The McDonald Observatory
We spent most of our day in the Ft. Davis area, specifically at the McDonald Observatory. It’s in the middle of nowhere, on a 2-lane road that winds up a steep mountain. There’s tons of historical  markers along the way to pay homage to settlers long forgotten, and a few that are well known to the west Texas area. There are a lot of recognition for the CCC from the depression era, also known as the Civilian Conservation Corps. All of the rocks and brick laid around sharp turns were built by the CCC prior to 1942.
I was out of cell range shortly after I left Alpine and had a brief period of time where I was able to answer a few tweets.. but that was very brief. I have to admit, it was nice being out of touch for awhile. You should try it!
This was our second visit to the observatory, but this time we spent all day there, instead of just a couple hours in the evening. They’re very educational and encourage questions. I was a bit bored in the class room setting. The lights were off, and the instructor took awhile to explain each slide… but it was easy to follow and understand. I have a new respect for the sun. Too bad it was cold and cloudy today. It wasn’t good weather conditions to view the sun through a telescope, but we were able to walk through two of the largest ones on site. After a short break we made our way back down the mountain to the classroom where we learned about the moon.. blah blah. After that we went outside, in the cold wind. That made sense. lol. Because it was a full moon and it was very cloudy, we weren’t able to see the milky way, but we looked through 5 telescopes. One was the moon, three were star clusters and one was Jupiter, which was, by far, my favorite.
It gives you perspective on the universe and how small we are. It also makes me realize how lucky we are, and that we should live each day in a way that makes us happy. If you ever have a chance to visit the observatory, you should. Granted, you probably will never find yourself in the vast region of west Texas, but Chicago has an amazing observatory. It’s not out in the middle of nowhere, but they helped build the McDonald Observatory and I have a feeling that even though the city is engulfing there campus, they still have amazing views of the night skies.
Tomorrow we’re going to spend a few hours doing pictures for the website, before venturing off to Marfa and the surrounding area. I’ve asked Devil’s buddy, who traveled with us, to go out into the wilderness and shine flashlights while I look from the light viewing deck. He told me I was retarded. I don’t think he gets me. lol.