Davis Mountains State Park

19 03 2017

Davis Mountains State Park #7

The Davis Mountains of west Texas never disappoint. Our nicely wooded sites #7 and #10 PARK MAP along the (dry) creek bed provide plenty of privacy and shade as the temps climb into the 90’s. Unusual for this time of year, this heat wave has been with us since Phoenix and Tucson where they were breaking records and running 20+ degrees above normal.

Our weekend in Ft. Davis includes a McDonald Observatory Visitor Center tour, wandering through the old western downtown and a visit to the Ft. Davis Army Fort. On Saturday we make the short trip to Alpine to make reservations at the Lost Alaskan RV park where we’ll spend 2 nights on our way south to Big Bend. On Sunday we head down to famous Marfa with a good friend that has joined us from Las Cruces, NM. A bit of a disappointment, about the only thing we could find that looked open and inviting was the Planet Marfa beer garden. The folks were friendly, the beer was cold and the peanuts were free – what more could you ask for in a beer garden in the middle of West Texas?

After Ft. Davis we’ll make our way south toward Big Bend where we’re planning to stay next weekend. We’ll spend 2 nights at the Lost Alaskan and then 1 or 2 nights at Maverick Ranch in Lajitas. More from Big Bend country…

: Davis Mountains SP Site #7

: David Mountains State Park

: Davis Mountains SP Site #10

: Davis Mountains SP Site #11

: McDonald Observatory Visitor Center

: Downtown Marfa

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Tags: Davis Mountains State Park, ft. Davis, mcDonald observatory, tx
Categories : Spring Road Trip 2017

Mile High Chili Cookoff, Davis Mountains State Park

23 04 2016

MacMillen RV Park, Ft. Davis, TX

What, a mile high event that’s not in Denver? We were surprised to read about this event when attempting to reserve a site at Davis Mountains State Park near Ft. Davis, TX. Boasting an elevation of between 5000 and 6000 feet, Davis Mountains SP indeed can host “mile high” competitions. With 27 chili cooks, this CASI suctioned event judges chili, beans and salsa. And, with complimentary park admission and a $4 donation to friends-of-the park, it’s a great afternoon out for everyone. We enjoyed talking with the cooks, learned a bit about how a good cook could eventually be invited to the Terlingua International Chili Championship and of course tasting many of the chilis.

Mile High Chili Cookoff, Davis Mountains SP

With all sites in Davis reserved for chili cooks, we opted to try MacMillen RV Park south of Ft. Davis. We’re in site #25, about the center of this 30 site park. The sites are long, spacious and level – providing 50A power, water and sewer plus about 12 analog channels of cable TV. Many of the central sites have a picnic table and a small tree in between you and your neighbor. Facilities have long deferred maintenance, the laundry room is down to a single washer and dryer – the shower rooms each have rattling fans and flaking paint. A former patio area is now deep in weeds. It’s unfortunate that these types of properties are let go – but maybe there’s enough profit at $30/night to keep visitors around long enough to break even. Or, maybe there’s a complete lack of use of these type of facilities with fully contained RV’s, so it’s just not worth the investment. Whatever the reason, this park is on par with the others in Ft. Davis and enjoys a quiet, peaceful setting on the outskirts of town. We’re planning to attend a Star Party at McDonald Observatory tonight, then continue north toward Carlsbad, NM tomorrow. More from there…

MacMillen RV Park, Ft. Davis, TX

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Tags: casi, Davis Mountains State Park, ft. Davis, mile high chili cookoff, texas
Categories : Texas Roadtrip 2016

Ft. Davis Inn & RV Park

18 03 2015

McDonald Observatory

With all sites at Davis Mountains State Park full with spring breakers, we’re once again parked in the somewhat impromptu sites behind the Ft. Davis Inn. The 10 or so sites all offer 30 and 50 amp electric service, water and sewer. There are also about 30 channels of cable TV available, with a few too snowy to watch and a couple with bad audio. We were here at Ft. Davis Inn 3 years ago, right after the current owners took over. They have made considerable progress on the RV services area which includes a restroom, shower and a washer/dryer. They have also upgraded the WiFi by adding an extended range access point. However, with a huge Class A coach between us and the transmitter, the WiFi is nearly unusable. But, the Verizon cell signal is strong and we have no problem getting good internet access. With a site closer to the motel, WiFi access would be excellent – I achieved nearly 5Mb when downloading an audio book while sitting at the picnic table at site #4.

Since leaving Carlsbad we’ve encountered wet, stormy weather. In fact, the drive down from Carlsbad along US 285 was perhaps the worst drive we’ve made with the RV. With what appears to be nearly constant traffic of heavy drilling equipment, the highway is a collection of potholes and patches made even worse with the heavy rains and muddy conditions. By the time we reach Pecos, TX the roads are running over the curbs in a red river of mud. Once we crossed over I-10 and continue south through Balmorhea, the storms have passed leaving only cloudy skies.

After working on Wednesday morning we decide to go check out the Observatory to see what’s happening for Spring Break. The visitors center is surprisingly quiet giving us quick access to the Solar presentation. There is no live solar viewing due to cloud cover, however the evening forecast is expected to improve enough for the scheduled Star Party. A few years ago we attended a Star Party with perhaps 100 other guests. This evening, the entire outdoor amphitheater is packed, standing room only – there could be nearly 1000 here! The Observatory staff has arranged for several additional telescopes, and after about a 30 minute introduction to the night objects that we will be viewing, the crowd disburses and forms lines at each telescope. Even with the crowd, the lines are fairly manageable, and we enjoy our evening viewing the Galilean moons of Jupiter, the Orion Nebula and several other objects added as slight cloud cover drifts overhead.

We’re staying here in Ft. Davis until Friday when we plan to move into Big Bend National Park. There’s very little cellular or WiFi access in the Park, so no updates until we leave the park on Sunday afternoon.