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Morning Marfa -> Afternoon Big Bend

August 12, 2014
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marfa big bend day 5

Day 5
Destination: Marfa, then Big Bend
Mileage: ~98 miles
Time: ~2 hours
Temperature: 60/95F (Low/High)
*Prepare for wind. This is not an understatement.*

How could I possibly describe Marfa and Big Bend together? They were two completely contrast places. One had electrical outlets and Wi-Fi at the palm of your hand, the other had Mexican Black Bears and mountain lions. Well, I guess I can start off with the morning in Marfa.

Morning in Marfa means…

  • Free coffee in the lobby of El Cosmico, stock up your body.
  • Electrical outlets and Wi-Fi. So, Instagram and charge all of your shit.
  • Taking a shower. Maybe do this first before coffee or whatever, it’s your life.
  • Packing up and timing yourself. We started timing ourselves breaking down and setting up our tent to see our progress. Camping makes you do crazy things like time yourself setting up a tent. It took us 10 minutes to break down on this day.
  • Having breakfast at Squeeze Marfa. Every out-of-towner will be there as well.
  • Going to the Chinati Foundation. If you have the time, do the tour because without the tour…you don’t get to see much. My favorite was the camera obscura though, it was at the Marfa Ice Plant. The installation was called 100 North Nevill Street. It was REALLY COOL. Art can be cool.
Breaking rules in Marfa, TX

Making Hannah break rules in Marfa, TX for the sake of (my) art

Glamp Curry, The Window, & Shiner Ruby Red

Glamp Curry, The Window, & Shiner Ruby Red

Afternoon in Big Bend means…

  • Paying an entrance fee at the front of the entrance and driving to Chisos Basin Campground and paying a campsite fee.
  • Discovering that your neighbor is a classical guitarist.
  • Finding another Prius, finally!!! And of course he brought his bike.
  • Chatting with Reggie, our National Park ranger, who definitely told us to take out our camera phone if we saw a bear. My homie.
  • Cooking curry for dinner because that’s glamp.
  • Hiking the Non-GMO Window Trail to “The Window” and guessing how far the drop-off could be. PRO Tip: It took us less than 2 hours and we suggest going at around 6:30pm if you don’t want the sun to hit you.
  • PRO PRO Tip: Have a cold beer and/or chocolate waiting for you back at your campsite. After a hike, it’s the best reward.
  • Preparing (but not enough) for a night in Big Bend Chisos Basin Campground.

Longhorn Pride in Fort Davis, People-Watching in Marfa

August 7, 2014
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fort davis and marfa

Day 4
Destination: Fort Davis, then Marfa
Mileage: ~195 miles + ~36 miles
Time: ~3 hours + ~.75 hours
Temperature: 60/94 (Low/High)

[This isn’t like the other posts, not many PROTips to give except to go to McDonald Observatory!]

We woke up that morning in El Paso struggling to leave. It felt homey, there was coffee ready for us, and Whataburger was comfortably around the corner. We kind of liked El Paso, but when we started driving into Davis Mountains, I was like, “El—what?” The Davis Mountains are beautiful, the weather was perfect, and I was playing Bon Iver in the car (obviously). Located in the Davis Mountains? The McDonald Observatory.

mcdonald_collage

And…I didn’t tell Hannah that it was actually The University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory, but she stood in awe of the massive telescopes (that were founded by some Longhorn and Penn State alum). [ICYMI: Hannah is actually a current Aggie. Why? Idk.]

These observatories are really impressive, and I wish that we could have gone through the [2-hour tour] that let you see the facilities. We did the self-guided tour, watched the crazy, cheesey outdated videos and wandered around where we were allowed. No burnt orange shirt or gear could make me feel more proud of the school I graduated from than this observatory. It might be more inspiring than the Tower!

Another-Me wondered if I should have studied aerospace engineering so that I could have access to resources like this…and then I reminded myself of all of the theories that my brain can’t grasp. I like stars, but I’m better with people. Another life, maybe.

davis_crop

After playing outside of the Davis Mountains and “star-gazing,” it was time to go to Marfa, and I didn’t know what to expect. You hear so much stuff about Marfa and you know what? Whatever you hear, it’s nothing compared to when you’re actually there. It’s Bizarro World.
Our people-watching list goes a little something like this:

  • A boy with a pinwheel hat
  • The mom-crew that wore tutu’s
  • Jess and Ashley as we affectionately called them- the girls who rented separate trailers and have probably never been camping
  • The bachelor party crew
  • The retired crew who came for Marfa lights
  • The very real vagabonds
  • The hipsters (of course)
  • The couple who probably share the same wardrobe and wore socks and sandals
  • The lone artist man
  • The longhorns ( I saw a ton of people who were repping UT. Figures.)
  • Us

The Get Go Grocery in Marfa is cool, and I think the only grocery store around (?). It felt like Quickie Pickie in Austin sans a restaurant part and beer-on-tap (something I miss very much). That night, we grabbed a pack of Shiner Ruby Redbird, some chips & salsa, and headed back to camp. A campnight in Marfa seemed pretty tame… a ‘wild’ tabby cat to greet us in the next morning.

Our humble 'Bode

Our humble ‘Bode. Glamp.