McDonald Observatory (Fort Davis, TX) – June 2008

 Sitting on top of Mount Locke you’ll find the McDonald Observatory.  Considering how open the area is, there’s very little light pollution so it makes being able to view the stars easier.  While this was originally constructed in conjunction with the University of Chicago, during the 1960’s control was transferred to the University of Texas at Austin.  The telescope you see here is the Harlan J. Smith Telescope, which you’ll get to see as part of the guided tour of the facility.  There’s also a giant sundial present on the tour, as well as some other interesting things in the visitors center.  It’s a long drive pretty much out to the middle of nowhere to see this, but if you love astronomy then it’s worth the drive.

Fort Davis National Historic Site (Fort Davis, TX) – June 2008

 Back in the 1850’s an army camp was established on this site, and named after Jefferson Davis (so you can tell *which* army established this).  The area is a small box canyon, which served to make the area more defensible, and those few stationed here protected the wagon trains which passed by.  At the start of the Civil War the camp was pretty much abandoned, and Apache raiders killed the remaining occupants in 1861.  The camp saw new use in the post-Civil War era, as it was one of the places where the “buffalo soldiers” were garrisoned.  It’s one of the few surviving examples of what a US Army fort looked like in Southwest, so it’s worth visiting for the historical nature.

Monahans Sandhills State Park (Monahans, TX) – June 2008

 When you live in the south, you have practically no opportunities to enjoy sledding down snowy hills like those who live in the northern climates.  That’s not quite true.  The sledding aspect can be enjoyed without the cold and snow at the Monahans sand dunes.  Expect the sand to get warm as the temperature rises, but you can still trudge up any of the sand hills in the area with your sled for a short swift downward trip.  Keep in mind that other than the oil rigs, there’s few markers to provide a compass direction, so make note of how you got in so you can come back out.

Phoenix Zoo (Phoenix, AZ) – April 2008

 Phoenix is going to be hot no matter when you visit it, and August is the hottest time.  The animals were out in about, but many were trying to stay cool or in the shade.  I’m sure for any critters which came original from Africa, India, or any other near-equatorial places were quite at home in the heat.  Much of the enclosures in the zoo are open spaces to allow the animals to roam, with some covered areas.  This also allowed groups of like critters to socialize together.  There’s a lot of great things to see here, and it’s worth your time to visit.