Kerr Christian Homeschool Academy

 The Chihuahuan Desert Center is one of our favorite places to hike and visit when in the Fort Davis area.  Our walk starts in the front area and goes up to the butterfly garden and rock lookouts.  One of these years, we are going to find a cholla for sale.  The year, we visited after a good rain and the blooms are very pretty!               The rock area behind the butterfly garden is great for playing King of the  Mountain! Apache Plume, Woods Rose, and Desert Rose     We encountered several other visitors to the gardens as well, a busy bee and a curious lizard.       The Cactus Greenhouse is a pretty interesting place to visit.  There is a beautiful Fragrant Ash out front.     The year, we also hiked out to the bird blind and were greeted by hummers.   I love the water feature for the birds.  I wonder if we can make one at home? We also visited the birding areas of the D...

 We drove back to Davis Mountains SP via El Paso.  We didn't stop and we didn't cross any international borders - just a drive by on the freeway.  We did have to stop at a check point.  I haven't seen the check point out of El Paso manned in a few trips.  We also drove through Marathon coming home instead of going by the observatory.  Along the way, we saw a small blimp and a train.  We also were able to get a different view of the observatories.     From the scenic drive at the state park: the observatories and Indian Lodge    And looking toward Fort Davis: both the city and the national park and toward Prude Ranch where the star party is located.   Because we were camping at the state park, the observing group decided to try the upper field this year.  They took a tent for storage and sleeping for the few who needed a cat nap.  Here, everyone is helping take the site down.