Wanderings and Side Trips travel blog

Marfa Lights viewing area

An Explanation

And out there somewhere is where the lights appear

Boondocking at the Marfa Lights site

Historic Ft. Davis

Down the hallway to the Visitors Center

Jan, Mary Lou and Al trying to read the map

Wes and Al

The officers housing

Jan and Mary Lou taking a break

Fully restored home of the commanding officer

The commanding officer's home

Everything is very precise. This is the view of all the officer's...

This little fellow was really interested in watching us set up


We packed up and hit the road again yesterday. We had planned to drive to the Las Cruces/El Paso area and boondock for the night. When we arrived at Camping World in El Paso, it was only 1:30 pm. We had made really good time. So, we finished our shopping and headed on down the road toward Van Horn, planning to stop there. After getting fuel, it was still daylight and we decided we could make it to Marfa in plenty of time to see the Marfa Lights. So - off we went. We drove through Marfa and east about 7 miles to the Marfa Lights viewing area. One motorhome and a jeep were already there and it was dark by now. The Marfa Lights are a phenomenum no one can explain. They appear frequently along the foothills to the west. Some say they are aliens, some say swamp gas, some say tail lights coming down the mountain. We were fortunate that one of the couples there had seen the lights before, so we knew exactly what to watch for. There is a very nice viewing area with information etc. as well as plenty of room to boondock for the night. However, conditions were just not right and we did not see any Marfa lights. It was cold and windy outside and we only lasted til about 11:00. We had a good nights sleep and headed to Ft. Davis.

We visited historic Ft. Davis, a beautifully restored fort in what we are learning is called not just west Texas, but Far West Texas. We enjoyed the movie, stamped our passport, and were looking through the museum when I heard Wes talking to someone. Nothing new - but I recognized the voices!! What a surprise!! There were Al and Mary Lou Gajdosik from Valles Mines, MO! We had met them at the Englewood (KS) Boondockers Rendevous last October. We had a great visit and continued our tour of the Fort. We mentioned that we were going to try to get into the Star Party at the McDonald Observatory tonight and they said they were going too. We planned to meet them later and drive up together.

We drove on to the Davis Mountains State Park and checked in and got all set up. We met Al and Mary Lou and drove up to the Observatory for the Star Party. What a fantastic evening! We attended the educational session before the Star Party and learned so much. I must add the tour guides and presenters were outstanding which made our evening even more enjoyable. After learning all about the planets and how they traveled and related to each other, we were entertained by Mark who showed and taught us about the stars, constellations, satellites, the moon and the sun. Then we looked at Saturn, Venus, the moon and several constellations through various sized telescopes. I was at a loss for words - all that kept coming out of my mouth was WOW!! WOW!! and Double WOW!! No words can describe what we saw. It was cold and I was glad we had unpacked the down coats. The observatory is at 7000+ altitude and it was cold.

We said goodbye to our friends and turned for the night.

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