Monday, January 28, 2008
Jan. 25 to Jan. 28
Here we are - in Fort Davis!
That had us on edge - but things got much worse. A little while later I was inside on the computer with Derek and the cats hanging around outside. Suddenly Derek told me that a Javelina was coming into the site. If you don't know what Javelinas are let me tell you - furry wild pigs with big teeth. We have been warned of them and told that they will eat our animals. However, up to now we have never seen any out in the day so of course we keep the cats in at night. Well, suddenly about 20 were coming into our site. Our cats at first just stood there and stared, but once Derek and I started freaking out and yelling at them they started running in every direction. I grabbed Bailey and threw him in the RV. One Javelina ran after Tuk Tuk who headed way off - Javelinas have not fear of humans - they can't see but can smell really well. Once the Javelinas moved off a bit we were able to get the cats inside. However we had to go and try to find Tuk Tuk. I was really worried but he finally came back to the road where Derek was looking for him! So - now the cats are RV bound and Keda comes with us everywhere in the truck. So - it all turned out fine but we had a real scare! Unfortunately the Javelinas now have the smell of our animals and so kept coming into our site for the rest of the night. We finally put Keda in the back of the truck. We found out from the Park staff that the Javelina is only related to the Hippopotamus.
We left Lajitas last Friday - wow what great scenery from Lajitas to Presidio. However, a few tense moments - who knew that there is a stretch of steep roads. Good thing that we aren't longer than we are - for a few minutes we were going so slow I thought that we would start going backwards. The steepness up wasn't as bad as down - going over a hill where you can't see over is a bit nail biting. Derek handled it well and soon we were on to the straighter stretch and our heart rates returned to normal. Still - beautiful country side!
Once in Presidio we stopped at the Fort Leaton Historic Site a large adobe fort and travel center. After that we head to Los Palmos RV park. We decided to stay for the night as we thought that we would go over the border into Mexico here taking a bus to Chihuahua City. Los Palmos is typical of private RV parks - flat and pretty boring. Mainly a park for Snowbirds (Winter Texans) who don't seem to mind being parked in like sardines. The park hosts were really nice and it gave us a chance to do some laundry. Not much to Presidio - a bit rundown with few services. We looked around a bit - we couldn't find out about the bus as the tourist info was closed. In the end we decided against going down to Chihuahua and will wait to see if we go to Mexico from New Mexico or Arizona. On to Fort Davis!
Another nice drive from Presidio to Fort Davis. We were really impressed on the way here and now here we just love it. We have decided that this is our favourite place in Texas so far - and most likely will be in all of Texas. Western with a bit of urban. Fort Davis is a small town but has a great feel - great shops, restaurants and the coffee shop we are in now. We are staying at the Davis Mountain State Park just northwest of Fort Davis. The park is really nice as well - lots of trees in the Mountains. Also lots to do here - today we went into Alpine - a place with lots of gallerys. Apparently it is drawing artists from New York and California. We have decided to stay here for a bit.
Sunday we went to the Church of Christ here in Fort Davis. The Church is led by Gregory and Myra Meads - a great couple who were so welcoming. The church service was wonderful and we sang a few hymms. After the service the Meads invited us for lunch. We went to the restaurant that they call the Drug Store and had a great - albeit HUGE Chicken Fried Steak lunch.
Sunday afternoon we went for a hike at the park. A trail leads up to the top of a hill and over to the Indian Lodge - 2.5 kms which was pretty tough because much of it is pretty steep. It was good to get out and do some exercise. The photos show the Indian Lodge which was built by the CCC in the early 1900's. Today it is a hotel and has a restaurant as well.
Once back and relaxing we had a whole bunch of excitement. First, as you can see in the photos, Bailey decided that he wanted to be friends with a buck. The deer at the park have no fear - they mill around at your site and come really close to you. So, off goes Bailey to be friends - he even laid down beside the deer when they came up to him. But he finally did get the message and ran off.
