On our way out of Big Bend, Abbey and I decided to stay in Davis Mountains State Park for three nights. The park borders Ft. Davis National Historic Site, is near the McDonald Observatory, and and also has some fantastic hiking. Our first morning offered a pleasant sunrise.

Abbey and I sat for a little while and watched birds. At this point it’s safe to say we’re birders. It’s very fun seeing strange new birds and trying to figure out what it is.

This state park feeds and waters the birds, which I find curious. It was nice to see some activity at the feeders (like these Pine Siskin), but it also draws in other creatures, like Mule Deer.

McDonald Observatory is a research facility that also hosts public events. Abbey and I went to a “Star Party” on a cloudless, new moon night. WOW, it was fun. We got to look through a bunch of very large telescopes at various nebulae, galaxies, and stars. We even got to see Uranus! (Insert astronomy joke here). The program also included constellation identification and how to find various exciting things like Andromeda. I didn’t take my camera because I didn’t want to waste any time I could otherwise be using to look through telescopes. Good decision.

Fort Davis National Historic Site offers a look at a frontier fort from the mid 1800’s. The fort was used to protect (from Native Americans -sigh-) a popular route for settlers heading West. The buildings and grounds are very well preserved, and help to transport you back to the time period.

In the following picture you’ll note the strange angle of the foundations – One set follows true north, and the other magnetic north. The army changed how they lay out their buildings sometime around the Civil War. This also is a reminder to the importance of declination when orienting a map!

How old does graffiti have to be before it becomes archaeologically interesting?

Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Carlsbad Caverns National Park are part of the same geologic feature – the Permian Basin. This ancient sea covered vast expanses of the Southwest, and was home to an impressive coral reef some 250 million years ago. Some 400 miles of that reef was exposed through mountain building over millions of years. It is considered one of the best exposed marine reefs in the world.

Abbey and I arrived at Guadalupe Mountains just in time to get the last spot in the “campground.” Unfortunately, this “campground” is actually just a parking lot, and was a rather disappointing start to this National Park.

The next morning we started out early on a 10+ mile hike to “The Bowl.” The trail started out by promptly ascending 2,500 feet. ugh. After countless switchbacks, the trail crossed over a ridge into “The Bowl,” a protected area high in the mountains whose landscape greatly contrasted the arid desert below. Suddenly there were grass meadows, ponderosa pines, and even oak trees. Supposedly there are elk up here too, but we didn’t see any. We had a peaceful lunch in the meadow.

Abbey and I summited Hunter’s Peak, about 8,400 feet, and had more great views of the Texas plains.

After leaving the parking lot campground, we headed out to BLM land in New Mexico. BLM land is wonderful because it’s remote, free, and quiet. The campsite we found was way out in the desert. It was cold and WINDY. At one point we put down Evelyn’s top for fear of it becoming a kite.

Carlsbad Caverns is an experience. You start on the surface and hike down the mouth of the cave until you’re 755 feet below ground. I have never seen anything remotely like this in my life. I felt small, yet timeless.

The original 1924 National Geographic Expedition ladder is still in place at a deep part of the cave.

I didn’t use my tripod in the caves, mostly because there is limited space on the paths. It doesn’t really mater, though, because no picture can accurately convey how incredible these caves are. Make plans to go.

Evelyn is doing fine. She just rolled past 290,000 miles. Keep ’em running, I say.

The handle on Abbey’s pot broke. It was an easy fix with JB Weld. I’ve been carrying the stuff in my cars ever since I was 16 and have only ever needed it a couple times (radiator in ’85 Mercedes, cracked intake manifold ’72 Chevy). Hopefully I’ll never need it with Evelyn.

Cheers!