26 April 2024 – Trip Day 26 by Meagan
The drive to Fort Davis took all of five minutes from the campground. The first Fort Davis was constructed in 1854 to provide security to to settlers moving along the El Paso-San Antonio Road including those bound for gold. It had been constricted and abandoned and reconstructed. We could see low ruins of buildings as we drove into the park along with many brick structures. The park sits in a small basin with the town of Fort Davis across from it. There were a number of large cottonwood trees and a few surprisingly green pastures where four horses grazed. The steep hills behind the park had me regretting my shoe choice for the day. After seeing the hikes were all under a mile, I had lazily decided not to switch my insoles and I had my thinner white New Balance shoes instead of my super cushioned 990s. Oops.
We checked in at the Visitor Center and the volunteer gave us a recommended tour plan. The kids got their Junior Ranger books. I took a quick look and saw that the books required a potential Junior Ranger to go to many different locations in the park and collect information. So far all the Junior Ranger programs on this trip have been high quality.
