Kerr Christian Homeschool Academy

Chihuahuan Desert Center We visited the Chihuahuan Desert Center on Saturday.  The main attraction?  The prickly pear syrup and the jelly from the store.  It was a hot afternoon so we didn't spent very long (the disadvantages of being up all night, you slept all morning).  Due to the rains the week before, many of the cactus' were blooming - the pretties I've been the gardens. We also visited the new bird watching area at the Davis Mountains State Park.  We came away with ideas for how to improve our bird watching areas and catch some great photos of hummingbirds.

This trip, we also made time for a visit to the McDonald Observatory.  Since we had been on our last trip, we thought about skipping the tour this time until I overheard A telling one of her friends that she couldn't wait until she was able to turn the telescope.  Views from the top of Mount Locke - looking out over the mountains and looking back behind us at the "small" telescope. Watching the tour guide move the floor from the "middle" telescope. A was allowed to move the telescope.....  Both of the bottom pictures were from the same angle, taken consecutively. Z was chosen to move the dome around so that the telescope and the dome opening lined up. The 2nd part of the tour was of the newest telescope - 109", made up of at least 70 individual mirrors that work together in union to create an image.

The Davis Mountains were named for Jefferson Davis.  Before the Civil War, when people were headed out west for "fortune and glory" (think California Gold Rush) and the often chosen route led them from San Antonio to El. Paso.  Since it was such a popular route, the US established forts along the trail to aid in protection from the Indians for her citizens.  In the Davis mountains, there is a beautiful river called Limpia that offered travelers a welcome reprieve from their travels.  It's a natural place to establish a fort.  Thus Fort Davis was born. Today, Limpia river is just a dry river bed.  However, it is still tree lined with huge, 100 year old trees that are very drought tolerant.  With very little imagination, you can see the river winding through the mountains. What is now known as the historic Fort Davis, is part of the national parks system and is partially restored.  The restoration process is still ongoing at the fort.  Ev...

This year, we again were in RV 6, which means the kids didn't have to walk across the roads to get to the lower observing field.  We do setup on the lower field because of the kids and their tendencies to come in and out.  At 2:00am, the upper field is a little far and the roads are a little dark for walking by yourself back to the RV.  So, we setup on the lower field and S plays shuttle director between everyone who wants to come in. The average night goes something like this: Listen to guest speakers from 7:30 to about 9:00. 9:00pm - uncover telescopes and make sure all observing equipment is in good working order and at the observing site.  (Also a good time to go visit fellow astronomers and see what kind of goodies they have and that you "need" to get) 10:30pm - everything is finally dark 12:30am - everyone comes in for a late night snack and the youngest one outside generally stays in. 2:30am - C finally has enough fun and goes to bed 3:30am - Dad's r...