Wheels for Meals!

The folks at Wheels for Meals and the Jeff Davis Food Pantry pointed us to a neat interview with this (great) bike ride's founder, Margaret O'Connell, and we wanted to share some excerpts with you.  This is a GREAT ride, for a GREAT cause on some of the most scenic roads you'll find anywhere!  (Read the entire interview posted on wheelbrothers.com site last year, here!)  Please note:  This year's ride is October 5!

What was the motivation behind starting the tour and who benefits from it?
I have personally participated in many charity bike rides and saw the power they have to not only raise money, but to raise awareness. When I moved to Fort Davis, I quickly realized the the Pantry was perhaps the single most crucial nonprofit in JDCty, because without the supplemental food it provides, children would not do well in school, families would suffer. Nearly 20% of the JDC population receives supplemental and school lunch foods from the Pantry.
How have they been able to utilize the funds in the past?
Funds raised through the WfM event make up almost 1/2 of the Pantry’s annual budget, paying for tons of foods and paying for operations of the building facilities to ensure our doors stay open.

Logistically, can you give us an idea how many volunteers, finances, and planning it takes to put on this event?
We have over 40 volunteers providing support at two pit stops and lunch stop, driving SAG vehicles, and information at the registration. The Riders’ $50 registration fee covers the costs of the t-shirts, pit stop snacks and drinks. We have nearly 30 sponsors this year donating dollars and in-kind goods to support the ride. Most of the sponsors donatipons and ALL of the riders’ fund raising monies go directly to services. Even all the the food and beverages at the post-ride cookout are donated by sponsors and our board members.
What was the most rewarding experience throughout the years hosting this event?
Hearing the positive comments from our riders and volunteers about the quality of the ride: the beauty of the scenery, the enthusiasm of the volunteers, the quality of the pit stops and qauntity of snacks, the good and rewarding feelings the riders and volunteers have about their constributions to helping the Pantry’s consumers.

Want to learn more?  Want to ride?  Click here to learn more specifics about the ride.  Click here to learn more about the Food Pantry! 

Look UP at Night: Feb 2-23 Best Evening Viewing of Mercury AND Guide to Visiting McDonald Observatory

Photo by Randy Mallory for the Texas Historical Commission

Locals and veteran travelers already know it:  Our region has a distinguished jewel in McDonald Observatory.  Located atop the Davis Mountains on the "Scenic Loop," it is a place visitors regularly put high up on their bucket list.  Intrigued?  Here's an EXCELLENT article about visiting the Observatory and taking in a couple of their public programs, from our friend, Sheila Scarborough of Perceptive Travel Blog. 

 

Click here to read the Observatory's webpage on visiting the facility.  Heading to the region for Spring Break?  Click here to see all the special Spring Break programming at McDonald Observatory.

The view of the Davis Mountains from
the top of McDonald Observatory
(click on the photo for a closer view!)

This month, we'll be treated to the best evening viewing of Mercury in a long, long time.  Read more here, from Weather.com.  An excerpt:  "Mercury, the "elusive" innermost planet, will travel far enough from the glare of the sun to be readily visible in the western sky, soon after sunset. On the evening of Feb. 8, Mercury will skim within less than 0.4 degrees of the much-fainter planet, Mars."

Riders on Hwy 90

We've been working on cycling itineraries that take visitors to some pretty interesting places in the region.  This view of Hwy 90 is part of our Texas Mountain Ride! from Adventure Cycling's Bike Overnights blog, which starts in Marathon, and goes to Alpine, Fort Davis and Marfa.

What attracts cyclists (from beginners to racers) to our region?  Great scenery, little to no traffic, and lovely places to stop and enjoy!
We also have the El Capitan to El Capitan Heritage Bike Ride (Van Horn to Guadalupe Mtns National Park), Ride to the Post (Marathon to Post Park), and Fort Davis' Scenic Loop. 

Take a look at our website's cycling page for a list of cycle-friendly hotels, B&B's, historic motor courts and modern motels!  Check it out at www.texasmountaintrail.com/bike

You can see for miles and miles with little trace of man

One of our favorite places is a road connecting Hwy 90 to Fort Davis' Scenic Loop...FM 505 is a long, mostly flat stretch of road that allows you to see large swaths of land and sky with very little evidence of man in the way.  It is a wonderful place to see raptors and sometimes pronghorn. To get there, head south from Van Horn, through Valentine.  About seven miles south of Valentine, there's a turnoff to the east...that's 505. 

