Journey to The Cabin

Well we arrived at the cabin early Saturday afternoon. It was an early morning flight and not full at all, which was nice. Stopped at Porter’s for groceries before heading to the cabin. It was a beautiful day.

Unpacked all the items we took back to wash last time. Still don’t have septic hooked up, so dirty clothes will go back with us again. I was really ticked when I saw that nothing had been done since our Feb. visit. Don’t understand . . .

After lunch, Max spent most of the afternoon on his ham radio. Really interesting all the places he was able to communicate with other operators. Other than places in the USA, there was Japan, Brazil, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Argentina, Finland, Spain, Granada, and Portugal.

I made sure I got pictures of the kitchen curtains that were hung last time and the new cabinets. I LOVE the cabinets!!!!! The rug is one my mom made for the cabin. I love that she was able to get a good representation of the actual cabin in the design.

I read the 4 area newspapers that we picked up at the grocery store.

The Jeff Davis County Mountain Dispatch was very excited about the possibility of Giant Solar Farms/installations coming to West Texas. Not happy that it may be 2064 or as late as 2155 before the Air Quality from Mexico improves, especially for the Big Bend Area.

There was a fire that burned about 175 acres last week. Fence Builders used a welder in tall grass when the wind was blowing. Someone wasn't using their head.

A hiker visiting the same area of Jeff Davis County that our cabin is in, fell about 30 feet while rock climbing. Broke both arms, legs, his neck and his back in three places. Thankfully his spinal cord was not severed. Sending positive energy and thoughts his way.

Marfa’s, The Big Bend Sentinel, is the newspaper to read to find out about all the arts and cultural events in the area. Along with Sierra Club programs and Recycling Efforts in the area.

After reading the papers, I visited the spot of my future Sanctuary. Found the ideal spot for the *day bed*. I can look out to my favorite view on the land, while lounging with a good book. There will be enough room for the Duke, Ginger and even Max. ;-) Took some measurements, hoed some weeds and grasses in one portion of it, and then raked all of it.

Came back to the porch and sat in the rocking chair to enjoy the cool breeze.

After I cooled off, I looked out at the two piles of rock we have close to the porch. I’m really worried about snakes finding a nice cool place there.

So I started moving the rocks to form an outline of the circle drive. Max came over and helped me. After a good bit of time, he said this was too much like work, so we stopped. This was not supposed to be a working weekend, but a nice relaxing weekend for his birthday. I just can’t stay still when there is so much I want to do. :-)

We talked about going to the McDonald Observatory’s Star Party, so I took a short nap. Since I was up at 5 am *7:30 am is my usual wake up time* and didn’t sleep that well when I did the night before, I knew I would be really tired at the Star Party if I didn’t.

We ended up not going, remembering that this was Spring Break and it would be really crowded. Max did set up his telescope; I joined him for a good while and saw some amazing things in the night sky. Sometimes it is just overwhelming.

Sunday, was Max’s birthday. We slept in, especially since the dogs weren’t with us this time. Had a late breakfast and just relaxed in the cabin. After showers and getting dressed we went for a hike.

The hike was in the Nature Conservancy’s Davis Mountains Preserve. It was opened to the public this weekend. The Davis Mountains Preserve is 32,000 acres and considered a “Sky Island” ecosystem that provides a home to animals and plants, some of which live nowhere else on Earth.

Here’s a link to their website if you are interested in learning more . . . http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/texas/preserves/art6647.html

This site has some really nice pictures. . .
http://www.davis-mountains.com/pages/Davis%20Mountains/nc.html

We took the nice 2.4 mile nature hike called the Madera Canyon Trial. Took us to the Mt. Livermore overlook and down to the Chico Tank. I’ve discovered that I’m not only a Flat-Lander but also a Low-Lander. I’m not use to the 6,600+ elev. But the trail was mostly gentle slopes, so it wasn’t too bad.

Views along the way!

Chico Tank

And a dam like contraption . . .

On the way back, over a dry creek bed.

Back to the cabin for lunch. Max went back to his radio. He talked to people in Argentina, Paraguay, Calgary, and heard someone who came in very loud and clear from New Zealand.

I did some reading, Internet surfing and plain relaxing.

I did spot an Eastern Phoebe on one of the trees close to the porch. Saw other birds through the binoculars but couldn't find them in the book we have, so I don’t know what they were.

Max set up the telescope again, had to bring it in early because we got a light mist of rain. He said that if he had only been able to fly today, he would have gotten all his hobbies in on his Birthday. Not bad!

Monday morning was a slow, relaxing time before we had to head back to the airport and back home. Max got some more radio time in. The winds got up and that's when I realized a Yurt wouldn't work on our land. The Observatory clocked about 60 mph winds.

It was a really nice long weekend. Looking forward to our trip out in April.