Davis Mountains State Park, Texas
October 18, 2022
Davis Mountains State Park.
Our travel day was bright and sunny with nothing of note, and we settled into Davis Mountain State Park where we had electric and water at our campsite--and internet (more or less). There wasn't anything spectacular here (the one hike we were interested in was closed for repairs) but it was fine. Plus, it was nice to be able to put the deck down again!
The western Texas landscape
Approaching the Davis Mountains
The campground wasn't particularly scenic (we have definitely become scenery snobs), but it wasn't exactly ugly either. It was just, well, kind of "scrubby".
A map of the campground had showed a creek running behind our site. Well, now we know what "creek" means out here. It means a ditch that occasionally has water flowing in it.
Always a good idea to put the water connection right next to the electric 😉
Lovely view of the creek rocky ditch
Our main excitement here came from a friendly deer that checked us out a few times, hoping for a handout.
We were hoping to spot some javelinas, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. As a consolation prize, we did see a dung beetle rolling its bundle.
The weather during our first couple of days was beautiful--70's during the day and mostly sunny. We took this opportunity to walk (about 3 miles) through the campground and down to the Indian Lodge which was built by the CCC in the 1930s.
The Indian Lodge was built in the traditional adobe style.
The CCC incorporated a lot of interesting details
We made a trip down to Marfa on Saturday where we did a little sightseeing in the downtown area. The very attractive Hotel Paisano was a surprise find out in the middle of nowhere Texas. The hotel's main claim to fame appears to be its connection to the 1950s movie Giant, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean, which was filmed just outside of Marfa.
The Hotel Paisano in downtown Marfa
Looks like it belongs in LA
The courtyard was right off the bar and looked quite inviting.
The lobby was gorgeous
We saw these dead agave flowers in town and were astounded at how tall they had grown (in a single season)!
We attended church in town that evening. Despite it being a historic (1920s) building, the inside didn't quite match with our expectations.
Yes, there are green LED lights behind the cross. And yes, the altar area floor appears to be covered in red vinyl. And, oh, the tacky paneling. And lets not ignore the "halo" lights. Otherwise, a perfectly normal church.
Marfa is perhaps most famous for its "Marfa Lights". We did not stay in Marfa after dark so we don't know if we missed anything.
The last couple of days here were much colder (highs in the 40s--yikes!) and rainy, so we mostly hung out in the cozy camper with the electric heaters going as we looked on at our tent-camping neighbors and gloated happily to ourselves.
Our next stop promises to be sunny and in the 80's so perhaps we will be back to summer again!
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