Day 37 April 10

April 10

Guard shack and cell.  It was designed for two to four but at times held up to fifteen.

Enlisted men's quarters.

Notice the wooden plank beds with only a little cushion.

The sign says it all.

Officer's quarters, have not added back in furniture yet.

Some one painted this one nicely, this one is in the center of town for show.

What a clear and sunny day compared to yesterday. We decided to drive into Fort Stockton to see the fort. There are 4 original buildings remaining at this fort that was a frontier military outpost from 1865 to 1879. The force was largely made up of "buffalo soldiers," black men who enlisted following the civil war. The main purpose of the fort was to defend against Indians, but it was never attacked, and was abandoned in 1879 as the frontier moved west.   The soldiers patroled the area to guard the trails and roads.  The Indians and some bandits had been killing settlers when the original soldiers left because of the civil war.  The return of the soldiers in 1865 stopped the Indains and returned order ot the region.The original buildings included a guard house and three officers quarters. There were also reconstructed buildings that represented the enlisted men's barracks. After running some errands and filling the gas tank, we headed out for Guadalupe Mountains National Park. We drove through some oil fields. We also passed into the Central Time Zone. Got into the park about 7pm. The campsite is right at the base of the mountains, amazing. we watched a storm coming in over the mountains after dark, great lightning show. When it reached us, it dropped 1/2 inch hail for about 15 minutes! Lots of fun from inside the camper!

View from our campsite, Guadalupe Mountans