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Saturday Part 1--Bird Walk at Ft. Davis State Park
It was cool with overcast skies at 8:30 when we drove to Ft. Davis State Park for the 9:00 am bird walk. We arrived at 8:59 and barely checked in before they all drove to another place for the walk. There were 22 of us in all.
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Apache Plume--An interesting white flower with its three stages.
One of the bird walk co-leaders
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Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay and Canyon Towhee
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An unusual blue flower and beautiful country
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Bell's Vireo in its nest and female Summer Tanager
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Western Wood-Pewee and Black-throated Sparrow
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Saturday Part 2--Exploring Indian Lodge and Ft. Davis State Parks
After the bird walk we visited Indian Lodge and the Ft. Davis State Park. It was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930"s. It is a hotel/restaurant/gift shop adobe structure. There was a lovely cafe and we decided it was time for lunch.
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After lunch, even though the sky was turning ominous and speckles of rain dotted the windshield, we drove up to the overlook. We could see the Indian Lodge in the hills.
The road was wide enough for 2 cars to pass in most places, with a drop off on one side.
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At the summit viewpoint the wind was so cold and strong it threatened to blow us over, but there was a beautiful wildness to the scenes before us
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As we left the park, there was a friendly Texas sign
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Saturday, Part 3--Tour of Telescope at McDonald Observatory by our cousins Judy, who gives programs and tours, and Kevin who is on the team that keeps the equipment all functioning.
It was darkly overcast today. It was even SNOWING a bit earlier and the temperature was about 37 degrees. We toured the largest telescope (the Harlan Smith--the 107") finished in 1968.
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We started the tour at about 3 pm and it was windy. When we got to the observatory door, the wind was extremely strong. Kevin decided we would exit the car one door open at a time. It was the strongest wind I have ever felt.
We made it safely inside but it was scary like I would imagine a wind tunnel. Check out the wind speed on this inside-the-observatory weather station report. We knew it was a powerful blast! But we were still surprised the weather stations said it was 80 mph and it topped out at 90!
Kevin and Judy on the floor of the observatory under the telescope after we survived the powerful winds. Whew!
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Judy, Judy and Kevin at the base of the telescope and the upper part of the telescope
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The floor support of the telescope and the doors that open to the sky. Everything is overwhelmingly HUGE!
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Kevin is part of the engineering/scientist team that keeps all the huge and small equipment working. They are prepared to fabricate whatever part is needed on the spot. They strip and re-coat the telescope mirrors. As technology changes, they adapt all the equipment to incorporate the new technology. This is his office.
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By the time we left, happily the wind was about 40, so we made a safe exit.
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Saturday, Part IV--Twilight Tour and STAR PARTY!
The Twilight Tour started at about 7:45 and included a program in the theater on "The Moon".
At 9 o'clock the Star Party started. We were surprised to see over 200 people crowding into the Visitor's Center. Most were bundled up as the temperature was in the 30's and the wind was strong. Some had borrowed blankets from nearby motels. Paul and I had not brought our heavy coats, not realizing what the Star Party was about.
We went in sweatshirts and raincoats with a few hand warmers apiece. Kevin soon saw we were ill-prepared, gave me his big wool jacket and went home for more coats for all of us. God bless Kevin!!!!! Meanwhile Judy was on duty at one of the small telescopes readying it for use.
There are no lights outside around the Visitor's Center, except for small red lights and strings of red lights on the ground marking the way to the amphitheater in the back. The red lights enable your eyes to adapt to the dark so you can see the stars and through the telescopes better. We were warned not to turn on our phone screens or any lights at all.
It would be difficult to take photos without making light so we did not try. This is a photo of the area of the Star Party from an observatory display to show the configuration. Actually, it is so dark you can not see your hand in front of your face; you can only see very dim red lights.
The skies were partly cloudy and the wind moved the clouds around briskly. The crowd was offered a rain check on our tickets but I don't think many took them up on the offer.
It is miles and miles from any town to get to the observatory so people had to make a big effort to get there in the first place. I wondered where they all stayed when the party was over at 11:30 pm. It is at least 20 miles to the nearest very small town.
The narrator used a powerful laser light to point out various heavenly bodies. Jupiter was very bright. I do not know how the light can point out where to look in the sky, but it worked extremely well. It seemed very magical. He pointed out the main stars of most of the visible constellations.
Then we visited each of the seven small telescopes set up around the amphitheater. I saw the bands of Jupiter and 4 of its moons, as well as the terminator edge of the moon where the craters are sharply defined. The clouds came and went, the wind blew and blew. It was eerie walking around in the dark; somehow we avoided bumping into the other 198 people!
When we were quite frozen, we went into the Visitor's Center for a warming hot chocolate break--there was a crowd but very efficiently served.
We went back outside for awhile and finally decided we had seen all that the telescopes had to offer. We topped off the night with an indoor program in the theater with photos of many of the celestial bodies we had seen.
We got home a little before midnight. The temperature was 34 degrees.
Thus ended one of the most interesting and FULL days we have ever experienced!
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Today Our Eyes Were On
Two life birds (Bell's Vireo and Black-throated Sparrow), quite a few not-lifers, fellow-birders and spectacular landscapes
A beautifully designed and constructed adobe hotel
A monumental-sized observatory, telescope with counter-weights and moveable supports. We each actually got to move the telescope inside the dome. You could see the tracks where the dome swivels.
Truly fascinating.
A star party to outdo the Oscars!!!
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