Land and Stars

The Davis Mountains aren't far from the Big Bend area, but the terrain has changed a bit. The mountains in Big Bend are jagged. Here they are rounded. As you look across the horizon, you see rolling mountains and much more green. The area remains dry desert, but there are many trees here-oaks, pines...etc. The cacti are somewhat different, too. A lot of agave here and many more cholla, but there are no ocotillo. It appears there was a fire here recently. The mountainside is charred, but the yucca seem to have survived. Some were burned down nearly completely, but now you can see green coming up. I was inspired by these yucca. Somehow they gave hope of new life. I found these to be beautiful.

The wild life has changed some, too. We still have javalina; I saw one this morning. Bun now we have deer. I took a shower this afternoon and sat outside at our picnic table to brush my hair as it dried. I heard a rustling behind me, and out came a deer. More rustling behind me, but I could only see a small deer back behind the trees. The mother stood and watched me a bit. Then she slowly walked to the next campsite. The small deer followed from behind the trees. The small deer only dared to come out when the mother was well away from me.

Yesterday Adolfo and I drove around the charming town of Fort Davis. It is very small, and seems to have very few grocery stores or other amenities. But, it is full of inns, hotels, bed and breakfasts, and RV parks. I guess others have found it quite charming as well. Sadly, the town is split in half as so many towns are. The more wealthy live on one side, the poor on the other. The poor section appears to be very poor. People live in very old and poorly maintained trailers.

This morning we took a tour through the McDonald Observatory. It was very interesting to see what a great piece of technology is located out here in nowhere land. Of course, it makes perfect sense that it is here because there is little here. There is very little light pollution. There are quite a few observatories on these mountains. The newest is the HIT which was built in the late 1990s.