the Davis Mountains

a hiking we will go…

We took advantage of our wedding-free weekend, packed up the fam, and headed to the Davis Mountains. It’s a 6-hour drive from Austin, and so worth it!

My new favorite pic of Mags.

This girl looooves bugs!

Come and get it!

Maggie’s first hot chocolate experience. I adore this shot of CJ’s.

Getting ready for our big hike!

It was the perfect day for a hike. We’re so proud of Mags for hiking 3.5 miles that day! (with just a little piggy-backin’.)

Maggie spotted this cool spider hanging out along the trail.

McDonald Observatory is only a 20-minute drive from the Davis Mountains campground.  It’s actually part of the University of Texas and is known as the darkest observatory in the U.S.  I came here when I was in middle school on a science trip with my awesome 8th grade science teacher, Mr. Hoke.  They have huge telescopes and “star parties” 3 times a week where they do educational presentations on stars, the solar system, and also point out constellations. It’s amazing!!  You can see one of the larger telescopes in the background of this image.

This dome houses one of the “smaller” telescopes.

I didn’t have a tripod and it was pitch dark, so this was the best I could do.  Those stars were unbelievable, and you can even see the Milky Way.  You almost feel like you’re in a planetarium-it’s so surreal.  They had 4 different telescopes set up that we were able to look through. We saw Jupiter and it’s moons, and Venus.  Luckily the moon didn’t rise until 10pm that night so we picked a perfect night for star-viewing. If you’re planning a trip out here, definitely check out the phases of moon first. If the moon were out, we wouldn’t have been able to see near this many stars. It was spectacular!!

I think CJ could’ve been an actor. In this next shot, he’s almost convincing me that he’s actually hanging on for dear life. Are you buying it?

After two nights of freezing in our tent, we decided to treat ourselves to some nicer accomodations at the Indian Lodge.  This hotel was built in 1933 by the Civilian Conservation Corp.  I learned quite a bit about this program introduced by Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of the New Deal, during our stay.  This work-relief program provided jobs for thousands of un-employed men during the Great Depression, and was one of the most popular New Deal programs.  The CCC constructed buildings and trails throughout the U.S. in city, state, and national parks. They planted over 5 billion trees which helped to counteract the damage done to our U.S. forests by logging companies. The architecture of their structures are impressive in their design and in how they reflect the natural landscape and utilize native plants in their landscaping.

Here’s some interior shots of the common area.

Maggie was especially excited about the pool. This area was added on at a later date.

This is an example of the original Santa Fe-style adobe construction.

Native Ocotillo.

Here’s our little friend we found at the lodge.

Maggie wasn’t scared a bit!

I spy a sleepy head.

Marfa is only a 20 miles from Ft. Davis, so we decided to head into town for some grub and to check out the Marfa Mystery Lights.

 Their pizza was delicious and rivaled Austin’s Homeslice Pizza-yumm…

Our last stop along the way back to Austin was here, at Balmorhea State Park, which is home to the San Solomon Springs. The pool and bath house was also built by the CCC in the 1930′s. The springs remind me of Barton Springs here in Austin, although it’s far less crowded since it’s located in the West Texas desert. If you’re planning a trip to Big Bend or the Davis Mountains, I highly recommend packing your bathing suits and stopping here for a dip in the clear, cold springs.