A Road Trip To Marfa, Texas

Dan and I had been working non-stop for weeks. Wedding season is no joke! But, we wouldn’t trade it for anything.

We found ourselves with a little mid-week break and decided to take a little road trip to Marfa, Texas to relax and recharge. I’d heard a lot about this quirky small town way out in west Texas. And, it is indeed, way out in west Texas!

Marfa has a reputation for being a unique nucleus for the art scene, and it’s quite the photographer’s dream with its mix of eclectic decor, modern design, and exciting color palette. Everywhere you turn, there is eye candy to consume.

The town itself operates to the beat of its own drum. They live by what they call The Mananifesto.  “Mañana doesn’t care about email or normal hours of operation. Mañana recognizes that we can’t all have everything we want at any given moment, like peaches in January or cell phone reception in West Texas. Mañana is the anticipation that it might happen today, and it might just as likely not, and really, either way, it’s not that big of a deal. The key to Mañana lies somewhere in the unspecified future. It holds the great promise of hope.” – from the El Cosmico campground.

Shops open and close at such odd hours that they publish a monthly flyer update to share with the community. We found most things open on Thursday and Friday and not much happening Monday-Wednesday. The nearest grocery stores, hospital, life as you know it, etc… is 145 miles to Odessa, Texas.

You won’t find any comforts of home here, some of which I found refreshing. There are no fast food restaurants, except one lone Dairy Queen. But, there is a generous amount of choices scattered throughout town for some pretty darn good food and cocktails.  The one and only public radio station also has on again off again play-time. Sometimes, it feels like another world. My two personal favorite places we ate were The Water Stop and Capri.

The historic Thunderbird Hotel and Hotel Paisano are both charming and rich in history and great places to stay to consume the Marfa experience.

A trip to Marfa isn’t complete without a photo-op at Prada, Marfa, a permanent art installation by artists Elmgreen and Dragset located on the two-lane desert highway leading into town.

My favorite peculiar site is the signage that still stands to the Stardust Motel. The sign still lights up at night to the motel that has since been long gone.

Next time you’ve got a few days to kill and want to escape the hustle of city life, consider a read trip to Marfa, Texas.