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????