Historic Holland Hotel Alpine

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.

... with stories of his multiple trips on the bike up to Alaska and back. It's amazing how many of these adventure riders I've been seeing in this part of the country. I think the "Long Way Round/Down" shows with Ewan McGregor have really lit a fire in the biking crowd (as Ryan and Kim sigh in envy ; ). I also met a great guy from Toronto, Canada named Paul MacKay. He drove down in a diesel powered Westy! These are rare as ...

... Goodyear Blimp, it is probably 200 ft long 50 ft in diameter and has 3 large fins in the rear. It was secured to a latticed structure in the middle of nowhere. The next day, it was about a ½ mi in the air surveying a 75 mile radius. · Pecan orchards that ran for about four miles. In the middle of cattle country and cowboys is Alpine, TX where we stayed at the Lost Alaskan RV Park. Very friendly staff, the resort has lots of pine trees and a nice central complex. In town, we ...

... 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 ...

... on building that stupid wall. I read an article in the local paper about a woman that is a US citizen living on the US side of the border. However, sometimes the wall can't follow the border exactly and her house is going to end up on the Mexican side of the wall. Now, instead of her being able to walk into town for supplies, it will be a 40 mile trip. Without a car! Someone hose me down! Thanks. The next day we drove up ...

... Mummy tried out her singing voice inside the resonating walls to find out shortly afterwards that a couple of hiking groups were also subjected to her not so operatic voice. After our picnic lunch, vegimite sandwiches, we strapped ouselves in for some not quite white water rafting. Much more fun than struggling upstream the current whisked us back to the launching site with a couple of unrehearsed ...

... Phoenix, Grand Canyon Notes: Miles Traveled: 3,200 Notable Wildlife: Roadrunners, Coyote (see photo...look closely), Javelina (similar to wild boar**), Chihuahuan Raven, Red Tailed and Swainson Hawks, Texas Antelope Squirrel, Mexican Jays, White Tailed Deer, Pyrrhuloxia (desert cardinal) **WARNING: THIS IS GRUESOME! A woman in the park left her poodle tied up on one of the trailheads and came back to find a javelina having it for lunch!