Spring Western Adventure
The Spring 2006 meeting, Friday and Saturday, March 31st to April 1st, will be held in West Texas at Alpine, Fort Davis, and Marathon. The Program Committee, working with the folks at the Museum of the Big Bend at Sul Ross State University, have made arrangements for a great line up of speakers, events, and sightseeing in the Trans-Pecos region of our state.
Friday morning, there is an optional trip to see the McDonald Observatory with a private guided tour of the facilities and the telescopes. Presentations will begin on Friday afternoon, March 31st, and continue on Saturday, April 1st at both Fort Davis National Historic Site and the Sul Ross State University campus in Alpine. In addition, we will have a chuck wagon dinner on Friday night at the Fort Davis home of members Marty and Yana Davis and on Saturday night we will travel to Marathon for dinner at the famous Gage Hotel.
A new feature for this meeting will be the option of taking a charter bus from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to Fort Davis. The bus will depart from Maverick Stadium on the campus of The University of Texas at Arlington on Thursday, March 30th, and returning on Sunday, April 2nd . The bus trip will include a stop in Midland at the Haley Library to see a preview of their map collection, and members, David Buisseret and Dennis Reinhartz, will be directing on board activities. For those electing to ride the bus, transportation in and around Alpine, Fort Davis, and Marathon will be included, and for those bringing their own cars, there will be plenty of maps and directions for all the attractions and events in this area where the original road of the El Paso-San Antonio section of the Butterfield Company's Overland Stagecoach Line is still in daily use!
We will be headquartered in Fort Davis at the Limpia and Veranda Hotels, each a unique treat in themselves. The hotels are very popular in the spring and consequently they have set February 15th and January 31st as the last date they will hold rooms for Texas Map Society members. Please make your reservation early. Click on the link below for information about the rooms and reservation information.
Fort Davis is the highest town in Texas at an elevation of 5050 feet and is part of the high desert region known as the Chihuahuan Desert. The mountain setting of the fort is surrounded with a unique mixture of alpine and desert flora and fauna and enjoys an unusual moderate climate. Spring will have cool nights and moderate days in the 60-70 degree range. McDonald Observatory is at a higher elevation and you may want a warmer jacket for the visit. Our friends in the area tell us that you will want to drink plenty of water while you are in the region and don't be surprised if you tire a little easier than usual in the altitude.
More details will be posted on this site shortly. Registration brochures will be mailed the end of February and online registration forms will be posted at same time. If you wish to add individuals to the mailing list for registration, please contact Kit Goodwin, TMS Secretary-Treasurer. However, do not wait to get your registration brochure before making your hotel reservation as time is limited!
Registration Form Hotel Information
West Texas Map and Directions Meeting Schedule Chartered Bus Schedule
The Texas Map Society
For information please contact
Kit Goodwin at goodwin@uta.edu
Last date this page updated:
01/29/2006