West Texas - I ... Big Bend

Last week, Brenda and I took a drive.  We headed WEST !

One drawback about visiting West Texas, is that there is a whole LOT of it, and it's quite spread out.  So, you have to do a bit of driving to see it.  We saw some, but of course there's still a lot more of it out there.

Our first destination was Alpine, Texas.  Primarily, our trip was to visit McDonald Observatory, run by the University of Texas (my university), just northwest of Ft. Davis, Texas.  Since we were "near" Big Bend National Park (we were 125 miles away), dad suggested we zip down there and take a look, so we did.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

I'm not sure my wife is so keen on it, but I like to get on the road before sunrise.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

These three shots are from the main road down into the park.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

One can see a sunset developing and prepare for it.  But one never knows what will happen as the sun rises, because you can't see clouds, colors or potential backgrounds in pre-dawn darkness.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

We didn't drive all the way down into the park, the the southern border of the park is the Rio Grande, the US-Mexico border, and would have taken a couple of hours longer to get down to.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

We drove up into the Chisos Basin, in the Chisos Mountains, in the north-central portion of the park.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

I don't know the geological origins of the basin, but it looks as if it could be the crater of an ancient volcano, which blew out on one side.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Today of course, the danger of big explosions has passed, and there is a nice restaurant and a campground in the basin.  

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

So we had a wonderful breakfast overlooking the basin and the "gap" in the side, which looks out over the valley below.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Then we got back in the car, and started to drive again.

Next:
- photos from the observatory and another sunrise drive
- Seminole Canyon State Part (winter home of "The Walking Men")
- a few shots of a quiet, cool Monday morning on the river in San Antonio

Photo by BRENDA S. LAUGHLIN

Montana says they are "The Big Sky State"...

Sorry, "Big Sky" = Texas !!

Y'all take care,
- Mark

Notre Dame...A dark, dark moment...

Horrible news today, not just for the people of France, but for all the people of the world, whether they have had the opportunity to visit this great treasure or not...

Photos from a beautiful day back in 2009:

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

At this moment, it seems that the two main bell towers are still standing...let's hope.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

But many, maybe all, of the beautiful stained glass windows are gone.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Some items have been removed from the building because of ongoing renovations.  Let's hope many things were saved in this way.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

But the main portion of the cathedral has been severely damage, the roof has collapsed.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 ...and the tall spire was completely engulfed and collapsed.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Hopefully, portions of the massive stone structure will be undamaged, and can serve as a foundation for the rebuilding.

Awful.
- Mark