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????

 

A Little Germany, A Little Hike & A Little Goodbye

Fredericksburg, TX

Crestview RV Park

 

 

While in San Antonio, we spent the day in Fredericksburg.  This old German-style town is known for its quaint European town, shops, restaurants, wineries, art, fruit and wildflowers.  If we were here in April instead of February, the area would be blanketed with bluebell wildflowers (see below).  But it's not wildflower season yet.  We loved this area and are definitely going to come back in April and maybe May one year as there is so much to do.

 

(borrowed from the internet, not taken by me)

The town has a section of Main St. known as the Miracle Mile.  This is where you'll find all the shops, restaurants etc.  We walked both sides and really enjoyed the stores.  Not just your typical touristy stuff.  Some really unique vintage and local made items and foods.

Loved the beautiful architecture.



Loved this rocker made out of old parts.  Lots of detail.

 

Can you believe this guy parks right in front as I was taking the picture?  Inside picture

is from the churches website as the church was closed.

 

We love to visit old churches, cathedrals and basilicas.  We wanted to visit St. Mary's, but it was actually closed and locked.  On a Sunday!  Unfortunately, the times we are in, we are finding this more often lately.  Churches were never locked.  What happened to "Sanctuary!"  (Hunchback of Notre Dame) But I digress. Theft and vandalism are becoming problems more and more.  We are now finding that you have to make an appointment to visit a church or be there right after a mass/service.  So sad.  This beautiful church has been around since 1846.

 

Steve spent a couple of years in Germany while he was in the Air Force.  He loved his time there.  Whenever there is a chance of getting good German food, beer or wine, we go.  When he saw the great variety of schnitzel at Der Lindenbaum we knew that's where we'd be having lunch.  I had my favorite, the Jagerschnitzel.  It was a pork cutlet, breaded, fried and topped with a creamy mushroom gravy.  Served with the usual red cabbage and potatoes.  When Steve saw they had Zigeunerschnitzel, he knew what he was ordering!  It's covered in a tomato based sauce with red bell peppers with a spicy paprika flavor.  It paired perfectly with a Spatenbrau Oktoberfest beer that was served on-draft.  He was in heaven!

 

 

Afterward we took a drive out to the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area to do a little hiking.

 

The dome of Enchanted Rock rises 1825 feet above sea level.

 

 

Getting steeper!

 

 

Going Up                                     And UP!!

 

 

Strange rocks shapes.

 
 

A close up of the rocks shows the colorful lichens growing making for the colorful green, red and blue colors on the pink granite.

Looking back towards the bottom.

We wanted to hike Turkey Peak (below), but we knew we'd run out of time on this trip.

 

 

See the people on the top?  They look like ants.

 

The sun is starting to go down.  Looks like we'll make it to the top just in time for the sunset!

Beautiful Sunset at the top!

 

Yay, we made it!
Hurley isn't as excited as me.

Now to get back down before it's pitch black out!

On another day while Steve worked outside Hurley and I did a little more hiking.  Not much exciting to see on this trail, but we did come across a few things.

 

 

I don't advise cutting into plants along a trail, but the cut out heart was kind of neat.

Then it was time to say our final goodbyes to our friends Perry, Kristin & Ethan.  We had dinner together and Kristin picked up these special cupcakes that tasted as wonderful as they looked!  There was a Lemon, Champagne, Italian Crème, Cookie Dough and I think everyone's favorite, Butter Finger.  Lemon was a close second!