Saturday, March 3, 2012

DAVIS MOUNTAINS STATE PARK

Friday, March 2 – We were on the road bright and early again today for our trip to Davis Mountains State Park in Davis, TX. The six hour trip took us through some isolated areas of southwest Texas.

drive-to-ft-davis

We saw very few other travelers in this “out-of-the-way” part of the United States. It was interesting how the geography changes as we moved west.

no-one-on-road

We saw about a dozen guys riding bikes. Crazy!
biker

From oil wells, through white crusted cattle land, the Lake Amistad area,

Lake-Amistade

the red foothills of the southwest mountains, and eventually climbing into the Davis Mountains.

approaching-davis-mt

Our campsite is in a valley between two mountain ridges. We are staying two nights and used our Texas State Parks pass which gives us free admission to the parks and half off our second night of camping. We have a water & electric site that cost us $22 for both nights. The sites are large and arranged in pairs. We are fortunate not to have anyone in the neighboring site.

campground

campground-2


Looking to our right.
campground-surroundings

Our nearest neighbor.
campground-surroundings-2

After getting set up, we took Bella out on her long awaited hike. She loves camping in state park type settings so she can get out on her leash and roam.

bella-walking

bella-drinking

After she tired herself out a little, we returned her to the safety of the motor home and went exploring ourselves.

us

We looked at the full hook-up sites available down the road. These site are all pull-through and arranged as pull-offs from the camping loop road. They are all reserved or taken for the weekend. We like our water & electric site better because it is much more secluded.

We then ventured up to the Indian Lodge.

indian-lodge

The mile-high lodge is a rustic inn built in the 1930's by the Civilian Conservation Corps. This full-service hotel is modeled after southwestern Indian pueblos and has adobe walls more than 18 inches thick. You can relax outdoors in one of the many peaceful sitting areas, take a dip in the pool, or dine in comfort at the Black Bear Restaurant. We checked the prices in the restaurant and they are very reasonable.

indian-lodge-2

We then drove the switch-back road to the top of Davis Mountains. Man is it windy up there! Paul had to save little Marsha from being blown away! You could see for miles and miles. We had several great views of our campsite in the valley below.

from-a-top-mt-davis-2

Can you pick out our motorhome?
pick-our-MH

pick-our-MH-3

Zoomed in from far atop the mountain.
pick-our-MH-2

Tomorrow we are heading up to the McDonald Observatory so be sure to check back for some interesting hiking, viewing of the telescopes, and our Night Sky Watch Party!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day

15 comments:

  1. Amazing! Now that's the size of campsites we like too. You're out in the middle of nowhere and you still have internet. That's my type of RV parking.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looks like a great place, and so secluded!! Enjoy your stay!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. you will love the McDonald Observatory - hope you have a clear night...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great site, great spot...but kinda glad we don't have the winds you guys are having out west!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh, gosh, this all looks so familiar. We stop either at Davis Mountain SP or Balmorhea SP whenever we make the trek either east or west on I-10. Will you have time to drive up to see the beautiful, huge, natural pool at Balmorhea State Park? Worth the short drive!

    We used to let Luna wander loose at Davis Mtn State Park. Seeing Bella explore brought back good memories. One in particular: Luna sitting up on the picnic table, watching with great curiosity as a family of javelina wandered through our camp!

    ReplyDelete
  6. We have never stopped there. I think we will have do that sometime.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Looks like a spot to keep in our book of places to go --- if only we were keeping such a book.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Gorgeous spot. I am so looking forward to your trip to the Observatory.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks to you, I have just pinned this to my Texas board in Pinterest. We will be making this one of our "must see" places.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for bringing back the memories of our first year on the road when we stayed at Ft. Davis SP twice.

    ReplyDelete
  11. So nice when you have a little extra room and no close neighbors. Bella seems to be enjoying herself.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love your site! That's our kind of place for sure.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Great looking camping spot. Terrific pics to show the area too!

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a great looking campsite. I love seeing Bella out for a walk. That's such a nice harness. We've thought about taking Baxter out, but I'm afraid he will start trying to get out the door if he gets a taste of the outdoors.

    I'm going to pin this site to my Pinterest too (if I can figure out how)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for leaving us a comment. We enjoy reading them. Have a great day!