 |
At about 7:30 am, after a quick breakfast of homemade bread toast and jam, we walked up the road toward the observatory--the exact spot where we saw the two Montezuma Quail yesterday. We were hoping to have a better look, now that we know where they are and how they act.
Sure enough, a beautiful male was sitting 2 feet from the road. I got a good look at him before he moved off. There was not the least doubt this time--Montezuma Quail!!!! How lucky is that! Again, no photo except in my memory bank.
Walking back, we saw a bird that was strange to us. It looked like a very large black barn swallow. We finally figured it was a Purple Martin.
|
 |
We also noticed an extraordinarily large Juniper Tree and its very old bark. It has been there a long time, perhaps since before the first observatory in 1940.
|
 |
We decided last night, after hearing of high temperatures and full campgrounds in Big Bend National Park, that we will save that for another trip. After a month and 3 days, we are ready to chart our course homeward.
So we stayed another day with Judy and Kevin. They were very kind hosts and welcomed us.
I organized the chaos in the motor home and Paul studied the maps and weather. It has definitely warmed up. Then we luxuriated with hot showers and clean clothes.
|
 |
After a great lunch of soup and quesadillas, we walked Judy to work at the Visitor's Center. I had not seen all the the displays.
On the way I was attacked by the dried leaf of a yucca plant. This is the culprit. Who knew? I will be more respectful of yuccas in the future.
At the Visitor's Center I began to feel something dripping down my leg. The poke had not only gone through my jeans but also my skin. One of the women at the desk provided me with a box of band-aids, a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, a cotton ball, and a tube of neo-sporin. Five band-aids soon took care of the damage!
|
 |
The Visitor's Center is a strikingly beautiful structure. Paul and I went through the very interesting display area. I was fascinated by the different ways telescopes have used information from space as technology improves. Formerly astronomers used optical information (what they saw). Now they use spectrography and study space on their computers.
We enjoyed the gift shop and had a cold drink in the Star Date Cafe before walking home. He went to take a nap, I to blog.
|
 |
Heading west and north tomorrow. We have had such a wonderful visit with Judy and Kevin, and thoroughly enjoyed learning about all aspects of McDonald Observatory.
|
 |
Today Our Eyes Were On
A SITTING MONTEZUMA QUAIL--NO DOUBT ABOUT IT!
Very friendly and helpful Texans
A clean and organized motor home--at least temporarily
I am still caught up on the blog!!!!!!!!
|
No comments:
Post a Comment