Marfa, TX

We were so excited to get to Marfa. It was our first glimpse of the wide-open Western USA. We weren’t even mad when we were 20 mins away from our destination after a 7 hour drive. It already was looking different and being out in the wide open landscape always makes me feel alive. We parked at a rest stop right off of the main road, and we only had one other truck join us for a few hours in the evening. The next morning we didn’t hurry to leave, there was a big open field to play fetch with the dogs so we took advantage of that. After we wore the pups out, had breakfast, drank coffee, and got dressed we headed into Alpine for a quick look around then proceeded to Marfa.

Marfa is a strange and unique place. A sleepy town that comes alive when a festival or event is taking place. But what we learned after making this video is that shop and restaurant owners make their own hours, they aren’t always open, and when they are they aren’t consistent. All the places we were excited about visiting/eating at were closed… lol But we still had a fun time walking around and checking out the scenes. One thing I highly recommend when walking around in the sun is bring chapstick and water! The elevation really messed with me, after like 2 hours of wandering I was parched and exhausted.

The best part of Marfa for us was parking at the “Marfa Lights Viewing Center” for the evening. We made dinner, got the pets settled, and grabbed a couple beers to sit on our rooftop deck. The sunset was incredible, and we had some good and much needed not-so-fun conversations. But I remember feeling so refreshed that night. It reminded me why we were on the road in the first place! Exploring and experiencing things together.

Also, the “Marfa Lights” we are pretty sure they are just headlights. They were in the same area the whole night and weren’t very mysterious. I was kinda bummed, I was looking forward to being a little creeped out. ;P

We headed out the next morning through New Mexico to Patagonia, Arizona. Stay tuned for that adventure.

Place we ate

Boys II Men Tacos

The menu grossed me out (dirty), but the people were nice, and the brisket tacos were pretty good!

Shops that were open

Spare Parts (and/or Ranch Candy)

Super cute boutique, I wanted everything! Joe who is the owner was awesome and told us all about the famous people that come through, the television shows that are filming there, and just some awesome stuff about Marfa!

The Hotel Paisano

Super cool and large gift shop. It seems like the hotels in Marfa were the best places to check out. I think they kinda have to be open

Where we stayed

Highway 90 Picnic Area

We were pretty happy with this spot. There is a train and the road near it, but it was pretty quiet. With wonderful internet and a nice place to play fetch with the dogs we were thrilled.

Marfa Lights Viewing Center

We were the only camper parked there for the night, and we parked far enough from the center we didn’t even hear the other people visiting. Next to the highway so there was some noise, but it was a fun time- and FREE.