OT: Road Trip to Marfa...

[Paint It Purple]

The Holland Hotel in Alpine is terrific. Great bar and bar crowd. Live music in the court yard with a huge fireplace and stars. Nice little pizza place with good wine and beer. Ditto on the aforementioned Marfa stops. Not sure the timing but, they have a great artsie-Farsie market on saturdays.

 

[Paint It Purple]

If you that far south you might as well go to big bend and at least drive the big loop on the western side. Once in a lifetime kinda place.

As for the Marfa lights...I cant attest. But, just this past December at about 8700 foot in the Big Bend, we witnessed some amazing Milky Way sights and a few I couldnt explain.

 

[Paint It Purple]

Don’t know if Fort Davis has been mentioned, but if you like that kinda stuff, the US Army barracks and fort are outstanding. And on the way back east on I10 east, take the detour on Texas 290 at Sheffield. It crosses the Pecos then goes straight up hill to Fort Lancaster. Just a really beautiful drive.

 

[BrewingFrog]

Don’t know if Fort Davis has been mentioned, but if you like that kinda stuff, the US Army barracks and fort are outstanding. And on the way back east on I10 east, take the detour on Texas 290 at Sheffield. It crosses the Pecos then goes straight up hill to Fort Lancaster. Just a really beautiful drive.

I have bored Mrs. Brewingfrog in the past with visits to such places as Cowpens, Fort Pulaski, etc. I find such places fascinating, and have read and studied them before each visit. She finds them interesting for about 20 minutes. She had to practically drag me out of the Cowpens Battlefield Museum... The beautiful drive, however, sounds excellent!

 

[Frogenstein]

The Marfa lights phenomenon predates the automobile.

 

[SuperBarrFrog]

If you that far south you might as well go to big bend and at least drive the big loop on the western side. Once in a lifetime kinda place.

As for the Marfa lights...I cant attest. But, just this past December at about 8700 foot in the Big Bend, we witnessed some amazing Milky Way sights and a few I couldnt explain.

I was gonna say the same thing but then saw it’s like 7 hours away. I’d still do it. My brother flew to El Paso with his gf last year and they visited Marfa and Big bend. Stayed in the cool trailers at El Cosmico. You can get an open flame hot top brought over by your place too. It’s kinda like glamping, might be fun for a night.

 

[Brog]

The Marfa lights phenomenon predates the automobile.

Heres what Wikipedia says about the Marfa Lights. Yeah, I know,it's Wikipedia:
They have gained some fame as onlookers have ascribed them to paranormal phenomena such as ghosts, UFOs, or will-o'-the-wisp, etc. However, scientific research suggests that most, if not all, are atmospheric reflections of automobile headlights and campfires.

 

[Hoosierfrog]

The old TV show The Eyes if Texas (I think that was the name) with Ron Stone said that Comanche or Apache lore talked about them before forked tongue white man made it up.

Maybe they had old Indian Motorcycles...

 

[Brog]

The old TV show The Eyes if Texas (I think that was the name) with Ron Stone said that Comanche or Apache lore talked about them before forked tongue white man made it up.

Maybe they had old Indian Motorcycles...

Or old Indian campfires.

 

[Zen Moon]

Stay/eat at the Hotel el Capitan in Van Horn. I,would drive out just for that.

 

[Punter1]

Marfa is the weirdest darning town in the country. Tons of art galleries, alternative lifestyle people, etc. It's barely Texas.

Gage Hotel in Marathon is one of best and coolest hotels in Texas. Railroad Blues in Alpine usually has great live music on the weekends.

 

[Tumbleweed]

Having lived in Marfa, I can't add to any suggestions posted. It's changed of course but it was a great town to live in.

Lived close to the square and remember sitting on the curb watching Warner Bros roll into town to film Giant. Was a projectionist in high school and worked at the Palace theatre running dailies for Geo Stevens, Eliz Taylor,etc. WB used two theatres to run dailies. Chill Wiles and Monty Hall used to get around town in a buggy. WB furnished Jimmy Dean w a red and wh Chev, 2 door with the biggest V 8 available. He was a bit of an odd character, kept pretty much to himself. Rock Hudson was a big man, friendly and the women went wild at any opportunity to see him. Alot of local folks worked on that shoot. The house used on that shoot stood for many years and finally fell down. That house only had three sides. Like every small town in deep sw West Texas it has many unique stories.

BTW Marfa lights don't appear every night. Sometimes two weeks will pass before you can see them. We locals used to tell people from Dallas and NY that was a mexican family who put lanterns on poles, jumping up and down doing crazy things with the lights. You would be surprised at the number of folks who believed that story.

One more thing, most of the big names in Giant stayed in private homes but many, many stayed at the P hotel. As an extra in that film, I earned fifty bucks a day. Lots of money for a high school kid who just sat on a fence.

