At Night the Stars put on a Show for Free...

April 14 - April 18, 2013

(Photo stolen from the McDonald Observatory's website)

"At Night the Stars put on a Show for Free..." (Joni Mitchell) (Sorry Nancy)

...Well actually it was $12 per person at the McDonald Observatory where we attended a "star party."

The University of Texas' McDonald Observatory was a few miles down the road from Ft Davis State Park, where we spent four nights. The "star party" was an event where we arrived at the observatory at 9:00 pm for a two hour event which included a "tour" of the beautiful night sky and a chance to look through several very powerful telescopes. There is very little light pollution in this part of Texas, allowing one to see many more stars than are visible in more populated areas. Our instructor used a very powerful laser pointer to help us identify the various constellations and planets. It looked like the laser reached all the way to the stars.

Here's a picture of our huge and gorgeous campsite at Ft Davis State Park. That's our RV behind the tree. You can see SiSi and I sitting at the picnic table under the awning that the park provided. This park provided water, electric, sewer, and cable connections for $25. Texas State Parks rock!!!!!!!!!!

 

We drove the Elantra up a steep and winding road near the campground for some beautiful views. This photo shows the Observatory's telescopes in the distance.

 

  During our stay we spent an afternoon at the very interesting Ft Davis National Historic Park.            Ft Davis had been constructed to defend a trail leading west during the gold rush. Named for then Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis, it was later held by the Confederates and was abandoned a few years after the war, when it became obsolete. It is surrounded by mountains and beautiful vistas.

This photo shows the officer's quarters. The flag is at half mast from the Boston Marathon bombings.

I was particularly interested in the fort's hospital. It was "state of the art" for the time. The next few photos show the many scary-looking medical instruments that were used by the fort's doctors.

 

All of these photos were taken behind glass, so please excuse the glare from the flash.