Davis Mountains State Park, Site #51
Good Morning from the Davis Mountains in West Texas.
We’ve visited the area several times, even before we had the truck camper. We’ve stayed at Indian Lodge, but have never managed to get reservations at the Davis Mountains SP campground. It seems that we’re almost always through Ft. Davis during Spring Break, when all campsites are busy and the town is full. However, with better planning this year, we managed to reserve a campsite for 2 nights, apparently right at the end of Spring Break. One of our favorite spots in West Texas, the McDonald Observatory always has special spring break Twilight Programs and Star Parties. However, with the moon nearly full this Saturday evening, there’s little chance of seeing much through the telescopes. And with temperatures dipping below freezing overnight, we opt to forgo the evening programs.
A nice change from Van Horn, our first night in the campground is quiet, relaxing and peaceful. With all sites nearly full on Saturday when we arrive, we’re almost alone on Sunday after the spring breakers head home. The nearby Black Bear Restaurant at Indian Lodge offers a tasty lunch buffet on Sunday. In the afternoon we head out to the observatory for the daily Solar Program. It’s always interesting to watch the sun “live” (as opposed to real time, which isn’t possible since it takes 8.5 seconds for the sunlight to arrive on Earth). Watching the coronal flares and molten gases on the surface, we’re more inclined to slather on a bit more sunscreen and be better at wearing hats. We’re also reminded that the Star Party includes one of our favorite aspects, the constellation talk, followed by telescope viewing. At least the telescope viewing is best enjoyed outside of Spring Break and Easter weekends – and both are better on darker (new moon) skies. We may check schedules for our return trip.
Technology somehow still completely escapes Davis Mountain State Park. Hidden up a valley, there’s no cellular service or over the air TV. The park offers some WiFi, best used at the entry gate or the interpretive center. However, with just the right placement of a PC next to a window, we’re able to slowly download email. We’re parked in site #51, a nice creek side water/electric site nestled into the trees. There are two loops with full services including cable TV – the pull-throughs creek-side (#1-#8) are very nice. The “upper loop” (#28 – #28) are located on a fairly steep loop and will take a fair amount of front to rear leveling and have fewer trees. The rest of the sites are best left for tent campers, low trees and narrow roadways would make RV entry very difficult.
Tomorrow we’ll continue east, with a overnight stop in Del Rio, then on to one of our favorite spots, the Texas Hill Country west of San Antonio. More from there…
Davis Mountains SP, site #51
Black Bear Restaurant at Indian Lodge
Indian Lodge at Davis Mountains SP
Skyline Drive at Davis Mountains SP
Skyline Drive at Davis Mountains SP
Skyline Drive at Davis Mountains SP
Small Home - Big Yard 