Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Alpine, Texas to Van Horn, Texas
Highlights: Davis Mountains Scenic Loop, Fort Davis National Historic Site, Madera Canyon Trail, and desert bighorn sheep
The Davis Mountains Scenic Loop, climbing north out of Fort Davis to a height of 6,700 feet, is the highest public highway in Texas. The Loop is only about 75 miles long, but with all the great stops, we devoted the day to it.
Davis Mountains Scenic Loop
Point of Rocks
Fort Davis National Historic Site is one of the best restored frontier military posts of the 1800s. It was built in 1854 to protect travelers on the San Antonio-El Paso Road from attack by Indians. In 1867 the duty of manning the fort was turned over to the Buffalo Soldiers, formerly enslaved African-American men who enlisted in the Army after the Civil War. The fort was closed in 1891, having outlived its usefulness.
Another day, another fort!
Officers' quarters
The visitor center at Fort Davis was closed (Covid - imagine that), but we walked around the grounds and looked into several of the buildings before climbing the steep bluff behind the site for an awesome view of Fort Davis and the nearby town of the same name.
Enlisted men's barracks
Two-story officers' quarters
Fort Davis from the bluff
In another act of pandemic panic, McDonald Observatory was closed to the public without an appointment, which we did not have. We merely wanted to visit its outdoor areas for the views, but even the road to the Mount Fowlkes and Mount Locke summits were off limits, so we passed right on by.
McDonald Observatory from afar
Scenic pull-off
After a quick picnic, I hiked the Madera Canyon Trail while Tom loitered at the trailhead. The trail is a 2.4-mile loop with canyon and mountain views. The views weren't spectacular, but it was a nice walk, and it was good to stretch my legs.
Well-marked trailhead
View from the trail
Historic stock tank
Continuing our drive onto the lower portion of the Davis Mountains Scenic Loop, we then passed through the valley we'd been seeing all day from above. Looking to the top of the rocky hills above, we spotted a herd of desert bighorn sheep, maybe 20 in all. Wow!
Sawtooth Mountain
Desert bighorn sheep
Looking at us looking at him
We eventually left the Loop and turned north on our old friend US 90, soon coming to the infamous pop art installation “Prada Marfa,” outside Valentine, Texas. This was NOT one of the day's highlights, LOL, but we had to stop. Since it's art, I will leave its meaning to your individual interpretation.
Prada Marfa
From the 2005 collection
There was plenty of daylight left when we reached Van Horn, but since there are NO MORE TOWNS until New Mexico, we went ahead and stopped for the night.
Texas!
Lodging: Red Roof Inn, Van Horn, Texas, a big, clean, comfortable room for only 56 bucks, with breakfast included - the only hotel breakfast of the trip.
We relaxed in our comfy room and then walked across the street to El Tomate Pizza Shop for a thin-crust supreme. Hit the spot!
Driving distance: 171 miles
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