Hiking Fort Davis National Historic Site, Texas: October 18, 2021

Last month as we tried to plan a road trip to visit the Grand Canyon and Arizona friends, we discovered that no rooms were available at either rim of the Grand Canyon. Instead of Arizona we ended up with a week-long vacation to Southwest Texas with Road Scholar. We flew into and out of El Paso and in-between we had six days of "spirited" hiking with 8 other hikers and two great guides.

Fort Davis Historic Hospital

The first was a moderate hike of about 2.4 miles on the Hospital Canyon, North Ridge, and Tall Grass Loop Trail located at the Historic Site of Fort Davis (1854-1891). The elevation gain was 250 feet along the ridge behind the hospital.

 
The fort was named for Jefferson Davis who was the then Secretary of War. As a frontier military post, troops pursued Camanches, Kiowas, and Apaches who attacked travelers and mail stations, and constructed roads, buildings, and telegraph lines.

After Texas' secession from the Union and the onset of the Civil War, the Federal government evacuated Fort Davis and Confederate troops occupied the fort for about 18 months beginning in Spring 1861. The Ninth US Calvary reoccupied Fort Davis in June 1867 continuing the effort to safeguard the west Texas frontier from Comanches and Apaches until the conclusion of the Indian Wars in 1881. Four black infantry units (Buffalo Soldiers) served at Fort Davis from 1867 to 1885.

Fort Davis Historic Site from above

Row of Shared Officers' Quarters (1880s)

Two-story Officer's Quarters (1880s)

We checked into the no frills Longhorn Ranch Motel on TX-118 in Terlingua were we'll be for the next four nights. The sunset behind the motel was colorful.

Tomorrow Big Bend National Park.

Looking ahead, we now have an October 2022 reservation at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Now, we are waiting for reservations to open up for the North Rim.