The first week of August, I took a 4 day bicycle tour through the Davis Mountains. This was a special event of the Fort Worth Bicycling Association. It was my second year in a row doing this ride. It was challenging, and it featured the towns of Balmorhea, Fort Davis, Alpine, and Marfa. There aren't very many pictures of the towns, but this is a showcase for the Davis Mountains and the Chihuahuan Desert.
We left Fort Worth on Wednesday, August 3rd for an 8 hour drive to Fort Davis. These pictures are not up to my standard level of quality because they were all taken with an iPhone. On the way out, we took a rest break in Midland:
Some of the FWBA people stayed in the Davis Mountains State Park. Some camped, while others stayed in the Indian Lodge, a Civilian Conservation Corps project. A few of us stayed in the Stone Village Tourist Camp in Fort Davis. Here is a picture of Stone Village with Sleeping Lion Mountain in the background.
On all days, the ride started at the Town Square in Fort Davis. Here is a shot taken along the main street.
We headed north out of town to our destination of Balmorhea State Park, which features a large spring-fed swimming pool. The name of the springs are San Solomon Springs. The route from Fort Davis to Balmorhea is basically down hill. However, we did have to cross over Wild Rose Pass, which is actually lower in elevation than the town. The distance to the pool is 33 miles.
We arrived at the park and here is a view of the picnic area at the pool. The mountains in the background are what we crossed over to get to the pool. Fort Davis is about 5,000 feet above sea level and Balmorhea State Park is about 1,700 feet lower in elevation. The tallest peaks in the Davis Mountains are over 7,000 above sea level.
Here are a few pictures of the pool. It is another CCC project and constructed in the 1930's.
Our SAG driver went and purchased hamburgers and french fries for the group and we ate them close to the pool. That was Thursday's ride. On Friday, we headed southeast from Fort Davis and rode to Alpine and Marfa, then back. The distance was 72 miles. I did not take any pictures in Alpine and I only caught a few in the desert between Alpine and Marfa. Here are a couple of pictures from Paisano Pass, a slight climb on the hills between the two towns. This first photo is looking at the parallel rail line and the Davis Mountains in the background.
Make note of the distant mountain in the background. You will see it again later.
There was a rest stop at the Marfa Lights Viewing Pavilion and here is a photo looking to the south across the Chihuahuan Desert from there.
Looking toward the Davis Mountains to the North.
Presidio County Courthouse in Marfa, Texas.
Paisano Hotel in Marfa:
On Saturday we rode a route that was much more mountainous. It is known as the Davis Mountains Scenic Loop. The total distance was 75 miles, but I did not finish the ride. I will have more on that later. The first part of the ride skirts along the south side of the Davis Mountains in the flat basin between them and the mountains you could see from the Marfa Lights Pavilion. Even though this area is flat, you climb from 0% to 3% maximum to a pass through hills west of Fort Davis. This climb is 18 miles long. After that climb, you go significantly downhill and you have some rollers until you approach the Davis range from the west. The road winds through the foothills, but eventually climbs between the two mountains in the center of the photograph. This is the first of four mountain passes that we had for the day.
One of the more interesting mountains is Sawtooth Mountain, which is the one to the right of center in the photograph above. Here's a closer look from the north side of it.
Now, here's a shot looking back from where we came.
If you look at those photos from Saturday, you can see that at the time that I took them, it was crystal clear. As we climbed each subsequent mountain pass, it got more cloudy. By the time we crossed the third pass, a thunderstorm had developed. These showers usually don't last long, or they move quickly away. However, as I was climbing the fourth pass, it started pouring and the SAG vehicle was nowhere in sight. It then started lightning and shortly thereafter, it started hailing. The hail was only pea sized but I actually started to get cold. Unfortunately, it was between 30 minutes and one hour before the SAG came to pick me up. They hauled 3 of us to the McDonald Observatory, which was about 6 miles away. The SAG went and picked up the other riders, but there were not enough vehicles to haul all of us back to town. Eventually, more vehicles came and we were taken back. We did have the option of riding back, but the storms looked like they were heading into town. They dissipated and Fort Davis did not receive any rain that day. On Sunday, the agenda made it worth the entire trip. We were to ride from town at an elevation of 4,950 feet above sea level to top of Mount Locke, where the McDonald Observatory is located. Mt. Locke is 6,791 feet above sea level. The overall climb for the day was 2,500 feet in 34 miles. Grades going to the Visitor's Center range up to a maximum of about 12%, but they are short. Between the Visitors Center and the summit, the grades go to 17%. The good news is that they are 17%, then level for a little bit, then 17% again, and so forth until the summit. Also, when I say level for this climb, I mean around 6-8%. The steep section of the mountain is about one mile in length. Here's the observatory and Mt. Locke from the Davis Mountains State Park:
Climbing the mountain. There was a run/walk and bike ride going on at the same time.
The long light colored object to the right of the truck is a live rattlesnake.
From the top:
Here's our SAG vehicle at the top of the mountain with our riders getting food and drink.
Here is the sign at the summit of Mt. Locke stating this is the highest highway in the State of Texas:
More of the view:
Now here is the reason why the whole trip was worth it. The brother of one of our riders is an astronomer at the observatory and he gave us a grand tour of the facility. This is the building housing the first telescope that was built on top of the mountain.
Historical Marker:
We had a chance to go inside and here is the 82 inch telescope:
He took us out on the catwalk around the building for a beautiful 360 degree view of the mountains. If you look between the two mountains just to the right of center, you can see the same mountain in the distance that we saw from Paisano Pass between Alpine and Marfa.
The telescope on the other part of the mountain was added last.
Here is the second building constructed housing the 102 inch telescope:
Now for the scope, itself:
Over on the other side of the mountain is the third building. Here it is from the ground.
Here is the inside showing all of the mirrors of the scope.
Finally, here is the organizer of this event. His name is Jerry Franks and I took this on the catwalk of the observatory.
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