We spent a weekend hanging out in Alpine, Marfa, and Fort Davis. While in Alpine, we checked out some land for sale. The idea of building a little weekend cabin somewhere within driving distance was appealing to us and Andrew had found a couple of interesting lots for sale, off in the Alpinian hills. The lots were quite attractive; they had access to utilities and the views were spectacular. However, we decided that there were many other places we might rather have a weekend cabin and that those other places have rivers and lakes and mountains. Alpine certainly has some desert charm, but that's just not enough.
Somebody had heard a rumor about a desk on a hill, so we went to check it out. In fact, if you Google Alpine desk on a hill, you will come to this website which has a better photograph than any I took:
http://visitalpinetx.com/photos/the-desk-on-hancock-hill/
Apparently.... In 1981, Sul Ross Industrial Tech Education student Jim Kitchen and classmates Bill Wagner and Travis Miller decided they needed a quiet spot away from the dorm to study. Together they carried a desk up Hancock Hill right above Mountainside dormitory. Soon Kitchen and his friends were spending hours up on the hill studying and enjoying the beautiful surroundings. One day, Kitchen left a notebook in one of the desk drawers and when he checked it later someone had written in it.
This is a far more romantic story than the one I had imagined; a few frat boys had too much to drink and thought it would be fun to drag a desk up a hill. I was quite impressed as we hiked up Hancock Hill; it was quite a distance and I thought that it was a pretty amazing accomplishment for a group of drunken college kids. The real story makes far more sense.
On the way to the desk, we also found the Bike Tree. I couldn't find any information on this so I have no idea what the story is.
We also found a very suspicious palatial looking house/lair/fort in the middle of nowhere and came up with many imaginative stories as to who might live there and why it looked so secure, and why they had a lookout, and why there were several vehicles. Ben and Tonia have vivid imaginations and Andrew and I have watched too many episodes of Breaking Bad.
Now that Selfie has been declared the Oxford Dictionaries' 2013 word of the year, I took one to mark the event. I am apparently not very good at taking selfies. I am backlit and my sullen pose makes me look like I'm chewing a lemon. No more contrived selfies for me.
We revisited Woodward Ranch, probably for the last time as this place has since been sold. The rock shop was officially closed when we got there, but the owner kindly opened up for us and the girls spent some time collecting "gems" in Grandpa's Magic Garden.
We drove to the end of Park Road 3A in Fort Davis State Park and took a hike to the park boundary. From here, you can walk down to the Fort, which is a National Historic Site.
Fort Davis general store has the best ice cream!
To the right, the Hotel Pasaino, scene of the 1956 movie Giant, starring Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean.
The Marfa Lights are a well reported phenomenon. Driving along US 90 at night, you can pull over to a viewing platform and take your chances on catching a glimpse of these lights that apparently hover in the distance, are about the size of baseballs, and can be of many different colors. In May of 2004, a group of physics students from UT determined that the Marfa Lights were actually vehicle headlights from traffic travelling on US 67, which were visible from the view point. Interestingly, people still visit the Marfa Ghost Lights, despite this evidence.
The Marfa Lights viewing platform. Come see the Marfa Lights!
Or, come see car headlights from US 67.
On the way home, we decided to drive by Balmorhea Lake. I had been to Balmorhea many times before and always skipped the "lake", figuring it was likely more of a large puddle. As we drove around the corner, I was blown away by this huge mass of water in the middle of these dry plains!
We made a mental note to return here when the weather warms up. There are several camp areas around the lake and we could bring a kayak and swimsuits.
Mid January, it was the Arena Cross at the Coliseum in Odessa, TX. The races featured a variety of classes from kids on 50 cc bikes to professionals on 450s. I thoroughly enjoyed these races; it was a thrill to watch the pros riding full speed through the course, making jumps that made me shudder.
Then, the babies came out and there was a collective "Aw!!" from the crowd. In particular, one little three year old rode a quad bike that just didn't have enough power and he had to be pushed up most of the hills.
In other news...
I made Eccles Cakes and they didn't look quite as they should, but they did taste pretty good.
For school, Mary had to write about three things she would grab if the house was on fire.
I reminded her that if the house is on fire, she should leave with NOTHING.
Andrew bought me roses for no discernible reason. That's worth a mention.
Mary wanted to learn how to iron clothes. Sure!
We figured out how many registered vehicles you can fit into a two-car garage.
The Davis' invited us to shoot off some rockets!
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