The McDonald Observatory is high in the mountains just outside Ft. Davis. This location is a research and teaching facility for the University of Texas. This Observatory has the only world-class telescope used for public viewing of the universe.  We attended a Star Party that allowed us to view the skies through six of their powerful telescopes. One of the telescopes we used is a one of the kind telescope designed for wheelchair viewers. Duffey asked how much one of the telescopes costs and we were told it was worth more than half a million dollars! 

We were seated in an outdoor theater and the instructor pointed out many of the stars and constellations with a laser pointer that he had to be certified to use because it was so powerful.