The Museum of the Big Bend is small, unlike its subject. It was a great orientation, offering a clear, engaging introduction to the region’s geology and human history, from prehistoric times to today. For such an isolated area the interactions among native Americans, the Spanish, and Americans has been very active.
For those of us who are a wee bit older, you’ll remember Alpine’s most famous citizen, Dan Blocker of Bonanza fame.
After the museum we went on a mural hunt, Alpine has a plethora. Liz wanted to do a little clothing shopping. But, in the age of Amazon and other online retailers, there is but a single clothing store in Alpine. She came away empty-handed. There was, however, a wonderful craft store. Everything is handcrafted by people in the area. As great as the crafts were, the staff were even better. We had a wonderful time poking around the shop and chatting.
At the craft shop they told us the best place for lunch in town is a food truck, Tri La Bite. The name is a play on trilobite, the fossilized bugs found in abundance in this area. It was a terrific recommendation. The food was delicious. We shared a picnic table with an EMT. In the middle of our conversation, her phone buzzed, she got up with lightening speed and ran to her truck.
Then it was off to Fort Davis. The minute we walked into the local rock shop, the owner greeted us with “would you an ice cream bar or a fudgsicle? It’s such a hot day.” We took her up on her offer and munched on the sweet treat as we poked around. Of course we managed to find a few small things to buy, a bracelet for Liz and earrings for me.
The best part though, was chatting with the proprietor. When I made my purchase she put it into a canvas tote (on the house) and added, “you could probably use a pen.” The real gift, though, was the conversation.
I couldn’t resist asking how she made money on a $15 sale when she was so generous.
“Oh, I make plenty,” she said. “I like people. And it was fun talking with you gals.”
It was a small moment, but one that felt emblematic of the place, open, unhurried, and generous.
We had reservations to go to the McDonald Observatory for a “sky viewing party” and thought it would be a good idea to go to our motel first to rest. That’s when Google Maps decided to send us on an adventure.
The unpaved road it sent us down took us deep into the hills and close to grazing cattle. All the while, both Liz and I were thinking, “this can’t possibly be right.” When we came within ten feet of a longhorn steer and its companion, I was certain of it. Still, curiosity got the better of me and we pressed on, until we reached an electrified fence about six miles in. Time to turn around.
As I made a U-turn, a truck appeared as if conjured, emerging from a small cluster of houses beyond the gate, the first we had seen. The driver, an elegantly dressed woman, took one look at us and said, “You ladies are very lost.”
Her directions were clear and simple and after retracing our route and getting onto the main road, we arrived at our lodgings in five minutes.
Post nap, we headed out to the McDonald Observatory, operated by the University of Texas, Austin. As the sun dipped to the horizon we entered the magic hour, making the already beautiful landscape glow.
At the observatory we looked through the exhibits, some focused on planets and stars, others on light pollution. Then walked to the amphitheater, guided by red lights which don’t create distracting light.
The speaker, who I assume is a professor, was wonderful. Using a laser pointer, he showed us where to look at the sky to see constellations and key stars. I’ve seen similar shows in planetariums, but sitting in the open air looking at the sky is a whole different, and much more memorable experience.
Set up around the amphitheater were eight telescopes. Two each pointing at the moon, the Pleiades, one at Jupiter, and one at the Orion nebula.
The drive back to the motel was on a VERY dark road. We made it without incident, thoroughly understanding why this area is designated a dark sky zone.