After four days of driving I finally arrived in Fort Davis on Thursday afternoon. After checking in to my room at the Stone Village Tourist Camp, I took a short walk around town and found a place for dinner.
This morning I wanted to loosen up my legs after the long hours spent sitting in the car this week. I went for a short ride south of town on HWY 118 for about 7 miles and then turned around and headed back to town. On the way back I stopped at the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center and Botanical Gardens. I walked along the Modesta Canyon Trail for about a mile but turned around before reaching the bottom of the canyon. Walking on rocky trails in cycling shoes was somewhat difficult in a few spots. I’ll probably go back tomorrow with running shoes and do more walking on the trail.
The chip seal roads are a little rough but my touring bike with wider tires handles them well. My legs felt pretty good on the short 14 mile ride, even while climbing some hills. I’ll probably do a longer ride tomorrow to get ready for the tour that starts in a few days.
After lunch I visited the Fort Davis National Historic Site. From 1854 until 1891, troops stationed at the post protected emigrants, mail coaches, and travellers on the San Antonio-El Paso Road. The National Park Service has done an excellent job reconstructing the frontier military post.
The town is adjacent to the site of Fort Davis established in 1854 on the San Antonio-El Paso Road through west Texas and named after Jefferson Davis, who was then the Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce. The population of the town is just over 1,000 people. Fort Davis is 5,050 feet above sea level.