Friday, March 13, 2020 Fort Davis

Today we got around and about 9:30 we left the RV and went to the Fort Davis Historical Site. This fort is huge and the buildings you tour are spread out all over. First we started at the Visitor Center/Museum. I showed them my Old Geezer Pass and we got in free! A family of four paid $20 I think. Next we toured some of the soldiers' quarter and then the hospital. By then we were a little tired of walking and touring so we went back to the RV.
We have also been discussing and wondering if the FMCA RV Rally is going to be held. Lots of things are shutting down or being cancelled because of the COVID-19 virus that has arrived with a bang. First NBA games, Big 12 BB Tournament, March Madness and on and on. I had even seen that the Mayor of Tucson was cancelling gatherings of 50 or more people. Also most of these people that attend RV rallies are of an age that is a concern. On the suggestion of my sister Marsha, I called FMCA and the lady told me that were having a Board meeting at that very time to discuss cancellation or continuance, that was at 3:30 PM Mountain Time. I received a cancellation text at 4:45 PM Mountain Time. We registered for the Rally back on Jan 13, 2020 and it got cancelled today, March 13, 2020, exactly two months later. Well this was rather disappointing, but at least we knew we would not be going to the Rally. Our current strategy was to continue to Carlsbad Caverns and meet up with the kids for a few days then go home.

Fort Davis Courthouse

Courthouse named after Jefferson Davis (I think)

Pictures from Fort Davis Historical Site

 
 After hearing the bad news from FMCA - we decided to visit Davis Mountains State Park. We took the dogs along and had a nice drive and a hike. We checked out the campgrounds and just enjoyed looking around.

Compelling Rock formation

Lodge

Amphitheater at Park

Fauna

Interesting view

Lodge at the Park - from the high point

Lodge

Big views!

Benchmark at the Summit of the mountain- You can drive there - no hiking required. Or you can hike if you want.


We enjoyed taking a walk from the nature center parking lot up to the amphitheater. The dogs thought they were on a great adventure!

PS - I can't get this to Left Justify again, and I have no idea why it decided to underline my sentence above and it won't let me take off the underline. 

 

Thursday, March 12, 2020 What a Lovely Driving Day From Terlingua to Fort Davis, Texas

Remember: you can click on the pictures to view them larger!

After breakfast and walking the dogs, we prepared to leave. We waited at the gas pump to fill up about 20 minutes. There is only one gas station and it is always busy. The van in front of us must have been people on spring break, and it took them forever!  Anyway - I would suggest going at a different time of year than March if you want to go to Big Bend NP.  Plus, try to pick a time when no rain or overcast weather is predicted so you can see the night sky. But also - enjoy the quiet of the desert.
We had a lovely drive to Fort Davis today. The weather was a very comfortable temperature between 68 and 70 and we had blue skies! A great day to travel in the RV.

Join us on the drive.....

Near Alpine, TX

Hereford Cattle

Corrals

Steve said the road in the RV Mirror looked like the highway in Forest Gump

Another neat entrance gate!

1,000 miles from Nowhere!

So pretty!

Border Patrol Station - They asked us 2 questions. We passed!
Asked if we were US Citizens and if anyone else was in the RV

You know I can't resist Windmills! I Love Them!

Another on before we arrive at Fort Davis

We didn't see many cars on this drive.  Thanks for riding along with us. 

Also today we received a text from FMCA that the RV Rally would happen -even with the concerns about COVID-19. 

Wednesday, March 11, 2020 Laundry Day

After doing our morning routines we gathered up our laundry. When we got the to the laundry - very few people were there, but one man coughed. So I disinfected the rolling laundry cart. We got two loads in the dryer and the third washing machine did not get started - somehow we missed pushing the start button. Finally we got it started - so that put us behind a little bit. We did finish the laundry and had our lunch. We returned to the RV and relaxed. We watched movies and walked the dogs.

We saw this sticker on a chair at the Laundromat

For those who don't know about Marfa - here is the explanation:
From Wikipedia

Marfa, a small desert city in west Texas, is known as an arts hub. The Chinati Foundation, founded by artist Donald Judd, displays huge indoor and outdoor installations on an old army base. The Ballroom Marfa arts center hosts exhibitions, concerts and the Marfa Myths cultural festival. Outside town is a viewing platform from which the mysterious orbs known as the “Marfa Lights” phenomenon can sometimes be seen.

We did not go to Marfa - Maybe next time. 
Today was a day we started to worry a little about the Corona Virus -- so we are moving on tomorrow.

Tuesday, March 10, 2020 Touring the Big Bend Loop with the Dogs!

So we did our usual routine this morning. Then we went back to Big Bend NP with the dogs. We took Maverick Road to Santa Elena Canyon Overlook and and then the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. There was a visitor center at Castolon, but we did not enter.  Yesterday when we drove through the park there was about a half mile backup of cars at the entrance station (where this sign is). This morning it was a short backup. Of course we did not get up early - which would be the wise thing to do when visiting any national park - because they get crowded. Also we did not hike, because dogs are not allowed on trails in national parks. Dogs can get out at campgrounds and parking areas and along sidewalks though.
So the first part of the drive today was a dirt road -which is fine by me. I was raised around dirt roads and I like them. We drove along about 25-35 mph which gave us time to see things. We saw a coyote, which seemed unusual since it was around noon. But he was in no hurry to move on. I did not get a picture, but Steve did with his long lens.

I think this is Ocotillo Cactus - Not sure if this is the correct name.

This might be Rattlesnake Mountain

We saw these cactus- some were green and some this weird color.

A dwelling from a previous era

This is the Santa Elena Canyon as we got closer

 There are two areas to drive through by the Rio Grande - The first area was packed and had 2 or 3 Park Rangers herding people and cars. A mess! The second area appeared to have a boat launch or haul out and picnic tables and outdoor restroom.  We got out here and took pictures and used the outdoor facilities. Buster almost got away from Steve (slipped his harness) and Steve fell down but kept Buster from getting away and running amuck.  That was lucky! We both had a sigh of relief and Steve was not injured.

Rio Grande River

South side Rio Grande-Nobody is crossing here!

 So touring this big loop probably took us about 3 hours. When we finished, it was back to the RV.  Steve and I decided to go out to eat tonight. I picked out a place on Trip Advisor and we drove west of Terlingua to get there. But it seemed not to be accessible or open. So we went back toward Terlingua and ate at La Kiva. It was packed, We had a 40 minute wait for a table and then after getting seated, another 30 - 40 minutes for our supper (just burgers). It was an interesting looking place and probably has some weird history to it.  Some lady wandering around kind of explained it to us, but she seemed to be into her wine pretty good - so not sure how true her story was.  We went back to the RV and called it a night.

Some tepees in the distance on our return to Terlingua