My brother, TCU 56 was a chauffeur for Giant. Later on he had to go back to Ft.Worth and go to school. Marfa is a heck of a place. It takes a while to get there but worth it. BTW (Mrs.) Eddie Brite is from Marfa. Brite school of Divinity. She was a member of Marfa Christian Church. The walls of that church are three feet thick and mostly adobe. Beautiful church and was full every Sunday morning. Mrs Brite sat in her pew and nobody, ever, ever sat in her place. I'm thankful for her, she provided a scholarship for me to attend TCU. She stood about 5 feet and tough as old leather but in my mind she was ten feet tall.

 

[TCURiggs]

Having lived in Marfa, I can't add to any suggestions posted. It's changed of course but it was a great town to live in.

Lived close to the square and remember sitting on the curb watching Warner Bros roll into town to film Giant. Was a projectionist in high school and worked at the Palace theatre running dailies for Geo Stevens, Eliz Taylor,etc. WB used two theatres to run dailies. Chill Wiles and Monty Hall used to get around town in a buggy. WB furnished Jimmy Dean w a red and wh Chev, 2 door with the biggest V 8 available. He was a bit of an odd character, kept pretty much to himself. Rock Hudson was a big man, friendly and the women went wild at any opportunity to see him. Alot of local folks worked on that shoot. The house used on that shoot stood for many years and finally fell down. That house only had three sides. Like every small town in deep sw West Texas it has many unique stories.

BTW Marfa lights don't appear every night. Sometimes two weeks will pass before you can see them. We locals used to tell people from Dallas and NY that was a mexican family who put lanterns on poles, jumping up and down doing crazy things with the lights. You would be surprised at the number of folks who believed that story.

One more thing, most of the big names in Giant stayed in private homes but many, many stayed at the P hotel. As an extra in that film, I earned fifty bucks a day. Lots of money for a high school kid who just sat on a fence.

My brother, TCU 56 was a chauffeur for Giant. Later on he had to go back to Ft.Worth and go to school. Marfa is a heck of a place. It takes a while to get there but worth it. BTW (Mrs.) Eddie Brite is from Marfa. Brite school of Divinity. She was a member of Marfa Christian Church. The walls of that church are three feet thick and mostly adobe. Beautiful church and was full every Sunday morning. Mrs Brite sat in her pew and nobody, ever, ever sat in her place. I'm thankful for her, she provided a scholarship for me to attend TCU. She stood about 5 feet and tough as old leather but in my mind she was ten feet tall.

The stories and people on this board never cease to amaze me... pretty eclectic.

 

[Chico Dusty]

And damn you whoever brought up land apex predators. Love the topic, but I caught myself mid workday reading pages of in depth reports on who was in fact top

 

[Peacefrog]

And damn you whoever brought up land apex predators. Love the topic, but I caught myself mid workday reading pages of in depth reports on who was in fact top

The answer is the Baylor bear.

 

[Deep Purple]

If you that far south you might as well go to big bend and at least drive the big loop on the western side. Once in a lifetime kinda place.

And if you get as far south as Big Bend, check out La Kiva Restaurant & Bar (http://la-kiva.com/) at Terlingua. It's actually located partially underground (set into a hillside) and you have to descend through a sort of cellar door to get inside. Back in the heyday of Texas Outlaw country music, Waylon Jennings and Jerry Jeff Walker used to drop in there from time to time for an impromptu set. Good barbecued cabrito served there.

By the way, that "fossil" set into the wall is actually made of cattle bones, and the plaque next to it describes it as a "Penisaurus erectus."

 

[Deep Purple]

Marfa is the weirdest darning town in the country. Tons of art galleries, alternative lifestyle people, etc. It's barely Texas.

Are you kidding? Have you never been to Gruene, Luckenbach, Granbury, Jefferson, Bandera, Rockport, Nacogdoches, etc.? Marfa is not "barely Texas." It's exactly Texas.

 

[SparkleFrog]

Just went for Spring Break last month and we stayed at Hotel Saint George. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!! Stay and eat there but make a dinner reservation. Hotel Paisano was cool but rooms are old and meh and the food was okay. Hotel Saint George is where it’s at!

Also, go to Buns n’ Roses for breakfast to get some of their amazing pastries! Get there early before they run out.

 

[SuperBarrFrog]

The answer is the Baylor bear.

Nah, he’s a bottom.

 

[Paint It Purple]

I have bored Mrs. Brewingfrog in the past with visits to such places as Cowpens, Fort Pulaski, etc. I find such places fascinating, and have read and studied them before each visit. She finds them interesting for about 20 minutes. She had to practically drag me out of the Cowpens Battlefield Museum... The beautiful drive, however, sounds excellent!

39 years ago the Mrs and I drove to Fort Davis on a lark. I believe the fort is designated as a National Monument, as it should be. It is set up against a colonnade of rock hill/mountain that serves as a natural defense. Standing there one can imagine what that place and time must have been like for a US Cavalry soldier back then. It is a breathtaking place to me. The Mrs, perhaps like Mrs Brewing, enjoyed the fort but after a while she was probably done. Though she never said so. Tell Mrs Brewing that if she takes you there, the real memories You will leave with, will be those of the two of you. I went back this past December and the rush of memories were all of her; in each and every place I remembered her standing.