This road had a starring role in a sweet film about small town Texas (starring Fort Davis), called "Dancer, Texas, Pop. 81".  In fact a view of the road begins this movie! 

For more information on movies shot in the region, visit our webpage, here!

Drive to the Observatory

Texas 118, here taking visitors to the McDonald Observatory, is the highest elevation paved road in Texas.

This road is also part of the Scenic Loop, one of the most beautiful driving and cycling route in the state.  Click here to read more about cycling this road!

Our thanks again to Pete S. for sharing his photographs with us all week!

Ranches

Several huge cattle ranches, most of them measured in square miles, border Texas Highways 118, 166 and 17, which comprise the Scenic Loop.

Thanks to Pete S. for sharing his photos all week long!

Mountain Valley

An oak-studded mountain valley gracefully ascends to Texas 118 and a memorial marking a long-ago accident.

Another beautiful vista of the drive from Fort Davis to the Observatory from our friend, Pete S!  Thanks, Pete!

Ridgeline of Mt. Livermore

The high ridgeline of the Davis Mountains lights up just after dawn. Highest point is 8,378-foor Mt. Livermore, visible from several points along the Scenic Loop.

Mt. Livermore is part of the Davis Mountains Presere, where there's an Open Day on March 12.  Read more here.

We've started a page on the Scenic Loop for our website's cycling section...take a look at this page in progress, here!

Cholla in bloom on the Scenic Loop

Cholla is in bloom all over the region.  Here's a shot from Fort Davis' Scenic Loop.

Seldom Driven: Hwy 118 looking south

Looking south from the exact spot as yesterday's post on Hwy 118, this is one of the seldom driven portions of the original driving route, the Texas Mountain Trail.  Taken between Kent (the I-10 turnoff) and the scenic loop around Fort Davis, this stretch of highway provides scenic vistas of spectacular ranchland.

For more about the history of our program and the development of the circa 1968 driving routes around the state of Texas, click here.  Though there is a clearly defined driving route from that era, our program has developed to serve the entire six-county region from Brewster County (which has Big Bend National Park) to El Paso County and the New Mexico state line.

Seldom Driven: Hwy 118 Looking North

For a few days, we're featuring some of the less-traveled portions of the original driving route of the Texas Mountain Trail.  Today and tomorrow, we'll feature Hwy 118 between Kent (the I-10 turnoff) and Fort Davis at exactly the same place.  Today, the view is looking north. 

The Seldom Driven parts of the original Texas Mountain Trail

The Texas Mountain Trail began as a simple driving route to publicize the state of Texas prior to the 1968 HemisFair in San Antonio, but now we serve the entire six county region of Far West Texas.  You can read more about our history, here.

There was an original driving route, and our blue highway signs are still posted on that "Figure 8" that covers most corners of the region.  Naturally, some parts of the route get more traffic than others.  Today we start a short series on the roads a little less traveled--and let's face it--even our highly traveled roads don't get THAT much traffic, but we thought you might like to see the more remote places along the route.

For the next couple of days we'll focus on Hwy 118, from Kent (the amazing old merchantile building is pictured here at the turnoff from I-10--stop in the store, and you'll step back a century!) to the top of the Scenic Loop (Hwy 166) heading toward Fort Davis.  Drive along with us!

Flowering Cholla on the Scenic Loop

An enormous cholla blooms on the Scenic Loop west of Fort Davis. One of the most beautiful drives anywhere, the Scenic Loop is a "must do" when visiting the region. The community of Fort Davis, the Fort Davis National Historic Site and Davis Mountains State Park, and the famed McDonald Observatory are all on the loop. Plus there's great mountain vegetation and wildlife to view!

For more information on visiting Fort Davis, click here and here.

View from McDonald Observatory

Part of the experience of going to the famed McDonald Observatory outside Fort Davis is the climb through the Davis Mountains to Mt. Locke. Visitors drive through the mountains, going higher and higher in elevation until beautiful vistas open to view. McDonald Observatory is one of the premier attractions in the region for visitors, but getting there is also a treat, as you takes you on the famed Scenic Loop, one of the best drives (and bike rides and motorcycle rides!) in the state.

For more information about visiting McDonald Observatory, click here.

For information about cycling in the region, visit www.texasmountaintrail.com/bike

For information about favorite motorcycle rides in the region, visit www.texasmountaintrail.com/motorcycle

Thanks to Matt Walter, Curator of History at the Museum of the Big Bend in Alpine for this great photo!