Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller
Date: May 9, 2024
In western Texas we visited this well-preserved western frontier fort, a key post in the defense system of the southwest. From 1854 to 1891, troops stationed here projected emigrants, mail stagecoaches, travelers and freighters on the San Antonio-El Paso Road. The fort is located in a box canyon on the east side of the Davis Mountains. At one time the fort had 100 structures and over 400 soldiers.
We toured the men’s barracks, officer’s kitchen and servant quarters, hospital and lieutenant quarters. The ranger told me the cavalry briefly experimented with camels instead of traditional horses. The fort also housed two all-black regiments called Buffalo Soldiers.
After touring the fort, we ate lunch (I had a delicious Rueben) at Stone Village Market in this small town of 1,200 people. One note, along these Texas roads I observed lots of bluebonnet flowers, lots of dead armadillos and counted at least three roadrunners sprinting across the road in front of my truck. We also encountered lots of blowing tumbleweed. When I got back to Ohio 23 days later and got my truck serviced, the mechanic discovered tumbleweed stuck in my brake mechanism.
