Exploration of the Davis Mountains

 

We have long been planning to visit Fort Davis National Historical Park, where Mike worked a 2 week detail as a seasonal law enforcement ranger 13 years ago. We set off on Thursday, passing through Terlingua, then Lajitas (quite an attractive little town which features a golf course, made possible by its proximity to the Rio Grande, and also has 2 caged goats which are deemed to be the mayors of the town), and then into Big Bend Ranch State Park. The road through the park is scenic and surprisingly topsy turvy, almost as if our car was on a roller coaster. We hiked the Closed Canyon trail, which was quite challenging and fun. The canyon gradually narrowed and descended to a point where it must have become dangerous, because it was closed to further exploration. Jasper had a ball rock hopping and climbing on the walls.

From there, we drove to Fort Leaton State Historic Site, which is part of the same state park. It was an interesting old adobe structure with some furnished rooms, interpreting the lifestyle of the families that lived there in the 1800s. It's one of the largest and best maintained historic adobe structures in Texas, and provides a glimpse of life at a fortified trading post on the US-Mexico border beginning in the turbulent mid-1800s. There was a fairly large enclosed area where the cattle were kept at night, to prevent them from being stolen, and a humongous ox-cart, which was so large it was sometimes pulled by a dozen oxen. 

Our next stop was a spontaneous visit to a Mexican panaderia (bakery) in Presidio. I was the only English-speaker inside, and they seemed a little taken aback at my presence. I could tell they were relieved when I spoke little bits of Spanish. The baked goods were all beautiful and looked very appealing. We had some of them for breakfast the next morning.

By the time we pulled into the town of Fort Davis, the sun was setting. We were hungry and nearing the point of crankiness when we saw a Mexican Restaurant and quickly decided to eat there. We chose to sit outside on the patio, as nobody inside was wearing a mask. It was our first visit to a restaurant (other than a few take-outs) since last March, due to COVID precautions. The food was quite good and very filling, Mike's fajitas in particular.

About an hour after dark, we arrived at our campsite in Davis Mountains State Park. We had expected to have close neighbors, as all the sites showed that they were reserved online, but there must have been a lot of cancellations. We set up our tent in the darkness, enjoyed looking at the stars as we walked through the campground, and then climbed into the tent to read for an hour before falling asleep. 

The next morning, after our traditional breakfast of oatmeal and supplemented by the Mexican pastries, we drove up the Skyline Drive, in the park, where we enjoyed 360 views of distant mountain ranges. Our next stop was Fort Davis NHS. From the website, “Fort Davis is one of the best surviving examples of an Indian Wars' frontier military post in the Southwest. From 1854 to 1891, Fort Davis was strategically located 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.” We took a short hike to a viewpoint, where we could look down on the “parade grounds” where the soldiers practiced marching and conducting drills. Several of the houses were beautifully appointed with antique furniture, uniforms, and other items such as medical equipment (in the hospital). Signage told the stories of inhabitants who were killed, either by disease (quite common) or violence (much less common, since the fort was never actually attacked). Occasionally the sound of bugles would break the silence, representing the call to meals, change of guard, and various horse-related chores typical of the fort when it was inhabited. During non-COVID times, even more buildings are open to the public, and the historical reenactments would add a lot to a visitor's understanding of the fort's significance. I'd definitely recommend a visit.

                                            Shared officers' quarters at Fort Davis NHS.

Some of the buildings (like this one, the Commanding Officers' home) are furnished and open to the self-guided tour (even during COVID times).

A glimpse into the fort's old pharmacy. I always think old medicine bottles are interesting. Hearing about the antiquated methods of surgery make me VERY glad to live in modern times!

In the afternoon, we drove the 75 mile Davis Mountain scenic loop and stopped at the McDonald Observatory for a self-guided tour of the visitor center and surrounding area. Most of the exhibits were closed due to COVID, so it was a little disappointing, but we did get an idea of what type of research they do, using the telescopes. The drive was pretty and we felt appreciative of the lack of development on the private lands. We stopped for a short hike at Madera Canyon, on Nature Conservancy land, then finished the drive and had a picnic dinner along Skyline Drive as the sun set on another busy day.

Our visit to that region was interesting and worth a couple more days, to be able to fully explore the trails, visitor centers, and towns along the way.