At 10:30 seven of us rode 12 miles in the van to McDonald Observatory. I highly recommend stopping if you are in the area. We had an excellent two-hour guided tour of two telescopes, the 107" diameter Harlan J. Smith and the 433" Hobby-Eberly. In the photos below you will see Rhodri and Flynn maneuvering the 107" telescope using a control. Pictured in front of the 107" scope are (in front) Andre, Terry and Julianne and (in back) Flynn, Bruce, Rhodri and Carol. The dome of the 433" scope rolls on inflatable tubes. We wondered if they get flats too?
When we returned to Fort Davis, Terry and I walked to the Fort Davis National Historic Site, where a real fort was in use from 1854 to 1891 (see photos). The fort first protected would-be gold miners en route to California, then suppressed Apache raiders. After the Civil War, Buffalo Soldiers (black soldiers) were stationed here.
The street signs in town are fun to read: Blackfoot, Bullsnake, Coachwhip, Copperhead and Rattlesnake, for example. Might be hard to sell a house on Rattlesnake!
The town of Fort Davis was also a stop on the overland stage route, which roughly paralleled the Oregon Trail and Pony Express. The town has a museum (see photo) which unfortunately was closed.
This evening we met up with an Adventure Cycling group doing a week loop ride in the Big Bend area of Texas. We mingled over appetizers (see photos of Rhodri and Flynn, and Bob Plant, Andre and Ken). Our host Randall grilled kebabs (photo with Jerry), and his brother served up beans, beef brisket and wonderful seasoned chicken (photo serving Bob G with Andre in background).
After dinner Julianne, Mitch, Isabel and her assistant conducted a map meeting on tomorrow's route (see photo). Both groups will ride the same route and share a campsite tomorrow night.
Bruce
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