51 Star party

February 15 Friday:
     Checked the internet and it was officially colder here than our home in Kellogg Minnesota, what gives?

Davis Outfitters here we come.  Your first UPS packages came by Trike

At the motel breakfast this morning we met a new couple from the Houston Texas area, Mary Lea and Jim,  nice folks they were on a little holiday and planning on attending the star gazing party this evening also.
We knew it wasn't going to be very warm today so we dressed up for a chilly ride, getting used to it.

     We toured Fort Davis, it was home to the Buffalo soldiers, Because of their service record during the civil war Black troops were now protecting the settlers along the 600 mile San Antonio- El Paso trail, their were also over 20,000 Hispanics that served in the civil war.   Another interesting story was about Loreta Velazquez a woman who masqueraded as confederate soldier, fought in the Civil war and became a spy for the confederates.  The Fort also had lots of information on Black leaders like Sojourner Truth who not only championed her race, but also all women's rights.  The underground railroad was also very interesting, Harriet Tubman especially so.  Born a slave she made over 19 trips into the south leading over 300 slaves to freedom.   It is hard to imagine the courage it took to stand up for others the way they did.  I wonder if we would have the same conviction?  Bless them all!   One last thing on the Fort, I was surprised there were not walls around the forts in this part of the country.   The guide told us they were never attacked in large numbers by the Indians to warrant the building of walls.
     Since we had some motel time and it was cold we used this opportunity to address our luggage situation.  We decided we still had far to many clothes, especially warm weather gear.  After sorting it all we were going to jump on our trike and head for our friends at the Davis Mountain Nut factory, as they said we could help ourselves to their supply of boxes.  As we were getting ready Jim offered to give us a ride,  we took him up on the offer and also accepted a ride to the star gazing party this evening.   We located a brand new UPS facility at the Fort Davis Outfitters, as soon as we walked in we liked these folks.  Karen and Kevin were the owners  "Look around and let us know if there is something we should be carrying on the shelves." they said.  A new facility with lots of variety we checked out the store.  If you are in the area check them out, they will have something you need.  I don't know if it was on this visit or when we returned with our packages that Ruthie and Karen started talking about our daughters bandana's, fortunately we had some along, Ruthie brought them in and Karen put one on a western hat, magic, it looked great!  We gave them Michelle's card and website.  We found out later that they now carry Bandana's byMichelle.  When we had our extra baggage packed and ready we had 40 lbs to send back, with the boxes we sent from Russelville AR that makes 80 pounds  we have sent back to Minnesota.  Guess we have some things to learn about packing for four months.  We have been getting some grief from folks back home about our returning packages.

     Dinner/Supper (now I'm getting confused, I hate it when they change things) Okay the last scheduled meal of the day.   We had a wonderful meal at the Blue Mountain Bistro right on main street, nice atmosphere, food quality and prices more in line with our budget.

      Now back to motel to gear up for the star gazing party we had been warned to dress appropriately as it may be chilly, breezy, cold, quite cold.  Reminds me of a book chronicling the early settlers to Minnesota titled Bring Warm Clothes!  Jim and Mary Lea picked us up and we were on our way, little did we know that we were in for a real treat.  The sun was setting as Jim drove us up Davis Mountain and with each change in elevation, curve and lowering of the sun brought a spectacular sunset.  We snapped pictures until  it disappeared behind the mountains.  The Fort Davis area had been thoroughly studied before chosen for the site of the observatory.  The night sky is perfect for star gazing and you can see telescopes in the back yard of many residents of the mountain.  The twilight program at McDonald observatory started with a lecture in which the guide used a laser to point out the solar system.  The star party involves walking to several high powered telescopes that are targeted on specific solar objects,  we have never seen them that clear.  My favorite was the surface of the moon, I don't think I will ever forget it.  Now into the observatory to visit with our new friends and warm up with hot chocolate, we were chilled to the bone.  A big thank you to Mary Lea and Jim for the welcome ride, it would have been uncomfortably cold after standing outside for hours not to mention we had been told that the Javelina's were known to lie on the road surface to absorb the warmth.  More precious memories!