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"The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams"
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Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Fort Davis, A Star Party

We started our day, at Fort Davis National Historic Site.  Ft. Davis was established in 1854 with the goal of protecting travelers on the road from San Antonio to El Paso.  At its peak in the 1880's,  Fort Davis was a major installation, with 400 soldiers and over 100 buildings.



 The Fort has many ruins of original buildings, which are still being excavated.  It also has many reconstructed buildings, all furnished with period furniture including; barracks, officer's quarters, kitchen, and commissary.
The most recent reconstruction is the Fort Hospital.  They have a marvelous collection of period medical equipment.  It was one of the largest medical facilities in the southwest.

  The displays at the Fort are really well done.  The museum has a very nice display on the buffalo soldiers.  There is a program of bugle calls and a sound presentation, reenacting the reading of the war order to honor President Andrew Johnson after his death.  Overall, a great place to visit.  After Ft Davis, we had lunch at the Indian Lodge here at the state park. The lodge was built in the 1930's by the CCC.

After lunch, we hung out at the rig, did some reading and took a nap.  At 8:30 we drove back up to the Mcdonald Observatory for a Star party. We were a bit worried because clouds kept building over the mountains, but we knew they had an inclement weather program. We started in the theater where they showed us images and used a software program to detail what might be visible if the clouds moved.  They did!!
107 Inch Harlan J Smith Telescope
 We did not get to use the telescope on the right or the one below, but we saw those on the day tour and I wanted to put the pictures in :).  OK - they had six large telescopes set up and we were able to see planets (Saturn and Venus), star clusters (M13,M35) the Whirlpool Galaxy, and the Orion Nebula; It was way cool.  
This is not to be missed, if you are in the area.  They did a great job, with plenty of staff to answer questions.
Mirror on Hobby Eberly Telescope
Today, we are going to visit the nearby town of Marfa.  See you down the road....
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9 comments:

  1. Dave and Maxine- Wandering WingersApril 11, 2012 at 7:44 AM

    What a great day! Looking at an old frontier and a new one in the same day.

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  2. Gail HouleApril 11, 2012 at 8:29 AM

    Very cool!

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  3. Gin and SylApril 11, 2012 at 9:19 AM

    Now that's my kind of nightlife! I like Dave and Maxine's comment.
    Syl

    ReplyDelete
  4. Paul and Marti DahlApril 11, 2012 at 10:04 AM

    When you said star party I was expecting pictures of George Clooney and Harrison Ford. Silly me. The stars you saw were much more interesting. ;c)

    Another good place to visit now on our list.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nancy and BillApril 11, 2012 at 5:10 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. Nancy and BillApril 11, 2012 at 5:11 PM

    Great Day and Night!! So glad it cleared up:o))

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  7. SherryApril 11, 2012 at 5:39 PM

    Oh that sounds SO cool to see all that through the telescopes. Definitely going on my list.

    Wow 100 buildings in the 1880's and they are having to excavate them? Who tore them down? Surely not urban renewal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Catherine, Jo Beth and GraceApril 12, 2012 at 4:57 AM

      It is the original buildings from 1854 that are being excavated. The fort was abandoned for many years and they fell into ruin.

      Delete
  8. Mike and TerriApril 11, 2012 at 5:51 PM

    Very cool star party!

    ReplyDelete

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