It was spring break, so that means lots of time off. And more importantly, My Birthday! This year, my wife suprised me with a day trip to the Davis Mountains. A day with the dogs and hiking the back country of Davis Mountain State Park.
Jeff Davis CourthouseRoad leading into the mountains.
About three and a half hours away from Midland, TX lies the second highest point in Texas, The Davis Mountains. The city of Fort Davis is home to the Davis Mountain State Park and the county seat of Jeff Davis county. The other amazing site in town is the McDonald Observatory. This is one of the best star gazing sites in all of Texas. During summer nights, the observatory host star parties. This is not to be missed. Unfortunately, this trip it was missed due to time.
This highlight of this trip was exploring Davis Mountain State Park. There is a full hotel in the park along with campsites. The Indian Lodge would be a great place to stay overnight with out a tent. The hotel does have a restaurant in it that is open Wednesday through Sunday. With lots of trails and a scenic drive, the park offers a lot of nature. There is even back country area to explore.
Hiking in the Davis MountainsThe overlook
Take a look at the video of the trip along with the pictures, and start planning your trip there now. You won’t be disappointed. Let me know what you think about this post, and leave a comment below.
Living in the great state of Texas offers many great trips, but one thing we do miss out on is snow. We have always lived in the South, and because of this we like feeling cold once a year. Our favorite cold trip has to be up to Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park, CO. Each year we get to check off a few bucket trip items.
1. Snow
2. National Park
3. Amazing wildlife
4. A great local town that offers so much to see
If you haven’t been to Estes Park yet, then here is some advice for you. GO NOW!!!! It truly is an amazing place to explore. And for the budget travel there are some great deals. We enjoy going during the winter when there is snow and not so many travelers.
First, where to stay. We have stayed at Deer Crest Resort just outside Rocky Mountain National Park. This is a great hotel that offers fireplaces and kitchens in room, an indoor hot tub for year round use, and beautiful views of the stream and mountains. The resort also has a wonderful DVD library in the main office for those cold nights, and during the day they offer free snowshoes to take into the park. We love the free snowshoes. This allows you to access some trails that are packed in snow. The resort is just 2 miles from the entrance into Rocky Mountain National Park, and even has a bus stop at the resort. The part you might like best is the price. It is a nice quite resort that offers a lot for a smaller fee than you would think. Deer Crest Resort.
Warming up the snowshoes after a long walk.
Climbing Deer Mountain in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Now lets talk about the great town of Estes Park. Most think of visiting just to go to the national park, but the town has so much more to offer. The town is famous for being the birthplace of the book “The Shining” by Stephen King. Stephen King was inspired by a stay at The Stanley Hotel and its deep scary history. From book to movie, The Stanley Hotel has become a hot spot for ghost hunters. The hotel offers historic tours during the day to see the spots that are depicted in the book. For the more adventurous explore, they offer night time ghost hunting tours through out the hotel. It is a beautiful hotel with a deadly past. Built in 1909 by Freelan Oscar Stanley the hotel was the most luxurious for the its time. Stanley was drawn to the area for its beauty and health benefits. Since this time there have been a few deaths in the hotel, and it is said that the Stanley family still haunts the hotel. It is a great hotel to visit and tour. You will recognize it by its famous red roof.
