Big Bend Family Vacation - Recap Day 3

The third day of our trip started off really quiet with all of us sleeping in a bit (even though I did accidentally forget that I had a meeting reminder on my phone that kept going off and woke my mom and dad up earlier than expected). We didn't have much scheduled for our morning, but we did have a busy afternoon and evening.

We had plans for a horseback ride in the early afternoon and then were off to the McDonald Observatory for a Star Party in the evening/late night. Sadly, I have very few pictures for this day.

The horse ride was fun, dusty, but fun. My Dad, Graham, the kids, and myself were the only ones that went while my Mom and Sister stayed in town and wandered around. Unfortunately, the horse ride didn't start off very great when the trail boss yelled at Kathleen and I while we were still getting mounted.... I understood why he had to yell as the horses were starting to bunch up and there was concern that things could get dangerous but it wasn't very enjoyable for either of us. This horse ride was very different than the rides I had taken while in California.... but I think a lot of that could have been due to the fact that we weren't going to be stopping half-way through the ride and have a bite to eat with some wine.... ah well....

After the horse ride, we went into town and got some ice-cream then out to the ranch for getting cleaned up and then off to the Observatory.

The Observatory was definitely one of the hi-lights of my trip. We got a tour of the night sky and then we were allowed to look through telescopes and look deep into the depths of the universe. The most exciting thing was to be able to see Saturn and its rings. We also got an up close look at the moon and the Orion Nebula. The temperature did dip down as the evening wore on, but we had all dressed warmly and it was completely worth it. I loved every minute of this night. If you EVER have the chance to see the stars from one of the darkest places on the planet, I say TAKE IT!!