About 6 a.m. this morning the wind finally quit rocking the RV so today we headed up into the Davis Mountains at last. We took Texas 118 up from Alpine. It’s a good way to go. The road is smooth asphalt all the way up and there are lots of picnic areas, scenic overlooks, and historical markers along the way.
Our primary destination was the McDonald Observatory. We reached it about 12:45 p.m. as you can see on this huge sundial.
The visitor center has participatory exhibits, a theater, a cafe, and a gift shop. The big telescopes are on the hill behind the visitor center.
The next program was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and would last until 4:30 p.m. so we had lunch in the Star Date Cafe. As we often do in museum cafes we shared one sandwich, one beverage, and one desert. Dave, of course, voted for ham and cheese but I talked him into chicken with sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and cheddar cheese on focacia. Mmmm. I bribed him with a brownie.
Then we watched a video about the observatory. After a short break, the observatory’s version of a ranger presented a talk about stars with excellent slides. Then the speaker, Dave, and six others climbed into a shuttle bus and headed up the hill to see the big telescopes.
He took my camera with him so you’ll have to ask him about these photos. He said something about big mirrors and a windbreak in front of the opening when I asked.
While Dave was off on that 90 minute tour I played with the interactive exhibits, explored the gift shop, went back to the RV and took a nap, and ate chocolate. We both had a good afternoon.
Then we headed back down the hill to Davis Mountains State Park campground after having decided we could spend one night without internet. We pulled in just minutes after the office closed. The late registration instructions gave us our choice. We could self-register if we were going to leave before 8 a.m. or we could come back between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. to register in person. Right. Like that’s going to happen. For those of you who don’t remember, I am NOT a morning person. There aren’t many places I’m willing to be by 9 a.m. and campground registration is not one of them.
So we are back in Alpine, Texas, at the Lost Alaskan RV Resort and check-out is noon, thank you very much.
TTYL,
Linda