Fort Davis, TX (USA)

Wanted to sleep a little later today, but it was kind of hard with the sun creeping through the windows and the many wild birds chirping outside. Still, the kids were content after a night in a bunk bed and the opportunity to eat breakfast with the other kids in the camp cafeteria. I spent a lot of the morning speaking with the proprietors to learn about the possibility of the kids attending horse camp. Around 1000 we drove into town again - this time to visit the Fort Davis National Park. It was a startlingly beautiful place - site of a Buffalo Soldiers' outpost in the late Nineteenth Century. Camp homes were restored and rangers/volunteers were dressed in period clothing. The kids completed another Junior Ranger patch/pin - and learned a lot about life in the 1800s (including the "boring" time the kids had going to school and doing chores all day in this remote location). Still, no one wanted to leave the mountains - it is so pleasant and remote! We had lunch at the old Fort Davis Drug Store (cafe) - kids enjoyed the experience of eating at an old road-side stop. Drove out on TX-17 through some green canyons - took I-10 for a short time and then drove up to Pecos. Back on I-20, quickly made it back to Abilene. Amazingly, over the 14 hours of driving on this trip, the kids never watched a movie - we just chatted and enjoyed each others' company... Dinner in Weatherford and then home - just after 2030. Despite the many hours of driving, still feel pretty jazzed about what we saw. The Davis Mountains have lots of opportunities for the future!