Davis Mountains State Park, Fort Davis, Texas
Do not forsake your friend . . . . ~ Proverbs 27:10
It was waaaay too cold and windy to do anything outside besides walk to the Jeep and back! And even that was stretching it! Temperatures below 40⁰ and consistent wind speed of 25mph, gusting to 40 or so! But the skies were pretty clear and the sun was shining.
It was the perfect day to take a scenic drive. The town has one all spelled out for you – 74 miles long – all around and up and down, mountains, grasslands . . . .
Part of that drive includes a visit to the McDonald Observatory, A research facility of the University of Texas at Austin. It’s part of the UT Austin Astronomy Program. We’d read about it, and the fact that they have “Star Parties” on certain nights and had considered attending, but it was last night and skies were very cloudy. This is their ‘off’ time, but when it’s ‘on’? They have over 500 people who attend! Supposedly people from all over attend.
The Observatory was dedicated in 1939 and is one of the largest facilities, with world-class research efforts, and cutting-edge telescopes and instruments. They also collaborate with other researchers and observatories around the world. Here’s part of what we found inside:
Not sure why Blaine put me in the shade. : )
I wonder if anyone ever donates their wealth anymore?
That’s him under the blue arrow.
And then they gave us a pass to drive up on our own and take a self-guided tour. Boy, was it windy!!! And freezing!!! You could hear the wind whipping around the various observatories on the property! And the cold saturated us to our very bones! Still, I found it perversely fun and beautiful and laughed and smiled a lot. But I think I was the only one. 😊
I asked Blaine to climb a rail fence to take it.
He doesn’t deny me much. : )
Once we finished up there, we continued on our scenic drive.
And stopped in the town of Fort Davis to look around at the historic buildings.
It’s served as many things over the years,
but we couldn’t get a picture of the information board because of sun glare.
Actually, there were a couple outside the hotel.
Pretty early in the year fo that.
Spaghetti for dinner, then an evening before the fireplace at the lodge playing chicken-foot dominos. Another terrific day – despite the cold!
