After leaving Cibolo Creek Ranch we drove north through Marfa to Fort Davis. A quick note about Marfa - this is quickly turning into the next "Fredericksburg." What do I mean by that? Fredericksburg used to be an adorable hidden getaway, but now it's super popular (and rightly so) with massive amounts of tourists descending over weekends and spring break. Marfa is very artsy and I predict it will soon (if not already) become THE place to go in West Texas and it will grow.
But we only drove around the courthouse on our way north. Once in Fort Davis we checked into the Indian Lodge at the Davis Mountains State Park, a beautiful historic hotel originally built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. Our rooms were added on much later, but we had three rooms together on a corner that formed a little patio area where the kids could play. 
I won't deny that it was something of a shock to arrive here after two nights of Cibolo Creek, but we did find the Lodge very charming. We found a Mexican restaurant for dinner that agreed to seat 15 people for dinner. They gave us three tables in a "party room" which suited us just fine. For the first time in the whole trip, the adults sat together and put all of the kids (except Megan) at their own table.
Surpringly the restaurant lacked a liquor license, employing a BYOB policy. So the guys made at least two trips to a place conveniently located across the street for margaritas.
I won't pretend we had really good food and I won't pretend that the customer service was any more attentive that every other place we've eaten. (Outside of Cibolo Creek, we'd had very... indifferent.... servers.)
The next morning (Thursday, for those who are trying to keep up), the guys left early for a long 13 mile hike from Indian Lodge across the Davis Mountains and back again. Meanwhile, the girls and I had breakfast with customer service issues again. (Seriously, how hard is it to bring me a cup of coffee without sighing and rolling your eyes?) We were joined by everyone else eventually and spent a long time in the Black Bear restaurant. After breakfast, I watched the kids play in the original Indian Lodge courtyard with a fountain and porch swings.
Then we loaded up to drive up the Scenic Overlook and head down into Fort Davis National Historic Site.
Can you see McDonald Observatory on the mountain in the distance? During the drive up to the Overlook and while taking photos, we kept an eye out for the guys hiking. But it wasn't until we had reached the campgrounds that Leah spotted the guys on the far side hiking around the last mountain back to Indian Lodge. 
If you can see them, they are on the right hand side. David is in blue, Dad in yellow, Brian in blue stripes and Bryan in the white.
Fort Davis National Historic Site, established as a frontier military post in 1854 to protect travelers on the El Paso - San Antonio Road, was named for U.S. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis. It remained active, with some exception during the Civil War, until 1891. After 1866, African-American units, aka Buffalo Soldiers, were assigned here.
We tried to get a group photo at the main entrance.
After checking in (through a gift shop) we watched a short movie and walked through their main historical museum exhibit. Portions of the Fort were still standing, while others were marked by ruins and foundations. Various buildings have been restored and set up to reflect how they looked when in active use.
The National Park Service offers a Junior Ranger program for kids ages 4-14. Mom picked up the programs for the big kids. Walking through the various buildings, the kids had to answer questions about the exhibits or mark off their BINGO spaces for items they found. 
Here Lisa and some of the kids watch a Ranger in period costume describe life for the soldiers in the long barracks. 
Here we are in one of the Officer's Cabins looking for clues. The Jr. Ranger program was a big hit with our kids and made touring Fort Davis much more enjoyable because they took an active interest. We heard, "Which building are we in!" "I see the sewing machine!" "Let's find the hospital!" and so on.
Sadly, we didn't get to turn in our completed programs because the guys showed up and we immediately left for lunch. I'll talk about our late afternoon visit to McDonald Observatory in another post.
