It has been a few days since I updated everyone, so here I am, back to blogging.
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Friday Nov 6th 2009
Barbara and I returned from our wonderful Alaskan adventure on October the 11th. We had already planned this Davis Mountain trip last year while at Davis Mountain with Keith and Linda Turner. On this trip we are pleased to have Jack and Booty Reed joining us. Barbara and I are thankful for the friendship of Keith, Lynda, Jack and Booty and for good times shared in campgrounds around the state. I worked with Jack and Keith at SPS. When all of get together as we are now at Davis Mountain State Park we gather around the campfire in the evening and cook out. We build a nice big fire and stand or sit close so as to knock the mountain air chill off. Of course we engage in story telling, table games, and planning other events.
Davis Mountain state park is a great place for a visit during November because of the nice weather, cool nights but warming into the 70s during the days. The park is about 280 miles (5-6 hours) from Lubbock south of Interstate 10 very near Fort Davis.
The park also has a good variety of wild life. Each evening we are treated to the parade of deer, wild hogs, foxes, skunks, and many other 4 legged animals that come wandering through the campsites, and a few even stop to visit. Starting about sunup, hundreds of birds flock to the area to check out the many bird feeders hanging from the trees.
Another feature of this area is the bonus of clear view of the heavens at night. On most any night one can travel 15 minutes to the McDonald observatory for a "star party" along with looking through some very nice telescopes.
Sunday Nov 8th
Today started with nice clear morning with a temp of 37 degrees. We had decided to go up the hill to the Davis Mountain state park Black Bear restaurant next to the historic Indian Lodge for Sunday lunch. The lodge was built in the 1930s by the CCC and is still operated by the State of Texas. The lodge has undergone a recent restoration that restored some of the rooms back to the original look along with the CCC crafted furnishings. After a good lunch we did a short hike back to the campsite to watch the Nascar race from the Ft Worth track. After supper we gathered at Keith and Lynda's site for desert and a campfire. We had a visit from a gray fox and a skunk. The two got somewhat close and scared each other each leaving in the opposite direction.
Monday Nov 9th
Another beautiful day at Davis Mountains, early morning is cool and crisp, but quickly warming into the mid 70s and clear blue skies. During a hike to the bird watching building, Barbara and I visited with a fellow traveler that was having a problem returning his slide out to its stowed position. The Keith Jack and John campsite repair service was able to resolve the problem. That enabled them to travel on to Big Bend. The problem turned out to be an electrical interlock that was not made up. It was a lazy day around the campground with the girls playing table games. I worked on a few repair items on our trailer and did a little waxing and cleaning. We did a few more nature hikes around the area during the mid afternoon. After supper we settled in around a campfire to end the day.
Tuesday Nov 10th
The big news of today is that our hummingbird feeder was knocked from the tree last night and damaged. Maybe a raccoon, but we are not sure, it could be almost any of the many visitors that come each night. We will do a day trip to the Fort Davis National Historic site and visit the town. We spent several hours at the Fort looking at the many exhibits including a film presentation and the many restored buildings. The Fort was open from 1854-1891 and served to protect the interests of the pioneers traveling west between San Antonio and El Paso.
After that, we went down to the Jeff Davis Court house area and did a walking tour of the town square area. Some of the old buildings were the Limpia Hotel and the bank.
We returned to the campground and had a wonderful pot-luck dinner around the campfire.
John and Barbara along with Keith, Lynda, Jack, and Booty at Davis Mountain State Park
