Day 12, 2014 - Midland, TX - Big Bend NP - Fredericksburg, TX
Today I wanted to get to Fredericksburg, Texas in time to tour the Nimitz and War in the Pacific museums.  But I also wanted to fly the border through Big Bend National Park.   I figured if I got an early start I could make it.  I ended up loading the plane and pre-flighting in the morning darkness.  I took off right at daybreak.  I'll bet the Tower controllers weren't happy about having to wake up and handle that itty-bitty homebuilt plane.
   
Looking east at the rising sun.
   
I headed southwest toward Pecos -- following Highway 20 seen below -- and then south through Ft. Davis and Marfa to the border.
   
A beautiful morning to be flying with the sun lighting everything up in front of me.
   
 
   
Again, I was surprised how green everything was.
   
 
   
On flat land like this, there is only one thing to do!
   
 
   
 
   
Approaching the border town of Presidio.  On the Mexican side it is Ojinaga.  Presidio Lely airport (KPRS) is at the bottom of the picture.
   
At better look at Presidio and Ojinaga.
   
My first glimpse of the Rio Grande.
   
The Bofecillos Mountains to the north.
   
Mexico to the south.
   
Flying past a private airport called Lajitas International Airport.  A 7,500 foot runway in the middle of nowhere?  Pictures of airports are useful because you can figure out exactly where you were when you took the picture.  It's not as easy with pictures of mountains or rivers.
   
 
   
I call this "hole in the wall".
   
 
 
   
The Rio Grande emerges from the mountains into the flat lands.
   
Cruising through Big Bend National Park with the Chisos Mountains to the north.
   
 
   
 
   
The Rio Grande is back into the mountains.
   
Looking south over the Rio Grande into Mexico.
   
A dirt strip out in the middle of nowhere.
   
 
   
The Rio Grande is down there in the canyons.
   
You can barely see it at the bottom of the canyon.
   
The mountains are receding.
   
I'm out of Big Bend National Park and the mountains.  Looking north to nothing.
   
Dry river bed.
   
But the Rio Grande still has water.
   
The Rio Grande is a very windy river.
   
Gigantic horseshoe bend.
   
About 30 miles northwest of Laughlin, I left the border and headed east northeast to Fredericksburg, which is about 30 miles northwest of San Antonio.
 
I was soon back in civilization and there were lots of airports.  Here is one airport community I flew over.
 
 
   
On downwind at Gillespie County Airport.  It was about noon I think.  I had plenty of time to sightsee in Fredericksburg.   The RV's speed really paid off this day.
   
Gillespie County Airport not only has an on-field restaurant, but it has an on-field hotel!  The weekday rate was very reasonable so I stayed there and it was the nicest room I stayed in the entire trip.   I had arranged for a rental car with the FBO and it was there waiting for me.
   
 
I drove into the town of Fredericksburg.  What a difference from Midland!  Fredericksburg has a main street packed with restaurants, and shops.  The sidewalks were filled with people walking around enjoying the town and day.  I had lunch at a German restaurant/bar, then crossed the street to the National Museum of the Pacific War.
   
Battleships have always fascinated me.  This is a model of the U.S.S. Arizona.   The museum was very well done, leading you through World War II in the Pacific from how the war started until the end.
   
And this is a huge model of the U.S.S. Nimitz.
   
I served on a Destroyer Squadron staff for two years and we spent a month on board the U.S.S. Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69).  Our watch station was in the island on the level circled in blue.  Watching flight operations was one of the most impressive things I have ever seen in my life.  Carrier pilots don't get paid enough for what they do, believe me.
   
A statue of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz who was Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet during World War II.  Fredericksburg was his home town.  In fact, next to the museum was the hotel his family owned and ran, and where he grew up.  It has been turned into a museum on Nimitz's life and was very interesting.  Nimitz was one of the giants of WWII.
   
A better look at the hotel/museum.
   
 
The other thing you must do in Fredericksburg, Texas is hike to the top of the Enchanged Rock.  It's a few miles out of town.  I wasn't sure what to expect.
   
It turned out to be this gigantic, ancient rock.  You could hike to the top.  Like Horseshoe Bend in Page, I wasn't sure if I had the energy to do it on this hot day, but I decided to give it a shot.
   
I had to stop and catch my breath a few times, but I made it and it was very pleasant on top.  It really is just one big giant rock, but life will find a way, and there were these areas on top where grass, plants and flowers had caught hold.
   
Driving back to town I passed these Longhorns, first I've ever seen.
   
Cruising back to the Hangar Hotel.
   
Looking down at my plane from the Hotel balcony.
   

Nice shot of hotel and plane.  I give the Hangar Hotel my highest recommendation.  A neat place to stay and very nice.  They have an Officer's Club bar with a mahogany and granite fireplace, soft leather furniture, grand piano and pool table, very comfortable and nice.  It's only open Thursday through Saturday so I didn't get to have a drink at the bar, regretfully.

In fact, Fredericksburg overall is a neat place.  Too bad I live so far from it or I would come back with Lynnette.
   
   
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