Bugs, burros, buzzards, and spiders

You know, I do have friends who don't enjoy spiders and bugs...If, you are one of them, get out of this entry NOW!
For those of you who do enjoy the bugs and spiders--GREAT!

All of these were seen in Big Bend National Park.  While Matt and I cruised the park roads, we agreed that this would be the perfect way to share Halloween with some of those we love!

This is the white line on the side of the park road--gives you an idea of size.
Matt and I saw the total of 9 tarantulas crossing the roads!!!
(Yes, we avoided running over ALL of them!)

While camping at the Rio Grande Village, we found this cool dead tree alive with buzzards!

While hiking, we "found" some of the wild burros.

Now, this dude, was a bit freaky.  It was thick and long and it moved fast!

Millipede

Okay, that is it for cool critters.  Still hoping to see more snakes!

Feeding the birds

One of our first jobs in the morning is to feed the birds!  (See what I mean?  Is it a "job" or a "joy"?)
A favorite of many of the birds is the suet we make and put into the holed-split-wood.
I thought I would share the recipe--

DAVIS MOUNTAINS STATE PARK

SUET RECIPE

Ingredients:

*1 cup smooth peanut butter

*1 cup lard

*1 cup flour

*4 cups cornmeal

1.  Mix peanut butter and lard together.

2.  Add flour and mix well.

3.  Add cornmeal 2 cups at a time and mix well.   When weather is cold, add less cornmeal.  When    

     weather is warm, add more.

4.  Store in air-tight, critter-proof container.

We were heading over to do some painting after feeding the birds--
hence, no volunteer-nice-clothes
The feeder is just a halved log. This picture was taken after we had filled all the drilled holes.
The birds generally have this emptied within a couple of hours.

I am certain you are all very impressed that I am able to follow a recipe...Even more impressive...wait for it...I have it memorized!  After making about 6 batches, I am now able to do it without looking at the recipe!  Now, aren't you amazed?

Big Bend National Park

We were relieved of duty for 3 days, so Matt and I boogied south to Big Bend National Park.  (This is another one of my many favorite national parks--smiles!)

The trip down was wonderful--

Storm coming in... 

The colors are stunning!

 Small towns, old cemeteries, and ruins...

Famous for The chili cook-off...or is it infamous? 

Rio Grande Village (the south eastern part of the park)--

This is from the overlook on the Rio Grande Nature Trail.

Rio Grande River

Views on the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive--

The view of The Window from the Chisos Basin area.  This is the campground at which Matt and I will stay during our next visit.

Local people call this "watching the sunset backwards".  Meaning--watching the sunset paint color on the mountains opposite the setting sun.  Me?  I thought both were spectacular!

Becky and Gary ("park hosts 2") worked for Matthew and me while we explored our neighboring national park.  It was a wonderful gift; thank you for the opportunity!  Now, we are home and "working".  Although, can you really call it "working" if we enjoy doing every aspect of it?  This has been a great experience for Matt and me!  (We have signed-up to do it again next year!) 

All that being said, Matt and I will still take any offer to have some additional time in Big Bend!

Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute, Texas

Way cool place!  The cacti were awesome and the hiking trials...well, WOW!
This will be more of a photo entry--

Cool lookin' cacti

This one was Matt's favorite--looks like a grumpy face!

Hiking on the Clayton Overlook Trail

Scene from the overlook

Some of our new peeps in Texas!

Yes, only some!  Again, we have been so fortunate.  Everyone here has been wonderful--staff and volunteers!  I think some of this friendliness is the typical Texan hospitality.  However, these beautiful people take it to a new level--smiles!
I promise to ultimately have photos of the all the "players" at Davis Mts. State Park.  You will want to have faces for the names...(Trust me, not only are they great people, but they do some funny stuff; I will have to report!)

