texanrt
New member
I was invited to join a couple of guys for a weekend run from Houston to west Texas in April and I'm just getting this posted -- better late than never, I guess. It's a special place and one we're going to visit again soon.
We arranged to meet in west Houston and were on the road to Austin before the sun was up. I knew the weather was going to be rough on our first day -- severe weather was forecast in our path as a cold front moved through Texas -- I figured we'd meet it around Austin. An easy rain turned to a drenching downpour from Austin to Llano -- but west of Llano the sky was clearing and we'd have blue skies for the next four days.
Texas is tapping wind energy in a big way and wind farms are popping up across the vast open spaces of west Texas. We passed this one somewhere west of San Angelo.
It's a place where the roads run straight to the horizon.....
We took the scenic route through Pecos before arriving in Ft. Stockton for the evening -- David added Loving County, Texas to his list of visited Texas counties before we stopped to dine at Alfredos
-- we covered about 700 miles on day 1.
Day 2 started with us heading south out of Fort Stockton on 385 -- the pictures don't do justice to the expansive vistas we enjoyed on this trip -- here the road goes on for miles before turning.
An interested factoid relating to these next photos -- early electricity and phone lines were strung along roadside fence posts -- here along 385 you could see lots of old wires. On the right side were the two-strand electrical wires. On the left side were the single-strand phone lines -- positive only -- the phones were grounded at the residence and when there was interference somebody would pour water on the ground where the phone was "grounded" to clear up the signal. As I recall David said this was described in a book he read about the west Texas Pulte family.
More west Texas wide-open spaces -- somewhere along 385 I think...
We arrived in Marathon and stopped in front of the historic Gage hotel -- we'd stay in Marathon on Sunday, but at the Marathon Motel -- their cabins are much more to my liking. The Gage Hotel was completed in 1927 and restored by its new owners in 1978. Its premium accommodations include a fine restaurant.
Somewhere along old highway 90....
We arrived in Ft. Davis around noon after traveling old highway 90 from Marathon and through Alpine. Dined at the Old Texas Inn.
After lunch we traveled north to Calera, Texas -- the location of Mission Mary -- the La Calera Chapel. The mission was established around 1902 and was later abandoned before its restoration in 2003 by the Calera Foundation. Here's a link to some photos of the restoration: Mission Mary Restoration -- caleratexas.org It sits alone -- the last remaining vestiges of the original settlement. This beautiful little chapel was open to visitors.
The Old Rugged Cross -- we stepped inside to see a small altar and a copy of the Bible. As soon as I saw the book opened, I knew it was turned to John's gospel -- John 3:16 "For God so loved....." I hope you'll indulge me this one opportunity to say it takes a special people to settle and live in a place like this -- it could not have been easy. And like so many places we've visited we're struck by the fact that among the earliest of settlements -- no matter how difficult the circumstances -- they built a church.
Ft. Davis was established (1854 - 1891) as an outpost for the protection of the San Antonio - El Paso road and the Chihuahua Trail. According to the Ft. Davis website there were no walls or palisades protecting the fort -- in fact, few western forts had walls or palisades according to the website despite how our Hollywood westerns portray them. The fort is set back against these rocky hills forming a formidable barrier.
The fort's hospital is undergoing renovations and will be the only restored hospital in the US from this time period.
The renovated officer's quarters....
Next is our visit to the MacDonald Observatory -- to be continued......
We arranged to meet in west Houston and were on the road to Austin before the sun was up. I knew the weather was going to be rough on our first day -- severe weather was forecast in our path as a cold front moved through Texas -- I figured we'd meet it around Austin. An easy rain turned to a drenching downpour from Austin to Llano -- but west of Llano the sky was clearing and we'd have blue skies for the next four days.
Texas is tapping wind energy in a big way and wind farms are popping up across the vast open spaces of west Texas. We passed this one somewhere west of San Angelo.
It's a place where the roads run straight to the horizon.....
We took the scenic route through Pecos before arriving in Ft. Stockton for the evening -- David added Loving County, Texas to his list of visited Texas counties before we stopped to dine at Alfredos
-- we covered about 700 miles on day 1.
Day 2 started with us heading south out of Fort Stockton on 385 -- the pictures don't do justice to the expansive vistas we enjoyed on this trip -- here the road goes on for miles before turning.
An interested factoid relating to these next photos -- early electricity and phone lines were strung along roadside fence posts -- here along 385 you could see lots of old wires. On the right side were the two-strand electrical wires. On the left side were the single-strand phone lines -- positive only -- the phones were grounded at the residence and when there was interference somebody would pour water on the ground where the phone was "grounded" to clear up the signal. As I recall David said this was described in a book he read about the west Texas Pulte family.
More west Texas wide-open spaces -- somewhere along 385 I think...
We arrived in Marathon and stopped in front of the historic Gage hotel -- we'd stay in Marathon on Sunday, but at the Marathon Motel -- their cabins are much more to my liking. The Gage Hotel was completed in 1927 and restored by its new owners in 1978. Its premium accommodations include a fine restaurant.
Somewhere along old highway 90....
We arrived in Ft. Davis around noon after traveling old highway 90 from Marathon and through Alpine. Dined at the Old Texas Inn.
After lunch we traveled north to Calera, Texas -- the location of Mission Mary -- the La Calera Chapel. The mission was established around 1902 and was later abandoned before its restoration in 2003 by the Calera Foundation. Here's a link to some photos of the restoration: Mission Mary Restoration -- caleratexas.org It sits alone -- the last remaining vestiges of the original settlement. This beautiful little chapel was open to visitors.
The Old Rugged Cross -- we stepped inside to see a small altar and a copy of the Bible. As soon as I saw the book opened, I knew it was turned to John's gospel -- John 3:16 "For God so loved....." I hope you'll indulge me this one opportunity to say it takes a special people to settle and live in a place like this -- it could not have been easy. And like so many places we've visited we're struck by the fact that among the earliest of settlements -- no matter how difficult the circumstances -- they built a church.
Ft. Davis was established (1854 - 1891) as an outpost for the protection of the San Antonio - El Paso road and the Chihuahua Trail. According to the Ft. Davis website there were no walls or palisades protecting the fort -- in fact, few western forts had walls or palisades according to the website despite how our Hollywood westerns portray them. The fort is set back against these rocky hills forming a formidable barrier.
The fort's hospital is undergoing renovations and will be the only restored hospital in the US from this time period.
The renovated officer's quarters....
Next is our visit to the MacDonald Observatory -- to be continued......
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