Yesterday we made it to Fort Davis National Historic Site. The unit is pretty extensive – probably the largest fort we’ve been to yet – and while only a handful of buildings have been restored, many more are still standing in various states of ruin. In addition, there are numerous foundations and low crumbling walls around the site corresponding to many of the fort’s outlying buildings. All of this is propped up against some really neat low cliffs, making for what are probably some great photographic opportunities if you took the time to scout out angles from off the pathways.
A cool fort, but for the wind. Boy, was it blowing. In fact, in walking towards the officer’s quarters, it was strong enough to seriously slow your gait, forcing you to take conscious and determined steps to make any progress. At times, I felt like one of those weatherman sent out to cover the impending hurricane, struggling to stay upright in front of the camera. Nonetheless, we wandered around to each of the restored buildings and some of the ruins, but might have stayed longer if not for the wind.
<
View Larger Map
Well, that and our hunger. We made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the car after we were done, though I couldn’t eat but half of it. I’m still definitely sick. In driving back to the interstate, we had to decide whether or not to continue the trip. We decided to continue along, but to make some significant changes to the itinerary. First, we’ll probably cut out at least one or two units–probably the hiking units of Guadalupe Mountains and Big Bend–and will try to slow our pace. Not pushing so hard to drive longer or leave the hotel early each morning will hopefully give me a better shot at getting better, though it will certainly cost more money. I think we’ve also changed the order of our visits, staying north to San Antonio and Austin, then dropping down the coast as opposed to the original plans.
