pyramidal mountain on the left was recognizable from all angles and we saw it for miles and miles as we approached the Davis Mountains. And here, it is seen from the Davis Mountains.
A scene from a trail within the state park.
A trail that led to a peak above the campground.
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