Fort Davis & McDonald's Observatory

Our friends, Ann and Bob, recently treated us to quite a road trip!  Ann packed snacks and we headed out!  This is the view heading from B.C. Ranch to the community of Fort Davis and the historic fort located there.  Fort Davis is 24 miles from Alpine.

This is the location of an 1854 homestead.  The building ruins remain.  It's a beautiful pasture tucked among the hills.  I can see why the people were drawn to settle here.  They eventually had to leave due to the severity of the Indian raids.  The homestead served intermittently as a Ranger Station from 1880-1882.

Welcome to historic Fort Davis!  Fort Davis was established by Lieutenant Colonel Washington Seawell with six companies of the eighth U.S. Infantry in October 1854 for protecting travelers on the San Antonio-El Paso Road.  The fort was named in honor of the then Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis.  Fort Davis was deactivated in 1891.  The building directly behind the flag pole is the home of the commanding officer.  The homes to each side make-up up Officer's Row.  The red roof building behind the homes is the post hospital.  

Here is a look at the hospital.  The fort literature says that the soldiers suffered mainly from diseases and accidental injuries, and not battle wounds.  The hospital has a central walkway with interpretive signs at each of the rooms.

Most of the homes of Officer's Row have not been restored.  The fronts of the homes have been given nice facades.  

These are the backs of the Officer's Row buildings.  If you look in the window openings, you will see the rubble of the collapsed flooring and interior structures.  

The commanding officer's quarters were constructed by 1869.  It is a very nice home that would be exciting to live in today!  Note the nice breezeway through the front door and out through the back. 

The home interior pictures were taken through Plexiglas.  I must say, I'm getting pretty good at it!  The trick is to put the camera lens as close to the Plexiglas as possible and turn-off or reduce the flash.  This is the sitting room.

This is the bedroom.

This is the dining room.

This is a music  room.

This is the enlisted men's barracks.  One of them now houses the visitor's center and a nice museum.



From Fort Davis and the pioneer days, we traveled to McDonald's Observatory and studying the stars!  This is the observatory complex.  The observatory offers a variety of what they call Star Parties for guided star gazing.  We've heard that they are great!

 This observatory allows a free self-guided tour.

 This is the interior structure and mechanical workings of the dome.

 The dark metal at the top of this picture is one of the areas of the dome that opens.

This chart tells how the observatory works.  Click on the picture to enlarge it.  When I got to the description in dark blue on the right hand side of the chart telling that the astronomers operate from computers in an adjacent building, I felt a great sense of disappointment.  I think I had envisioned a scientist wearing a white lab coat looking through the eyeglass of a huge telescope and seeing the stars and planets first hand!  Sitting at a computer screen seems so boring by comparison!  We had a super day of good company, studying the desert flora and terrain, learning some area history and about modern stargazing!

Alpine, Texas

When you come into Alpine on Highway 67/90, one of the first buildings of interest that you'll see is Penny's Diner.  Ann and Bob treated us to dinner there.  The chicken fried steaks cover half a dinner plate!  Yum!  Roy and I had to return another day for some more!  I see other good things on the menu to try.  Eating at Penny's Diner could get to be a yummy habit!

Further into Alpine is the campus of Sul Ross University.  It has a large campus with beautiful red brick buildings.  I checked out the curriculum and it is diverse. 

Welcome to Alpine!  This sign is located near the Sul Ross Campus.

This view of Alpine is taken from high up on the university campus.  This is looking west through town.  The mountain peaks on the left side of the picture are local landmarks called, Twin Peaks.

Going straight down this street will take you to the university.  The cross street is Highway 118.  Turn left on it and it goes to B.C. Ranch R.V. Park.  This corner has wonderful shopping.  There is an upscale Thriftway grocery store with a super selection.  The red sign to the left in the picture is the location of a large True Value Hardware.  It is unlike any hardware I've seen.  It carries gift items, small appliances, assorted craft items, sporting goods, and of course the standard hardware items.  There is a Radio Shack in the hardware and a garden center across the street.  This is where we do most of our shopping, although there are a comfortable number of other options.

This is the beautiful old courthouse near the downtown.  It makes me think a person could publish a book on historic courthouses.

This is the modern U.S. courthouse.  Isn't it an interesting design!

This is Holland Avenue, one of the downtown streets.  It runs east/west through town.  I love murals on walls of buildings.  They seem prevalent in Texas.

I always enjoy driving by this intriguing antique shop called, The Cheshire Cat.  Note the big black cat in the bird cage!  There is a large Family Dollar shown in the picture and across town is a nice Dollar Tree.

Amtrak runs through town and there is a station in Alpine.  Across the tracks are some interesting shops and an older community with several small stucco homes.  There's a large second hand shop called the Bargain Barn.  Roy and I like to go there occasionally to see what we can find.

This is Our Lady of Peace church.  There are several historic churches in the area.

Alpine is at an elevation of 4,514'.  Its 2012 population was 5,905.  It is the largest community within 75 miles.  Nearby community populations are 1,914 for Marfa, 1,201 for Fort Davis, and 430 for Marathon.  Leaving Alpine in any direction takes you into the Chihuahuan Desert.  I found myself saying to Roy recently that a person could live here 30 years and never leave town!  That's quite an admission of the community's completeness coming from me.  We were at McDonald's one day and overheard a man say that if there was a post office on the side of town where he lived he'd never have to go to the other side!  Wow!  Alpine can't be more than 3 miles across town in any direction!!!  Alpine is a serene community with an audible quietness.  Roy and I are always amazed at how few people we see, when driving around Alpine.  The people we've encountered are pleasant, but not talkative.  Alpine is a self contained magical place located in the middle of a desert.  There seems to be an endless variety of patterns and colors in the sunrises and sunsets over the mountains.  It will haunt our memories when we leave and call us back! 

B.C. Ranch R.V. Park, Alpine, Texas

Here is a view of the desert near the end of our trip to Alpine.

Up ahead on the left is the B.C. Ranch R.V. Park.  The land surrounding the park and across the road is actually a working cattle ranch.

That's our camper at the front of the park on the end lot.  Great location!  

This is looking from the back of our camper to the back of the park.  The Talon Toy Hauler to the left belongs to our neighbors from Miller Creek R.V. Park in Johnson City, Texas.  We met up with Ann and Bob in Alpine.  They lived in this area for around 20 years, before becoming full time RVers.  The trees most likely aren't native to the area, as they have deep water reservoirs around them and have to be watered weekly to keep them thriving. 

This is the scenery at the back of the park.  There is a small community nestled amongst the mountains.  It's pretty seeing the silhouette of the mountains at night and the lights twinkling out there.

We've enjoyed seeing deer in the r.v. park, but at times we've had to take extra caution when tying the dogs outside.  The deer are used to people and quite bold!

This is the park office.  We had planned to stay a month and move on to Arizona.  With the cost of replacing our camper tires, we have opted to stay longer.  Rates are comparable to the Lost Alaskan R.V. Park, but with the advantage of not having to pay for electricity.  There is free Internet that is reasonably decent.  The only stipulation with staying at B.C. Ranch R.V. Park is that residents must stay below the posted 5 mile per hour speed limit when driving through the park.  The park is a nice mix of working folks and travelers.  It's located a pleasant 3 miles outside of town.  We'd highly recommend it for your stay in Alpine!