"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood... And sorry I could not travel both. I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference." --Robert Frost

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Where the heck is Marfa, TX?

Marfa, TX
Boondocking


On our way to Marfa, TX we stopped for gas and to see another "Worlds Largest".  In Fort Stockton sits Paesano Pete, the Road Runner.  He was built in 1979 and stands 22 ft long and 11 ft tall.
 
 
     
Onward to Marfa.  Once again we see a change in our geography.  Out of the hills and into more flat desert scrub.  An occasional windmill or oil well.  Then some mesas and mountains in the distance.  I have missed the mountains.
 
It seems that all of our friends who live in Texas have never heard of Marfa.  It's a little town of less than 2000 people slightly northwest of Big Bend National Park.  We're here because we have read about the Mysterious Marfa Lights from others whose blogs I follow.  Since it was somewhat on our way to NM, we thought we'd boondock and see what we see.
 
Our campsite in the desert.

This plaque at the site explains the lights better than I can

Will we see any lights tonight?
It was decently warm during the day, but got down to the 30s as the sun went down.  We set chairs out and once the sun went down we put on our warm jackets and sat out in the desert with just a sliver of moon out.
 
 
We did see a few lights during the hour we sat outside. They were round and in the far distance.  Sometimes white, sometimes orange.  Our cameras could not capture them so far away.  Were they headlights?  Gasses? Unexplained phenomenon?  Who knows.  It was so cold I didn't care anymore.
 
 
We spent some time driving, then walking through the small town of Marfa.  It's actually a very cute town.  A little strange though.  Almost like it's a big movie prop town.  It's out in the middle of nowhere, but many of the buildings look like they were just renovated with fresh coats of paint.  Most were empty and there was very little traffic.  It's a very artsy town.


Presidio County Courthouse

 
The Food Shark food trucks are well known for their food.  They were closed when we went by so we didn't get to eat there.

This was painted on the side of a building.
 
 
This long wall was very interesting.  This is an adobe mud wall.  The texture varies by how long the mud is allowed to dry and how much mud is removed by a pressurized hose.
 
 
For dinner we wanted to go to the locals favorite.  So every time we spoke to someone we asked where they like to go for Mexican.  They all said Mando's on W. San Antonio St.  Steve had Chili Verde Con Carne Burritos and I chose a spicier pork dish.  The service was very slow, but the food was very good.
 
Well, we're on our way to New Mexico for a few weeks.  It should be warmer, but as you can see.......
Yep, that's snow.  First we've seen since we began fulltiming.

Will it get warmer in Carlsbad????
 

12 comments:

  1. So cool that you saw lights! It's been on my list for a while now :-) The courthouse is beautiful, and big for such a small place. That "worded" wall looks like all the writing prompts for my college Philosophy class :-)))) MIL has been snowed in two days in Roswell, hope it warms up quickly.

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    1. I don't know that we expected the "lights" to look like the Arora Borealis, but we thought they'd be more constant and a little more exciting. But it was still cool nonetheless. I also thought that courthouse was large for that small town too. Yes, it has been FREEZING here too. We're just north of Carlsbad and hoping to spend the day in Roswell today, but we are watching the roads closely. Still very cold both here and there. Freezing fog, sleet, flurries, ice. Looking forward to some warming temps as we head west a little tomorrow.

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  2. Road runners remind me of my dad. He passed away about 30 years ago but I still remember his yellow Road Runner car. I like the photo of your rig with the truck. How was your boondocking experience? Try to stay warm!

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    1. Oh, sweet memory of you Dad! We've boondockef several times since we've been out. Longest about a week. No problem. It never it 30 today, even in Roswell. Looking forward to 70 tomorrow in Las Cruces.

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  3. Are you sure that isn't Carlsbad, Michigan? That is a heck of a snowstorm, Debbie!

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    1. We'll be happy to have 70s tomorrow in Las Cruces! Yes, it does remind me of Upstate weather!

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  4. That is the first snow you have seen since fulltiming? Consider yourself lucky, sometimes I think the snow is following us around! Hopefully things will warm up for you at your next stop!

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    1. It's so much nice on this side of NM! Sunny and 75! Trying to avoid that white stuff! What a mess the rig was. Washed it today. All sparkly clean again!

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  5. I don't know how I missed this post but SNOW? We haven't seen any snow in 5 years but then we don't winter in Texas or New Mexico. LOL! LOVE the roadrunner and the little town of Marfa. What a find. I can just see you guys bundled up sitting out in your chairs waiting for lights.

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    1. Yes Sherry, that cold spell dumped a lot of snow in Northern NM with some coming down to the south where we were in Carlsbad. Temps are back into the 50 - 70s. Yay!

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  6. Yikes, it's never fun pulling in snow. Thanks for bringing Marfa to my attention. I think a few years ago I saw something on TV about this little TX town and on our next time in Ft. Stockton I am definitely stopping to see that road runner. Stay warm :-)

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    1. Al & Ingrid, It was a fun time in Marfa. It's already much warmer in Las Cruces than Carlsbad.

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