Off to Fort Davis, Tx

After being in one place for five months at Big Bend, the week in Midland-Odessa went by in a flash.  We're hitching up and heading for Fort Davis, Tx.  This will take us back to the mountains just north of where we spent the winter.  It is still part of the Chihuahuan desert but you wouldn't know it if the map didn't tell you so.  The variety of desert plants is a fraction of that in the Big Bend and vast fields of creosote bush, cactus and yucca are replaced by grass, cottonwoods, oaks, cedar and juniper.

Even though this is still the Chihuahuan desert, it stands in stark contrast to its southern regions.
This is ranch country.  Grass covers the ground and wildlife and domestic animals abound.

But not all the cactus have been replaced by grass and trees.  On a hike at the top of skyline drive of Davis Mountains State Park we came across this claret cup.

Our living accommodations have returned to, shall we say, "rustic" conditions.  We are on a dirt strip behind a motel on the outskirts of the town of Fort Davis, at the Fort Davis Inn and RV Park.  But our power is good and the WiFi connection is solid.  We are getting almost full use of the bandwidth available because there is hardly anyone else here to use it.  And that works for us because there is no over the air TV signal, we are streaming news and weather.  The motel is absolutely empty during the day and we see maybe four rooms occupied at night.   We share the campground with only two other rigs.  But this is not unusual for the time of year we are here.  We are between all major holidays and school being out for the summer.  This is definitely the off-season for the area.  But everything is open and we are taking it all in.  The folks running the businesses in town are relaxed and open to conversation and attractions like the historic fort and state park are uncrowded. 

Our first order of business after arriving and getting hooked up was to find something to eat.  Indian Lodge of Davis Mountains State Park is only about five miles away so we headed in that direction with the intent of quieting our growling stomachs and meeting the volunteer coordinator for the state park.

Indian Lodge, Davis Mountains State Park

Of all things, we have both been craving a grilled cheese sandwich.  Lucky for us that is a featured item on the menu at Indian Lodge.  After wolfing down that buttery, gooey concoction straight from heaven we headed out to the park to find the volunteer coordinator.  Not finding her in the interpretive center we drove around for awhile.  The top of skyline drive offered some nice views.

Davis Mountains.

Never did find the volunteer coordinator in the whole week we looked for her.  But we did come away with a name, phone # and email.  We'll have to see about a volunteer position here via electronic means.

Within two minutes of where the rig is parked is the Fort Davis National Historic Site.  This is a fort from the days of early settlement of the west.  It was one of several built along the migration trail from San Antonio to El Paso.  The National Park Service has done a nice job of rehabilitating many of the buildings that were nearly lost to time.

Looking across the parade grounds to the officers quarters.  The foundation in the foreground is a yet unrestored enlisted men's barracks.

Another view of the officer's quarters, this time from the porch of the hospital.

With it being April and there not having been any rain since December, the vegetation is holding back on doing its spring greening.  Maybe next month.  But the park service is out and active.  We met the volunteer coordinator, nice guy.  He was enthusiastic about getting volunteers and we had to admit that the thought of wearing period costumes, giving interpretive programs and being able to literally walk across the street to buy groceries is appealing.  We may have us a place to apply to when we finish up our commitments that run us out through May of 2015.

The history of this park is from the time of the Indian Wars.  Its first life, the fort was a rag-tag facility coming to be in 1854 and then abandoned at the onset of the Civil War.  Then, at the close of the Civil War, re-commissioned.  This time far more resources were dedicated to the fort and more than a hundred buildings were constructed and troop strength peaking at 400 enlisted men plus all the officers and their families.

Quartermaster's Wagon.

Every soldier got his supply of rations.  With troop numbers being this large in such a remote area it was a major undertaking keeping supply lines working.  Many things, like bread, had to be made onsite. The Quartermaster operated a bakery that was pumping out 500 loaves a day.  The Quartermaster was crucial to the function of this remote outpost.  So much so that he had his own, separate stable with almost as many horses and many times more wagons than the troops.

Plenty of restoration work left to do.

Just down the road from the fort is the center of the community of Fort Davis.  It is a typical 19th century community with a town square occupied by the seat of government and businesses and hotels built around the turn of the century.  One of the hotels, the Old Texas Inn, is as it was when it was built, rough-hewn lumber exterior, creaky wood floors, mercantile downstairs, hotel rooms upstairs.

Fort Davis Drug Store, replete with fully functional soda fountain.

We could not pass up the opportunity to eat at the drugstore so we skipped eating earlier in the day and held off until after being tourists.  Then it was all bets off and go for whatever they claimed they were famous for.  It turns out that their double open-faced chili cheeseburger was the must have menu item.

Fort Davis Drug Store Specialty: Open faced double cheeseburger.

Ooohh-wheee, that cheeseburger was the real deal, it was gone way too soon.  But not having eaten like this for a long time, my stomach got a little blindsided and the whole thing sat there for a couple days.  I never got hungry in that time but there must have been lots of salt in everything because I sure was thirsty.