Davis Mtns State Park - Nov 2005

Located near the tiny town of Fort Davis, Texas, the Davis Mountains State Park was truly a hidden gem. Not only was it a scenic campground, being situated in an oak-studded canyon surrounded by mountains, it's one of the few state parks that offered full hookups including cable tv! At an elevation of nearly 6,000 feet, it was high enough above the hot Texas plains to keep temperatures about 20° cooler than the surrounding area and, of course, being in west Texas, the humidity was very low. Sadly, we didn't see any rainbows while here, but that's not altogether bad -- the good news is that it didn't rain!

Located within the park is the charming, adobe-style Indian Lodge -- a CCC built structure that includes a hotel and gift shop, as well as the Black Bear restaurant. We toured one of the rooms and found it nicely done up with an American-Indian motif, wooden floors, beam ceilings and great views over the valley. We also ate at the restaurant and enjoyed the food although it was odd to see our waitress dressed in a park ranger uniform. In this picture, the lodge (the large white building) is at the end of the valley. Our itty-bitty RV is in the lower, right-hand corner.

We arrived on a Thursday intending to stay only a few days, but we liked the park and surrounding area so much that we ended up staying for two weeks. We had gotten lucky and were able to secure a nice and very private campsite at the end of a cul-de-sac with a huge oak tree that shaded our patio. The weather was nearly perfect with warm, sunny days averaging around 75° and chilly nights -- cold enough that leaving our bedroom window cracked meant having to snuggle a little lower under the down comforter.

To the left of our site was a small hill and on our right a dry creek bed. Behind us there was nothing but grass and trees. The location and isolation of this site resulted in it being a favorite pathway for the various wildlife in the park and they opted to use our campsite to travel from their mountain hideaways down to the stream where they munched on the berry laden bushes.

Every morning and evening we had some kind of critter going through our campsite -- mostly deer, but the javelinas were also abundant and curious. The park had many warnings about them and, while they're not necessarily dangerous to humans, they will take on a dog and can do damage with their sharp teeth. One morning I was sitting outside with Scotty at my feet and I heard something rustling in the bushes behind us. I got up to check it out and saw this javelina heading right towards us. By the time I figured out what it was, he was only a couple of feet from Scotty. I cried out to Frank (who was indoors) for help and then went over and scooped up Scotty before he had a javelina encounter of the worst kind. Frank, hearing the panic in my voice, grabbed the first thing he could put his hands on -- a large, bean bag pillow -- and came charging out the door yelling and waving the pillow at the frightened beast. The poor little guy took off like he'd seen a ghost. I got a good picture of him, but wished I'd gotten Frank (the great white javelina hunter) chasing after him with a bean bag pillow.

Another close encounter happened one evening when we were returning home from a walk. This time it was with a hungry deer -- a young male with just the beginnings of antler nubs. As we rounded the corner of our RV he was right there standing at our door, obviously expecting a hand-out. It startled us and we thought he'd run as we approached, but he just stood there and gazed at us with big brown eyes. He was close enough that we could have reached out and petted him (we didn't.) It was hard to resist giving him some food, but it's illegal to feed the wildlife (for their own good) and so we just shoo'd him away and he took off -- probably over to the next camper hoping for an easier target.

Autumn in Texas is generally more subtle than in other parts of the country, but Mother Nature was putting on a pretty good display right there in Fort Davis. The road between the town and the campground ran beside a small river who's banks were lined with larger trees -- cottonwoods mostly -- and they were resplendent in their golden glow. Every time we drove into town we thoroughly enjoyed this lovely view.

The Davis Mountains are made of basalt and have eroded to the point of having a very sculpted appearance. The uppermost park of the peaks are carved to the point that many look like boulders perched atop a stone base. They remind me of the hoo-doos that are found at Zion National Park.

Within the park's boundaries, was one of the higher peaks in the area and there was a road up to the top called Skyline Drive. Late one afternoon, we drove up there, just as the sun was setting and enjoyed a 360° view of the area. We watched in envy as a hawk effortlessly soared above us. As the sun went down, it left behind a rosy glow in all directions and then the stars began to pop out -- one by one -- until the sky was filled with their twinkles.

Because the park was out in the boonies and far from any major sources of light pollution, the evenings were very, very dark and the stars were incredible. There were so many visible stars that I had a hard time locating even the most familiar of constellations and the Milky Way was like a silky, white band across the sky. There were several amature astronomers staying at the park and they had their telescopes set up to look at Mars and Venus -- both were putting on a good show. We visited the nearby McDonald Oberservatory several times during our stay (see separate post) and thoroughly enjoyed the tours, the staff and their incredible facility.

On one of our day trips, we drove over to the town of Alpine. Given it's name and some of the glowing reports we'd heard about it's high elevation charm, I think we expected something out of "The Sound of Music." Needless to say, we were kind of disappointed when we discovered that is was just another west Texas town. It did have several nicely renovated homes and buildings and an interesting historical walking tour that was well documented by the Chamber of Commerce.

While in Alpine, we stopped at Sul Ross University and visited the Museum of the Big Bend. We were especially impressed with the beautiful buildings on campus -- all made of red brick with white trim. They were absolutely stunning in contrast with the deep blue sky, green grass and trees. The museum was small, but had some interesting exhibits. The University is in the process of building a new structure to house their entire collection, so we were only seeing a small part of it. The new building is scheduled to be completed in September of 2006 and we look forward to returning at that time.