These two, Rebecca and Max, are the rootin'-tootin'-weekend-headqurter-rangers!  They shoulder the responsibilities of registering campers, answering questions, monitoring reservations, etc. etc.  Max is a recent hire...Matt and I think the park made a wise and wonderful decision!  Matthew has found another "brother"--smiles!  (I think he is pretty dang cool too!)  Now, about Rebecca.  Honestly, I think her aspiration of making a pirate ship for her daughter explains her well.  No, not just a play house that looks like a pirate ship; she and her husband want a derelict ship to remodel into a pirate ship.  Dang cool mom, that woman!

This is Mary.  She was Camp Host 2, and our "host teacher" before she left for her next assignment.  She taught us the how to feed the birds, how to drive the gator, how to check on permits and site use, etc.  THANK YOU. Mary!  Your support was invaluable!  (Oh, Mary gave Matt a cool Swiss army knife.  He is still sleeping with it!)

Thank heavens we still have these two--Gary and Becky.  They are Camp Hosts 3.  Gary and Becky have been at the park for a number of months.  Unfortunately, they will be leaving in a couple of weeks; it will be impossible to replace them.  They too have been beyond supportive of Matthew and me.  (Heck, I think Matt would happily replace me with the two of them!  Okay, it does help that Becky is a FANTASTIC cook!)  These two have a beautiful cute-meet story... It is definitely one you need to hear from them--smiles!

Okay, this is part of Jacob's (the law enforcement officer at the park) family.  I cannot believe that I didn't get a good picture of Eliza, Jacob's beautiful wife.  (It will come.)
Jacob, Matt, Sienna (what a cutie!), and Noah
I have already written some about Jacob...I am certain there will be more!  Matt and Noah hit it off as fast-friends; I can well imagine some interesting adventures with the two of them!

These are a few of the people with whom we share this park.  They all bring joy, experience, and knowledge. Thank you for sharing!

Black-tailed rattlesnake

YES!!!  We saw our first venomous snake!  One of the rangers, Zane, caught it and passed it on to Jacob for relocation in the primitive area of Davis Mts. State Park.  Happily, Jacob showed us before he let it go.  SMILES!
Of course, the other happy note is that we saw this beautiful reptile IN A BUCKET!

Just a little black-tailed rattlesnake...
I think, however, I am just fine with that size!

If you want to see it in "action" and hear it, play the video.  I know these animals aren't for everyone; I will not be offended if you skip this entry!  Oh, wait, you have already switched to email...

Indian Princesses

The park has been "invade" by three tribes of indian princesses and their dads--about 125 princesses and an equal number of fathers. It has been a fast, fun,  active, and noisy weekend!
Matthew and I did a number of campground cruises to make sure everyone was registered, that all four wheels of every vehicle were on the pavement, and that bathrooms had enough toilet paper.
(Mind you, if there were any infractions of the rules, our trusty and all-around-great law enforcement officer, Jacob, would ticket the offender.  He has clout!)  Happily, his writing hand wasn't too busy.  This is a well-mannered large group.
This morning one of the younger pink-clad-pony-tailed princesses got lost, so Matt and I drove her around in the Ranger until she recognized her father walking down the road with her jacket.  In just those few minutes, I realized again how much young girls talk!  But dang, she was a cutie!

Watching these girls with their dads has tickled memories for me.  I too was an indian princess.  My Dad and I just talked about it yesterday...During indian princess meetings, his name was Red Cloud.  Mine, he remembered, was White Cloud.  Neither of us could suss out the name of the tribe.  I do, however, recall painting a coffee can to represent my family.  I would bring it to each meeting; it became a part of the tribe's totem pole when stacked with the other cans on a vertical broomstick.
See...memories, they do "stack-up" don't they?!

Dad and I are in the background.  He has on a checkered shirt and is beating a drum.
I am the blonde, in pig-tails, looking at the camera.
This was in the late 60's in Noblesville, IN

Hmmm, I think I'll go and make some more memories with Matt.