That had us on edge - but things got much worse. A little while later I was inside on the computer with Derek and the cats hanging around outside. Suddenly Derek told me that a Javelina was coming into the site. If you don't know what Javelinas are let me tell you - furry wild pigs with big teeth. We have been warned of them and told that they will eat our animals. However, up to now we have never seen any out in the day so of course we keep the cats in at night. Well, suddenly about 20 were coming into our site. Our cats at first just stood there and stared, but once Derek and I started freaking out and yelling at them they started running in every direction. I grabbed Bailey and threw him in the RV. One Javelina ran after Tuk Tuk who headed way off - Javelinas have not fear of humans - they can't see but can smell really well. Once the Javelinas moved off a bit we were able to get the cats inside. However we had to go and try to find Tuk Tuk. I was really worried but he finally came back to the road where Derek was looking for him! So - now the cats are RV bound and Keda comes with us everywhere in the truck. So - it all turned out fine but we had a real scare! Unfortunately the Javelinas now have the smell of our animals and so kept coming into our site for the rest of the night. We finally put Keda in the back of the truck. We found out from the Park staff that the Javelina is only related to the Hippopotamus.
All for now, we will be here for the rest of the week. Tomorrow we are going to the Observatory for the day and a 'Star Party' at night to look at the planets and stars.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Jan.24
Back so soon - we realized that we can get the internet from the comfort of our trailer at the RV site. Not much new to add. We decided to stay at Lajitas for a few days especially since it is a rainy day today. A bit of a scare last night - turns out the they deliver a newspaper at 3:00 am. Since it was the second time they came by and came up to the door I was a bit concerned. However, Derek was not to impressed to be woken up at that hour by me freaking out. Oh well - what are they doing delivering at 3 in the morning anyway!
We took a drive around Lajitas looking at beautiful houses that stand empty. Then we drove back in to Terlingua/Study Butte to look around a little - have some lunch at the Chili Pepper Cafe and get some gas. :)
May head out to Presidio tomorrow or Saturday.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Jan.23
Just a quick note... we found a gorgeous place!!! Spent a night in Big Bend National Park - very beautiful surroundings but the camping wasn't great - plus no electricity. Plus - reports of coyotes and bobcats strolling around the rv parking!
We are now spending a night or more at Lajitas Resort - The Ultimate Hideout - check it out at www.lajitas.com. Sadly it is a beautiful resort that went bad - the story is that the guy put 120 million in and went bankrupt. It recently sold for 14 million in foreclosure but it has fallen into disrepair. We will show pictures in the future - we are using the resort computer at the moment.
A few years ago they wouldn't have let us into the RV parking because it was built for Class A motorhomes - now there are 4 of us in the park. They once asked $100 a night for an RV - now it is $29 which is still steep but since we almost have the park to ourselves we went for it. Plus the Chihuahuan Desert surrounds us. We cannot put into words how inspiring the scenery is here. We met a couple from Colorado - they have already been scoping out the real estate. Beautiful houses stand empty and unfinished.
After this we are on to Presidio and then north to the Davis Mountain region - we will update again soon.
We are now spending a night or more at Lajitas Resort - The Ultimate Hideout - check it out at www.lajitas.com. Sadly it is a beautiful resort that went bad - the story is that the guy put 120 million in and went bankrupt. It recently sold for 14 million in foreclosure but it has fallen into disrepair. We will show pictures in the future - we are using the resort computer at the moment.
A few years ago they wouldn't have let us into the RV parking because it was built for Class A motorhomes - now there are 4 of us in the park. They once asked $100 a night for an RV - now it is $29 which is still steep but since we almost have the park to ourselves we went for it. Plus the Chihuahuan Desert surrounds us. We cannot put into words how inspiring the scenery is here. We met a couple from Colorado - they have already been scoping out the real estate. Beautiful houses stand empty and unfinished.
After this we are on to Presidio and then north to the Davis Mountain region - we will update again soon.
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