The Lee Family: Spring Break Day 5: Ft Davis

On our last full day in the area we decided to explore Fort Davis. We'd driven past the Fort on our first day in West Texas and we really wanted to get back to learn more about it. The little town of Ft. Davis is cute with an old-time General Store, several antiques and gift shops and not a whole lot else. It looked like a fun little place to explore. We drove through Ft. Davis to the Fort, where we started our adventure. Sofia loved reading the plaque about Ft. Davis to us. We visited the visitor center/gift shop where we paid the fee and watched a short movie about the founding of Ft. Davis. From there, we walked around the Fort and tried to imagine what life would have been like then.

Once again Sofia was ready to go for a hike, so we explored a little longer and then returned to a trailhead near the parking lot. The trail was not very long but gave us a great view of the Fort and both girls were happy to get a hike in. CK and the girls posed at the top of the trail for some cute pictures before we headed down to the Jeep. Of course, Sofia found a section of cactus that she just absolutely "needed" along with several rocks.

We drove into the town and stopped at the General Store where CK and the girls had milk shakes. Olivia was very tired and restless, so I took her upstairs to the little gallery. The very first painting was beautiful! It was an oil painting of a rock formation that is so common and beautiful in that area. I loved it! After milk shakes I told CK to take a look at the gallery, while I took Olivia back to the Jeep for a diaper change and a nap. He liked the painting as much as I did and bought it as well as a black and white photo of the prairie and mountains in the background. So exciting to have a great reminder of our fun adventure and some beautiful original art.

We loaded back up into the car and Olivia fell fast asleep - a much-needed nap! We had reservations for Reata in Alpine later and decided to drive from Fort Davis north toward Balmorhea before turning toward Alpine. The view was typically beautiful and arid, but once we reached Balmorhea the roads were lined with canals full of flowing water! We drove past the Balmorhea State Park which boasts the "World's Largest Spring Fed Swimming Pool." The town was very cute and looked like a fun place to spend a day or two, but unfortunately we had plans in Alpine and Olivia was still sleeping. I later learned that the spring that feeds the swimming pool in the Balmorhea State Park supplies 26 million gallons of water per day to area farmers! Water is stored at the nearby Balmorhea Lake and the rest flows through the canals to area farmland. It was pretty remarkable to see after seeing so little water in the area. Hoping that we get a chance to explore the cute town and swim in the pool on our next trip.

We made it to Reata and enjoyed a delicious meal, as expected. After dinner, we headed back to Marathon to pack and get ready to leave the next day. As we drove, the girls enjoyed singing along to the songs in the Princess book that Grandpa and Grandma got Olivia for Christmas. We probably heard the girls sing along to the songs at least 100 times on the trip and it proved to be great entertainment when they weren't reading Thomas Train (Sofia) or looking through the pile of books we brought (Olivia). We made it back to our hotel and enjoyed our last evening all sleeping in the same room!

On our way toward Ft. Davis