Fort Davis

We sat on the sagging, sun bleached couch by the fireplace in the old rundown hotel and smelled the sweet aroma of burning mesquite wood. The nights were cool and the heat from the fire felt conforting. Fort Davis is the highest elevation county seat in Texas at 5050 feet and we noticed it. Six months at sea level in SSI didn't prepare us for this, but no complaints.

The Fort Davis County Library used to be a mercantile shop. They took the feed sacks, tractor parts and water pumps off the shelf and replaced them with books. Would have loved to spend more time there.

The next morning we took full advantage of the lobby coffee pot, hot, thick and dark roasted. We drove up through the canyons on TX 17 and up the skyway drive in the state park. The surrounding cliffs were known as the Apache Mountains, home to the Lipan and Mescalero Apache as well as the Kiawa Comanche prior to the arrival of the US Military in 1854.

Minimal traffic, no people, like we had the place all to ourselves. The Yucca plants were blooming and the view was spacious, big sky country. It seeps into you.

15 miles up the road, and I mean UP, we turned into the McDonald Observatory, the 432 inch Hobby-Eberly telescope is the 5th largest observatory in the world. They selected this location due to the absence of ambient light... One of the darkest places in the USA. Now that's something to be proud of. Amazing machines. Look close for the white dots on the mountain top.


The Chihuahuan Desert is a treeless desert of cacti, tumbleweeds, jackrabbits and rattlesnakes and perhaps the most diverse region in Texas. Elevations range from 8749 feet (Guadalupe Peak) to under 1000 feet in Del Rio. 106 peaks are over 7,000 feet, 20 are over 8,000 feet. Rainfall is around 6 inches annually. There are over 500 species of birds in the region.The hummingbirds were especially active around town. We came upon a herd (flock?) of Audad Big Horn Sheep and they politely posed for a quick picture.



There are 1,200 people in town, give or take, and Dean Bergman is one of them. 35 years old, 150 pounds overweight, a walking encyclopedia and proud owner of an eclectic junk shop named Possibilities. Dean sat in a worn, overstuffed chair literally surrounded by piles and bags of yard sale purchases, from floor to ceiling, which he meticulously opened and fondled. He considered naming his shop Possibilities Unlimited , but shied away from the moniker "PU". Dean talked nonstop, had no interest in me, was disturbingly egocentric, but appreciated my questions which allowed him to demonstrate his incredible mind. He talked about life in Ft Davis, the history, the people from away who move there and then try to change things to be like where they came from... and then move out in frustration. He laughed oddly as he described their faces when he informed them that the nearest WalMart was an hour and a half away. He said that when word gets out that someone is making a WalMart run everyone in town stops by with a list and the vehicle on the return trip is always packed to the hilt. Such is life in Ft. Davis.

Dinner was fresh baked biscuits, chicken fried chicken and grilled tomatoes/veggies with buttermilk pie for desert. Home cooking good. Tomorow we push for Arizona.