The Stanley Hotel
The Historic Stanley Hotel
In the heart of the town, there are many great shops, restaurants, and art exhibits. An afternoon walking down the main street will keep you busy and entertained. We recommend you schedule a nice dinner at the local Dunraven Inn. This restaurant has a great atmosphere and extensive wine list. There is a mixture of Italian and steakhouse on the menu. After dinner, you should swing by one of the winery or breweries in town. Snowy Peak Winery is a great place to taste wine, and talk with the owner. They love passing on their knowledge of wine to everyone who comes through the door. If beer is more your style, stop by Rock Cut Brewing Company. This place is a full tap room with beers for all taste. They also have great games to play while you drink. During the day, you should take a nice horseback riding tour through the mountains. Even in the cold weather it is nice to hop on a horse and ride through the snow. We have gone with Sombrero Ranch the last two years. They are great. Small tours and great safety. Enjoy nature on a horse.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park
And of course, we can not do a post without talking about the wonderful and large Rocky Mountain National Park. We have only been to the park during late winter, so we have only seen a small part. What we have seen though, we are amazed with. The park is massive. The mountains are massive. And the wildlife is massive. The park is over 415 square miles, with over 300 miles of hiking trails. There are mountain top views and resting animals in the valleys. On any given day you will see lots of Elk and Mule Deer walking through the park and even in town. There are so many great write ups on the park, I feel like I cannot do it justice. If you want more information on planning a trip in the park check out these sites:
We hope we have inspired you to explore Estes Park, Co. Let us know if you have any questions. We would love to help you plan a life changing experience in Rocky Mountain National Park.
If you ever find yourself in West Texas around Christmas, you should do yourself a favor and take a detour to see a great light show. Where? Odessa Texas of course. The city of Odessa puts on a great drive through Christmas light show in McKinney Park.
The show is synced with music, and they bring out food trucks to provide treats. The best part of it all… ITS FREE!!! It is a great way to spend some time for a night, and get in the holiday mood. Check out more information about Starbright Village here, and check out our video of the lights too.
Do you know of any other great lights shows in Texas? Let us know below.
The city of Alvin has two very special things about it. First, its the home of Nolan Ryan, one of the greatest baseball pitchers. Second, is a wildlife sanctuary called Bayou Wildlife Zoo.
At Bayou Wildlife Zoo, you are able to get a close encounter with man large animals. The park is $20 per adult to enter, and includes a tram ride through the park to see all the animals. You may also buy food buckets for $5 dollars each.
The tram ride through the park
It will not take long for you to see your first animal. In fact, we had to wait for a flock of emus and llamas to get of the road so we could park. Once parked, you can walk around and explore some of the smaller animals that are in enclosures, like the Kangaroos, alligators, and giraffes. There is also a petting zoo with goats and pigs to feed.
Once aboard the tram, you will tour the rest of the large park. The tour is about twenty minutes, and you will have plenty of animals walk up to the tram for food. Hold on to the bowl, the animals can get a little greedy. Some of the larger animals try to just grab the entire bowl and dump it on the road for later. Most the animals are hoof animals. They have strange African cattle animals and zebras, even camels. It is great for children to have a safe close encounter with large animals.
I would suggest making a trip out there just to see all the exotic animals closer than you would at the zoo. Plus the money does help to support and rescue exotic animals. Their official website is Bayou Wildlife Zoo, but you can also google them to get more information on TripAdvisor and Facebook.
Built in 1926, the Cistern at Buffalo Bayou Park was used by the city of Houston as a water reservoir until 2007. The Cistern is able to hold 15 million gallons of water withing its 8-18 inches of concrete walls. There are 221 twenty five foot tall concrete columns in the center. The Cistern was decommissioned by the Houston Water Authority in 2007 when a leak in was found, and deemed too expensive to fix.
Entrance into the Cistern
The space was turned over to the Buffalo Bayou Park, and they were able to clean and secure the space to open it to the public. This is a must do in Houston, the space is beautiful and a real engineering marvel too. You need to purchase a $2 ticket for the 30 minute cistern tour on their website. But you will need to plan ahead, since opening to the public almost every tour has been a sell out.
Walking through the Cistern
Inside the Buffalo Bayou Cistern
The end goal is to turn the Cistern into a art space. The first permanent exhibit is already installed. It is called Down Periscope by Donald Lipski. It allows for people to look into the Cistern from above ground, or even anywhere in the world. You can visit www.Downperiscopehouston.com to control the camera and see the cistern on your own.
The beautiful underground space of the Cistern.
One last note, while underground in the cistern listen closely. There is a 17 second echo. Its can make for some very interesting sounds.
Visit the official website at Official Cistern Site.
Searching For Rayne 