We drove to Fort Davis, Texas, to visit the McDonald Observatory and do some star gazing. They have a Solar Viewing and tour in the afternoon. They pointed a telescope at the sun with some filters and we got to view the sun like never before. There was a nice lecture and afterwards a tour of the observatory that was informative and fun. The tour guide was great.
Then there was a twilight program. The moon was nearly full. The plan was to show us the moon in the same fashion they showed us the sun in the afternoon: run the image from a telescope, through electronics, and project the image onto a movie screen. Our bad luck was that the sky was cloudy at twilight and we had to settle for a lecture with graphics.
At night the McDonald Observatory has a Star Party. We went to an amphitheater and someone from the observatory used a green laser to point out stars to us. The laser was fabulous. We could actually tell which star he was pointing towards because of the laser pointer. He pointed out constellations and named key stars. It was fabulous. As a bonus, the International Space Station flew overhead and we could see it; it looked like a bright star moving quickly across the sky. We also saw a satellite pass over. A large number of telescopes were setup, pointing at different stars, star clusters, and also the moon. The moon, nearly full, was breathtaking through a good sized telescope.
I highly recommend visiting the McDonald Observatory. At the town of Fort Davis we stayed at the Stone Village Tourist Camp. The hotel is from 1935, but has been renovated. Our room was charming, with attractive bed covers, headboards, and comfortable sheets. It was quaint, comfortable, and attractive. The proprietor, Randall Kinzie, was friendly and helpful. The Davis Mountain Nut Company was across the street from our hotel. They have fabulous glazed pecans in seven flavors, not counting the spicy flavors. We loved these pecans and bought several tins for gifts.
We ate breakfast and lunch at Lupita's Place. We had supper at the Blue Mountain Bistro, next to the Hotel Limpia. Lupita's is home style cooking at a neighborhood restaurant. The Bistro is fine dining in a beautiful facility.
Near Fort Davis is the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center & Botanical Garden. It was wonderful. The botanical garden had very many types of cacti. It was interesting to learn about the Chihuahuan Desert. The trails were fascinating. Because you are in the mountains and it is rocky, you better served by hiking boots with thick soles than by sneakers. My sneakers did not have thick soles and rocks were uncomfortable. My feet, however, were fine when we left.
We did not find the Davis Mountains State Park worth our time. It is a camping facility and we were not camping. There is a hotel in the park, the Indian Lodge. The restaurant at the Indian Lodge is the Black Bear Restaurant, which is closed Monday and Tuesday. With the Black Bear Restaurant closed, guests at the Indian Lodge have a lengthy drive for food.
The Davis Mountains are ruggedly handsome. As you drive around this area, which includes the town of Marfa and the famous Prada Store, which is not in Marfa, but not too far away. Driving from Marfa to the Prada Store we drove by a Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS). It is an unmanned blimp in the middle of nowhere. It is eye-catching, pretty cool from an engineer's perspective.
At the Stone Village Market I discovered a budding artist. Caleb Jagger is a clerk at the Stone Village Market and a talented photographer. Check out the photos at his website: http://www.calebjagger.com. I purchased a number of his photos as stationary cards. He does not have a shopping cart in his website, but I plan to email him about buying more of his cards. My favorites are (1) Moonrise Over Willow Mountain, Terlingua, Texas, (2) Limpia Crossing, Fort Davis, Texas, and (3) Christmas Peak, Terlingua, Texas.
If you want to visit the McDonald Observatory, I can say there are sites and activities near the observatory that will make your trip worthwhile.
Robert
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