Fort Stockton is our overnight. Couldn’t resist stopping for a Kodak moment with the Road Runner statue that marks the town. Next step, set up camp.
RV park loosely describes this dusty field, about 10 acres of partially paved, partially graveled but level space. Wide open except for the power poles with sagging wires connecting utilities to sites, mostly housing full time residents, we were advised by Forum friends to stay clear of their shower rooms so it was a relief to find a new Flying J with spotless showers up the road a ways.
Leaving Wal-Mart, we were greeted by a striking buttery moon rising above the hills. Tried in vain to capture it, but not one picture was worth sharing…back to Nikon For Dummies. Returned to LilyPad happily hooked up to 50 amp with cable TV, shades down, world shut out, all is quiet.
Things that go “bump” in the night mooch around West Texas Hill Country. The moochers are often brought in by “there’s always one” stupid camper ignoring direct instructions to keep edibles inside cars/RV’s. Javelinas boldly go where they are uninvited, invading campgrounds waving dagger sharp tusks, Black Bear stroll off-road looking for munchies, mountain lions trail down from the hills stalking mini meals, snakes crawl out of the ground soaking up the afternoon sun and bugs buzz around zeroing in on blood of any sort…it’s a jungle out here!
Arrived in the high desert of the Trans-Pecos, far West Texas, located between Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park. Our stay for the next few nights is Davis Mountain State Park.
After the park host suggested a ride up to Skyline Drive to see the sunset, we drove up again for the sunrise. That sunrise comes darn early!
West Texas has its own marque of beauty. The highway is rolling with green Joshua Trees and cacti sprouting up between the black scrub and wheat colored dead grasses subsidizing the desert scene.
Back at the camp, the new bird viewing area caught our attention and we stopped to check it out. Yep, lots of birds.
In nearby Marfa, El Paisano Hotel, a Spanish Baroque style built in the 1930’s for the expected oil boom that never materialized, is stuffed with little curio/art shops.
Giant, from Edna Ferber’s novel, was filmed in this part of the country. Movie stars Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Sal Mineo and Jane Withers, among others, were guests while they were filming and it served as the headquarters for Warner Brothers film crew of more than 300 in1955 with the completion of the movie in 1956. After its decline in the 70’s, it was bought and converted into timeshare condo’s, abandoned and foreclosed. In 2001, for $185,000. it was purchased, renovated and 33 rooms were reopened as a hotel.
Marfa, founded in the early 1880’s as a railroad water stop, was named “Marfa” after Marfa Strogoff, a character in the Jules Vern novel Michael Strogoff. As with many water stops along new railways, it too evolved into a new settlement.
Presidio County courthouse in Marfa, built in 1886 in Second Empire style of stone and brick quarried in Marfa, interesting but appears an odd structural design for the Wild West.
Halfway between Marfa and Alpine on US 90 is the viewing area for the mysterious Marfa Lights. Native Americans knew about the lights long before the first recorded sightings in 1883 by Robert Reed Ellison and cowhands camped at Mitchell Flats. Ellison thought, at first, it might be Apaches but no evidence of an Apache encampment was found. Wagon trains traveling along the Chihuahuya Trail reported seeing unexplained lights in the mid-19th century.
The viewing area, designed by Marfa High School Gifted and Talented students with the help of TXDOT, is an impressive showcase for viewing and someday we will return to celebrate the mystery at the Marfa Lights Festival in September on Labor Day Weekend and perchance view the night time appearing lights.
Met up with some of our Tiffin family traveling from Quartzsite, AZ, they on their way to other parts of TX, we on our way to NM, AZ,CA and on to our Bowl and Pitcher work camp assignment. Had an enjoyable visit while making plans to check out Fort Davis, the incredible nighttime star display at McDonald Observatory and Big Bend Museum in Alpine.
Our trek up the mountain to the McDonald Observatory with our group of 8 began with the Twilight Program and a view of the sunset from outside the theater. Strangely, some parents felt it necessary to put bright flashing light shoes on their children’s feet, defeating the purpose of star observation in a light free atmosphere. The guides quickly covered each foot with removable tape, repeated the “no flashlights” request and we walked up to the 5 telescopes in a dark night sky with only a few dim red glows from ports near the walkway.
The telescopes offered a magnificent view of a galaxy, Jupiter and three of its moons and star clusters. Crisp clear mild weather with stars shining as bright as, well…stars. Thoroughly enjoyable night, but again, Nikon For Dummies didn’t help filming night stars.
Our group spent the morning in Fort Davis, an example of an Indian Wars’ military post of 1854. The strategically located position was used to protect emigrants, mail coaches and freight wagons on the Trans-Pecos portion of the San Antonio/El Paso Road and on the Chihuahua Trail.
A tidbit of info I found interesting was that in 1859, US Secretary of War Jefferson Davis convinced congress, at a cost of $30,000.00, to import 2 dozen camels to Fort Davis to haul supplies instead of mules or oxen. Known as the U.S. Camel Corps, the experiment failed as the Army declined to adopt them for military use. Even though they were able to haul 400 pounds of supplies, climb steep mountains where horses had difficulties and go for days without water, horses were frightened of the peculiar animals and their unpleasant disposition made them difficult to manage. By the time the Civil War began, the project was abandoned, many of the camels going to circuses with some escaping into the wild. The last know siting of wild camels was in 1941 near Douglas, TX.
After the Civil War, the town of Fort Davis became the most important in the Trans-Pecos country, reopening in 1866 to house an Act of Congress mandated increase of “colored men”, nearly 500 called Buffalo Soldiers, before being abandoned in the early 1890’s and returned to the private sector. The fort became Fort Davis National Historic Site in 1966.
Big Bend Museum in Alpine is a small but mightily informational museum located on the campus of Sul Ross State University. What this lovely campus is doing in the middle of the dusty dead weeds territory of West Texas seems a glitch in the system. Free, the price we look for when seeking an afternoon activity, is remarkable considering the inclusions. From maps of the area to video’s of dinosaurs and prehistoric sea life forms that cover the Big Bend valley floor to Texas/Mexico past wars and relationships to artifacts of the local Indians and their pictographs all packaged nicely in easy to understand video’s and plaques with usefully placed benches for respite.
Headed back to Fort Davis from Alpine, John spied a herd of deer in someone’s yard and got a nice photo. It was the only wild things, other than small crawly and wiggly ones, that we saw during our stay.
Communal bar-b-q with the group and until-we-meet-agains before turning in for the night.