2015 - 2016 Southwest Trip

Day 146

 

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Monday, March 7, 2016, Davis Mountain State Park, Fort Davis, TX, & The McDonald Observatory, 82.1 Miles, 4,937.2 Miles for the Trip

A relatively short drive today to Davis Mountain State Park. I'm in site 12, a full hookup site, including cable, (when I made the reservation there were no Electric & Water sites left - I ended up paying $5.00 extra for a sewer hookup I didn't use), Total cost $31.00, including a $6.00 park entry fee. A nice site, although the picnic table is a little too far from the trailer for ease of use.

After setting up, I drove to the top of the park on Skyline Drive. Took a few photos, then decided to get my astronomy fix by going to the McDonald Observatory, about 15 miles from the campground. I took the Daytime Pass tour ($8.00 senior price) which included a solar viewing session & a tour of two of their telescopes. A well organized, informative tour well worth the money. I had to take two somewhat unrelated photos - the biggest tank of Nitrogen I've seen (we used it to cool fog for use on stage) and a sample air caster. They use them to turn the entire many ton telescope - we have used them to move stage scenery, just a bit lighter!

Site 12, Davis Mountain SP Cactus Flower Views From the Top
Picnic at the Top About the Park Two Observatories The Solar Program
The Harlan J. Smith Telescope The View From the Telescope A Big Tank of Nitrogen The Telescope Lobby
The Harlan J. Smith Telescope Highest Road in Texas The Hobby Eberly Telescope
The Hobby Eberly Telescope An Air Caster The Hobby Eberly Telescope
   
The Hobby Eberly Telescope    

After that it was back to the campground & dinner - a grilled chicken patty, chips & snap peas.

By the way, if I disappear for awhile it is because I will have no internet connections. While tomorrow looks OK, after that I'll be heading into Big Bend National park where phone & hotspot coverage is unavailable. I'll post pages if I find a WiFi connection.

Until tomorrow -

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Last Update: March 8, 2016