The Quarters Guesthouse Marfa

We went to the McDonald Obseratory, it was near Fort Davis, Texas. It is on top of a big mountain. We left at 11:30am and got there at 1:45 pm. The tour started at 2pm and ended at 4:30pm. We toured two big telescopes and watched how they moved. The biggest telescope is the 3rd largest in the world. We ate dinner in Fort Davis - a BBQ again ...

We went to Fort Davis, established in 1854. It is one of the nations best preseved frontier forts. We stopped at a snake place to see snakes. Mamaw did not come in. We went shopping. After that, we went to Marfia again and we saw more lights this time. The nights are darker here so I can see a lot more stars then back in Zanesville. I even saw the Milky Way!

... band covers and other projects that are totally up my alley. We hit it off right away, and he ended up hosting an after-party at his house. It was fun to talk music with the band and a couple of total music geeks who lived there. Walking back to the hotel from the party, the night sky was completely dark; no light pollution to be seen in any direction. The Milky Way was a bright stripe, and I saw a few planets. The desert air was warm, but breezy. Beautiful.

... it's one of the largest National Parks outside of California and Alaska. In order to explore the park, I spent a whole week there. I started in the Chisos Mountains. This is like an island in the desert. From the desert floor, the mountains rise up 5000' and have their own Eco system. The raise in elevation allows them to hold more moisture so the vegetation is much more lush with big trees. The mountains are very ...

... housed various varieties off snakes and reptiles, the lighting was so terrible that we couldn't see anything inside. Nobody was manning the place either, so we left. What a disappointment! Crows Nest - An area SW of Fort Davis where the famous red rocks provide picturesque scenery. Chihuahua Desert Nature & Botanical Gardens - Exhibits the animals, trees and rocks that you can see in this area. It also has several fossils on display and a refurbished mining operation ...

... grass and dotted with deep green trees and shrubs. Some of the fields house cattle and every few miles we pass the entrance to another ranch - clearly marked with a big gate and a sign hanging above it, detailing the name of the ranch along with, in some cases, a little decoration in the way of paintwork, metalwork or an American flag. Many of them also proudly display a sign out front, along the roadside, clarifying their stance in the forthcoming elections ...

... maintained, but as we walked around we discovered that it was on purpose. Inside some of these buildings, there were very modern interiors for shops or offices, but they had left the outside with peeling paint and unreadable original signs. Quaint, maybe? We're still not decided. The town was pretty quiet because the tourist season was over so we really only had one option for dinner--but we still had a nice time strolling through the town ...

Well maybe not the stars but certainly the sun. For those of you who listen to Stardate on Pulic Radio, this is a fun place to go and for those of us who are not real scientific...it is sometimes a bit of a technical blur through which you wander happily thinking you may actually understand what they are doing and talking about. The exhibits are great (most young kids would get it) and the visit to the telescopes is a bit ...

... finds, and then a visit to the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, the largest telescope mirror in the world. The wind was extremely strong at the top of these mountains. The whole building was shaking. The visit itself was interesting, but the important part was that it told me where my Journey had to take me. In the next few days you will see where I ended up and why. That over, I drove back to town ...

... some of the best barbecue I've ever had. The owner told us a story about a couple from Florida who stopped by recently and had never heard of brisket! He was incredulous to say the least. After a long day of driving, we finally entered Big Bend National Park which seemed completely deserted except for a number of critters. We drove for miles before we came upon another vehicle. The scenery as you can see is stunning. We arrived at our ...