Kokernot Field in Alpine Texas

While vacationing in the Fort Davis - Alpine area of far West Texas, we stumbled across this baseball field in Alpine. Named, Kokernot field for the family that built it, the field has been the home for baseball for a number of years, even dating back to the days of the all-negro leagues. One person of note that played baseball here was Satchell Paige. My middle son has been interested in the negro baseball league for some time now so this was especially important for him.




We hope to return in future years and watch a game at the field. We love baseball, especially the Texas Rangers but how special would it be to see a game at such a historic field?

If you ever have the chance to visit the field while you are in the Alpine area, don't miss it. It is a wonderful field to visit and is well maintained.

Hiking at Abilene State Park

In September 2010, we took a hike through Abilene State Park, something we do a few times a year. Its not a hard hike so we can just relax and stroll along the paths. Here is a video of that hike.



This video was shot and edited entirely on iPhone 4

Playing in the Leaves

There is always lots of leaves in our front yard each Fall. I wait for most of them to fall before raking them up. Josh and Jon helped me rake part of the yard. Before we bagged them up, they wanted to jump into the pile.



Love to see them do this because it means they still have some of the child left in them. Pretty soon, they will be too grown up to jump in the leaves. Then, when they get to my age and want to do it again, they will resist the temptation lest they throw their back out.

Enjoy!

dave

Davis Mountains - Madera Canyon Hike

We spent a week in Fort Davis Texas. One afternoon while driving down the Scenic Highway, Texas 166, we stumbled across the Madera Canyon Nature Trail. We only walked part of the trail since we had a couple of whiners in the car with us. Be that as it may, it is a beautiful spot to hike and enjoy the outdoors.

Fort Davis - Karen Shoots a Video

Karen really likes to hunt rocks when we are visiting in Fort Davis, Texas. We spend a fair amount of time driving around and just taking in the beauty that is everywhere around Fort Davis. Because of everything else going on, Karen doesn't get her hands on the video camera very often. I think that is a good thing.

One final post from Fort Davis

This is the last day in Fort Davis. I've been without a computer the last two days because the power supply went out.

We spent all of day 4 at the Woodward Ranch hunting for agate. We found quit a bit so Karen will have lots of rock to polish. We had planned on going to a baseball game at Kokernot Field in Alpine but were too tired.

Today we spent most of the day just hanging around Fort Davis. We decided to go on a ride on the Scenic Highway. If you ever get the chance to take the Scenic Drive, do. It is a beautiful drive

Well, it's too darn hard to blog on my iPhone so I think I'll quit. Maybe I can write more later.

Fort Davis Vacation Day 3

Day 3 was a full day of activities. We got a bit of a late start but headed into Fort Davis for a bit of shopping by Karen. There wasn't much open at the time so we headed down to Alpine for sightseeing and lunch.

The first stop was to Kokernot Field, the home of the Alpine Cowboys Semi-pro Baseball Team and a field with some interesting history (http://www.bigbendcowboys.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=5&Itemid=3).

I'll post video of the field later today. One of the biggest claims to fame for the field is that Satchell Paige pitched there at some point in his career. The field itself is modeled after Wrigley Field in Chicago. If you ever get a chance to visit the field, its definitely worth a stop.



After the field, we shopped downtown Alpine and had lunch at the "Bread and Breakfast." A good meal and excellent service. We intended to go to the Woodward Ranch (http://www.woodwardranch.net/) but the weather turned south on us so we headed back to Fort Davis for a bit of rest before heading out that evening.

After a short rest, the boys and I headed back to Alpine to watch a movie at the Rangra Theater. We saw Inception. We arrived back at the cabin around 1AM.

Today (Day 4) we will head to the Woodward Ranch so Karen can collect rocks and then will attend a baseball game at Kokernot Field. The Alpine Cowboys are in a playoff game with another regional team. Should be fun.

Fort Davis Vacation Day 2

Its actually the 3rd day of our vacation as I'm writing this post. Yesterday was very busy and I spent some time putting together a little video of our hike (below). We spent the late morning and early afternoon hiking a long trail in the Fort Davis State Park. It was tiring but rewarding hike. After the hike, we went to the Black Bear Lodge in the state park to have lunch. The Black Bear Restaurant is a good place to eat. The food was good and the service was wonderful.

We spent the later part of the afternoon in Fort Davis shopping and hanging around. Karen found a thrift store, which she always enjoys.

Jon came down with a bad headache and not feeling well that evening. It was either him pushing too hard on the hiking trail or eating too much at the Black Bear Restaurant. We gave him some medicine for his headache and let him sleep all night. He is much better this morning and even had a good breakfast with Karen and me.

Here's the video of the hike in Fort Davis State Park.

Vacation in Fort Davis - Start of Day 2

Karen and I were up early this morning. We wanted to watch the sunrise. The biggest challenge was finding due east. For some reason, every time I come here I lose track of directions. It usually comes back after a day or so. Anyhow, we got up, made coffee and sat on the porch here at Hope's Ranch and watched the sun rise, listened to the bird's chirp and talked about the boys.

Speaking of the boys ... they are still in bed. Well, two of them are. Jason is up taking a shower. I believe they have become used to sleeping in until late morning this summer so getting up at 7AM is not happening. Since the boys are still sleeping, I'm thinking were in for a late morning/early afternoon hike. Possibly starting at the National Historic Site and venturing out from there. I believe this is a fairly easy trail. We've decided no big hikes this year. We're here mostly just to relax.

So, here we go with Day 2.

Vacation in Fort Davis - Day 1

We arrived at Fort Davis, Texas this afternoon around 3PM. The trip, of course, started in Abilene. We stopped for lunch in Odessa at the Fuddruckers. I made the boys stand in front of the restaurant and take a picture. As you can see, it almost killed them.

After arriving in Fort Davis, we checked into the office of the Old Schoolhouse to get directions to the house we are renting for the week.

We checked into the house and were greeted by a resident of the house.

Turns out, our friend is a coachwhip snake and basically harmless ... at least to humans. The owner of the property, who is a zoologist, came out and gave us a Snake 101 course.

A little at fly central then it was off to the Caboose for ice cream.

To end the day, Jon and I took a walk to the cemertery (we're staying in a house on Cemetery Road). The cemetery was fine but mostly, I just enjoyed walking and talking with Jon. He's a great kid.

Oscar the Yorkshire Terrier

Wanted to share a picture of Oscar the Yorkshire Terrier, the newest member of the family. Mommy has a new baby and is very happy to hold him and give him baths.

We're still working on the house-training part.

A Walk in the Park

My family and I visit Abilene State Park a few times a year. The park is 30 miles away from our home. It is a nice break and a good place to get away and just relax.

The star of the video is our new Yorkshire Terrier. It was his first trip to a park.

I used the visit to the park to break out my Glidecam 4000 Pro. I recently purchased the Glidecam but have been so busy editing other videos that I have had only one other occasion to work with the device. The Glidecam seems to be fairly well balanced so any issues with the video are simply a lack of experience with the Glidecam. I plan to use the Glidecam for more events. I love the way it works to steady the video and I like the workout it gives me. :-)



Shot with Canon XH-A1 and the Glidecam 4000 Pro. Edited with Final Cut Pro and Color 1.5 (Primary room only)