More Texas Parks

What a whirly world. My head is spinning. I woke up in Van Horn and ended up in Alpine, and I am not in Switzerland. I am in West Texas. There's mountains and lakes here. I am so surprised. We started the day by going to Balmorhea State Park. The attraction there is the San Solomon springs, which produce 1 million gallons of artesian water a day. Back in the Great Depression, before I was born, the CCC built a big pool here and some lodges. The pool still holds 4.5 million gallons of water and provides a constant 74 degree swimming hole in the heat of the summer or the cold of the winter. What a little piece of 1930's charm. Scuba divers practice in the pool, which is clear down to 25 feet. Today, a cold front came through, and the outdoor temperature was 60 degrees, so we did not swim. It would have been chilly for the non-bears of the family. .

I took my picture with Ranger Brenda. She was NICE

Then we went to the Davis Mountains State Park, where I met four lovely rangers named Jeanne, Maria (she's the boss), Sondra and Verna. They are all real friendly, especially Jeanne, and we took a group photo. The Davis Mountain State Park is also 1930's built. There's a big lodge in the park, Indian Lodge, that is a state park itself, a park within a park. Is that confusing? We drove the Skyline road, way up to the top of the ridge, where we could see for miles and miles. We could see Fort Davis, where the first black graduate of West Point served.

After Davis, we went to the McDonald Observatory, which is high high up on the mountains. Astronomers from the University of Texas and the whole world come here to study the stars and space. There is a great hands on display, and one of the telescopes is open for viewing. It has about 400 mirrors. Once a month the Observatory has star parties, where the public can spend the night looking at the stars. I would like to bring my whole third grade class here some day.

Then we went to Marfa, where people see lights that no one can explain. They really do see them. Nobody knows why. Mom and Dad wanted to go watch them, but everybody says that with the overcast sky, the odds are really low. Usually the odds are 50-50. Our waitress, who is about to graduate from Sul Ross State here in Alpine, says she sees them more than 50% of the time she goes there.

Daisy and Balto and I took naps today in between the excitement. I just can't get enough bear naps in with all this touring. See you later!