The next Stop – Davis Mountains State Park Our campsiteGreat views from the parks Skyline DriveWe visit the Fort Davis National Historic Site Troops stationed at the post protected emigrants, freighters, mail coaches, and travelers on the San Antonio-El Paso Road hoping to reach the gold fields of California.Living Quarters in the fortSome of the rebuild buildings – Officers’ Quarters and HeaquarterOn the way we discovered the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute …. with nice trails, a botanical garden and the cactus museum.Walking the overlook trailDesert Rose in the botanical garden with local plants… and a “Mock Orange”.The Cactus Museum is super nice !! So many cacti are in bloom.…Our next stop is Monahans Sandhills State Park – we have been here before and liked it a lot – we stopped again for a bit longer this time. “A mystical place where the wind sculpts sand dunes into peaks and valleys, sometimes overÂnight.”Our campsiteOur campsite from the dune next to us (“our” sunset dune 🙂 ).Endless sand dunes in the 3,840-acre state park.Looks like – just the top of the tree is visible. On the morning dune walk we have many animal tracks to identify in the sand.And many Scales Quails around our campground …… along with beautiful wild flowers everywhere. Great sunrise… and sunsetWith a full moon !A working Pump Jack in the Park !We visit the small town of Monahans – not much here …… but a very interesting museum.The “Million Barrel Tank” is just one of the many exabits here! Before building the pipelines – this was shortly used as a temporary storage. Air Force museum… and even a small Coca Cola Museum here.On the way to the next stop …we went for a swim in Balmorhea State Park – in the crystal-clear water of the world’s largest spring-fed swimming pool.Our next stop is Franklin Mountains State Park – in the mountains around El Paso, TexasOur campsite – and the best part – we have the hole campground for ourselves.Very nice views all around us.The ocotillos are in full bloom here …… what a beautiful color in the middle of the desert!Oh in Germany we would call them “Schwiegermutter-Sitz” (Mother-In-Law-Seat) .. but they are some kind of Barrel Cactus.Awesome Sunset and Campfires at night!Looking at the stars at nightWe walk the Aztec Trail.… to a cave …with a great view to the mountains.It was easy to come up here – down was a bit difficult.We visited El Paso and drove Scenic Drive with a great view over the town.Also at night from the campground – we could see El Paso.
