Day 2: When Did Breakfast Become A Drug?

We woke earlier than we wanted the next morning. Seems our fellow hotel guests were bicyclers anticipating their upcoming endorphin highs – sounded like about a dozen of them in the hallway “good morning’ing” each other and inquiring “Did you sleep well?”. We wanted to yell out that we hadn’t, but instead minded our manners. Got up and encountered the highest shower head I had ever seen. Must have been close to 9’ tall—certainly seemed out of proportion to the size of the bedroom!

Thankfully, the H. L. Dining Room was not open for breakfast. We ventured across the street to “The Drugstore” whose only merchandise was breakfast and lunch (and the obligatory gift crapola). We settled in and enjoyed the best (and biggest) breakfast we’ve had in a long, long time. I’d recommend the “Drugstore Special” to anyone—particularly the H. L Dining Room. The two pieces of ham that accompanied the eggs and wheatberry toast positively would have embarrassed the two thin pork chops from my last meal. Breakfast may not be a drug, but it certainly could become habit forming here!

We wandered next door into the lobby of the Harvard Hotel where we met Rick, the lonely manager who was more than happy to provide a personal tour of the facility. We discovered huge, bordering on suite-like, rooms (our seven pillows would be lost in here). Learned the hotel had only been built a couple of years ago and is one of the business units of the Sproul Ranch, which also provides Harvard University a location for their radio telescope on the outskirts of town. Very competitive rates – we definitely will stay here during our next visit to the area.

Then it was off to do all the stuff there is to do in Ft. Davis, which is primarily to see old Ft. Davis, a National Historic Park. It was established in 1852 to protect the early pioneers and other invaders traveling on the San Antonio-El Paso Overland Road from the region’s Indians/insurgents. We learned that at one time over 800 cavalry were stationed here. The site was selected for the local availability of water, wood, grass for grazing (800 Buffalo Soldiers require about as many horses) and cool air—rather than for it’s strategic location to fight Indians. The most impressive remaining feature of the fort was the replica row of officers’ quarters situated in front of an equally impressive sandstone mesa. The (large) hospital had also been rebuilt on its original site. We were impressed with the original foresight to locate it as far away from their military cemetery as they could. We hiked up the trail to the top of the mesa where we gazed down on both Ft Davis’s. From up there it was easy to see the original row of officers’ quarters was built along a line that pointed true north. The re-built line followed magnetic north. The park ranger could not offer an explanation why.

From the fort it was a short drive to Indian Lodge State Park (perhaps there exists a politically correct need to offer equal billing to the Indians?). We discovered a very nice appearing white motel-type unit with the best view I’ve ever seen from a state-owned swimming pool. We also discovered the existence of their Black Bear Restaurant. The Park Ranger bragged on the menu (“if you like liver & onions, it’s better than Luby’s”. We wondered where the nearest Luby’s Cafeteria could be that conjured up this comparison).

We then set off on a 75 mile scenic loop drive (as if we needed to add more miles to our itinerary). Beautiful countryside and smooth blacktop gave us a taste of what we were about to experience when we finally got to our ultimate destination. We passed our fellow hotel guests/bicyclers who were doing the same loop on two wheels. They didn’t look as enthusiastic as they sounded a few hours ago! Actually they looked exhausted.

Took a short nap upon our return to the Hotel Limpia and rested up before tackling the “chicken fried steak” at the Black Bear. While not liver and onions, it was still as good as Luby’s. Then back to the Limpia to relax in the courtyard with Tuxedo, the hotel’s mascot mouser, and watch the bicyclers straggle in. We went to bed feeling rather assured of a quieter morning on the morrow.

Sunday pictures