McDonald Observatory

WOW!  The stars have been out-of-this-world--yeah, ha, ha, ha!
Matthew and I got up early (5:15 a.m.) to watch the amazing lunar eclipse on October 8th.  That experience, and the every night jaw-dropping star display we see on late night trips to the bathroom, inspired us to tour the McDonald Observatory.
It is only 13 miles from the park, so I think this will be a frequently visited place.  (Next Friday, we are going to the "Star Party"!)
Oh, and I have NEVER seen the Milky Way as visible as it is here...wonderful!
If you want more information, please visit their web site by clicking the link below--
McDonald Observatory

Dome (observatory) housing the HET telescope 

The first observatory and telescope built in 1935

Matthew with one of the "big boys"!

Small towns around Davis Mts. State Park

We have been fortunate; Matt and I have been able to explore the towns and area around the park.  The people have been very friendly, and I have been pleasantly surprised by unique opportunities, inspiring landscapes, interesting architecture, cute shops (including an organic grocery store), and an infamous restaurant...
LANDSCAPES

Gorgeous rock formations--yes, lava flow 

Sawtooth Mountain

ARCHITECTURE (I love small town government buildings!)

Marfa city hall--population of 2100 

Fort Davis city hall--population of 1800

Indian Lodge--built by the CCC and opened in 1939

UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES
We are thinking about doing some "gliding"... (Shhhh, don't tell my Mom.)
Marfa gliders

The owner of one of the cute shops we went to, The Brown Dog, invited me to a ukulele jam!  (Oh, I should say, I got a ukulele for my birthday.)  I don't know how much "jamming" I can do, but I think it will be GREAT fun!

RESTAURANTS
One fun restaurant, in Alpine (population 5900 and the home of Sul Ross State University), was parked near the town laundry--

Only open Wednesday to Sunday...They do have a veggie dog!

Oh, and of course, there are real cows in these here parts too--

Hope you are all having a wonderful week of joyous surprises!
Smiles and oodles of love,
Susan and Matt

Davis Mountains State Park, Texas

Davis Mountains State Park and Indian Lodge State Park
We are here!  We are happy!  Life is good!

Davis Mountains and Texas grassland

Igneous rock layer from one of the lava flows--36 million years ago

OUR NEW HOME in bloom--

The area had more than 30" of precipitation in September, and the flowers have been amazing!  Everything is so green and lush...

I love the landscape!

Goldeneye flowers blanket the area between yuccas 

Originally, these were identified as annual goldeneye flowers;
that id is currently being debated!  Whatever their name, they are gorgeous!

DAVIS MOUNTAINS STATE PARK and our place in it--

This is camp host site #1

This is the view from our van...

Our neighbor--mule deer

Our site is next to headquarters

 OUR RESPONSIBILITIES/JOYS as park hosts--

As you can easily imagine,
Matt loves to drive the Ranger!

One of the two bird feeding areas 

The beautiful western scrub jay
(Matt and I were thrilled to see our first summer tanager) 

A few of the camp sites and the interpretive center in the background

Our jobs include--
*raising and lowering the flags at headquarters (By the way, the red stripe on the Texan flag is the LOWER stripe.)
*feeding the birds at both bird blinds
*making suet  (The birds love this particular recipe--1 C lard, 1 C peanut butter, 1 C flour, and 4 C cornmeal.)
*monitoring campsites--Have people registered?  Are they in the correct site?  Have they extinguished their campfire? Do they have questions?  Do we need to clean the site?
*stocking bathrooms
*cleaning the interpretive center
*recycling
*gardening
*trail maintenance
*opening and locking buildings
*talking with visitors--suggesting programs, area opportunities, hiking trails, etc.
*attending and helping with the excellent programs given by the interpretive ranger, Tara.
(Matt especially loves walking dogs on Thursday mornings!  The park and the humane society have this wonderful collaborative program--the dogs get exercise while socializing, and the people participants get to hike with dogs on a beautiful state park trail!)
AND
Matt and I do whatever else is needed to support this wonderful state park!

I will have another entry that includes more about the GREAT staff with whom we are lucky enough to work!
Until next time--

Yeah, we are DEFINITELY in the south!