Nothing like a good ride to the Big Bend region of Texas to clear the mind and rid oneself of the garbage that collects from life's clutter.
Here’s a teaser video I shot while there…
In the past, my trips to the area have been fast and relatively furious, squeezed in between work projects, with the need to see as much as possible. But this time I wanted to enjoy the area with no agenda or schedule and to play with the GoPro and Sony, trying out a few things and experimenting with video a bit. I planned to camp, shoot some video, a few stills and edit on the laptop to get a feel for the realities of documenting a long future trip both on still and video on the road. Shooting still and doing a ride report isn't difficult, but adding video into the equation was something I wanted to try.
I decided to hit Marfa first, just because I've never spent any time there other than a lunch or gas stop on the way through heading somewhere else. A friend had sent pics of "El Cosmico", the hipster campground located on the edge of town and I decided to give it a try. With that in mind, I loaded the bike and hit I-10 west to get out there as quickly as possible.
If anyone has stumbled across my threads lately, my GS has been suffering poor fuel mileage for a while, and despite my best efforts to resolve it, it still has been getting crap mileage. I-10 west from Kerrville has an 80 mph speed limit and headwinds, so gas mileage drops anyway and this trip I hit several stations along the way to keep topped up.
“Thunder Pig” in it's overloaded glory
I didn't get on the road until noon or so, taking Interstate 10 West towards El Paso as fast as I could. By the time I passed Ft. Stockton and took the highway south for Alpine, the sun was slipping fast to the horizon.
Turning west on Highway 90 into the setting light of the sun, I felt the tinges of excitement and freedom that each exploration brings.
Approaching Marfa in the face of a beautiful sunset, I was feeling the fatigue of the day's 80 mph buffeting, but the wide open spaces and a beautiful west Texas sky made me happy.
It was nearing dark as I rolled into the El Cosmico campground and luckily the tatted hippie chick in the registration room hadn't closed shop yet. El Cosmico is a funky chic campground, with tent camping areas, teepees, safari tents, yurts and 60's era travel trailers, the proprietor owning a boutique hotel in Austin, if not more. Prices are commensurate for a chic tourist spot, but tent camping is $12 which is a plus.
It had been a long day and I was tired, so I decided to splurge and stay in a safari tent the first night, rather than set up my tent in the dark. Yep, I wussed out.
I was the lone camper that evening
After unpacking, I inquired about any places open for a meal and was told that only the restaurant and bar at the old Paisano Hotel downtown were open this particular evening.
I fired up the unladen beast and purred into downtown Marfa, parking in the darkness on a side street and finding a table on the patio to avoid the few folks inside. The meal was good and it felt great to be a world away from the familiar.
For those unfamiliar with Marfa, Texas, it is an enigma. It’s a classic west Texas town with just enough buildings and businesses to support the local ranchers, but was put on the map initially as the place where the film "Giant" was done. Rock Hudson, Liz Taylor and James Dean stayed in the Paisano for a few months while filming.
The New York artist Donald Judd moved there in the 70's and Marfa soon developed somewhat of a mystique for the art intelligentsia and has been a draw for tourists and seekers for quite some time. Amidst the old buildings are small galleries, little and pricey dining establishments and urban style places to stay.
Having grown up in Texas, it seems surprising that such a tiny classic Texas town has enough interest to draw any visitors, but I suppose it’s the extreme contrast to urban dwellers that makes it seem interesting.
Marfa's other claim to fame is the "Marfa Lights", a series of well established reports of strange orbs of lights and various optical and luminous shenanigans in the vast prairie south of Highway 90 on the east side of town. The state, for safety reasons, finally built an official viewing area to clear the roadside of cars and midnight gawkers.
I’ve spent several hours in winter freezing my butt off watching for them over the years, and though never having the dramatic encounters others have had, I have seen some distant lights zigzagging very rapidly and doing odd things in general.
More soon amigos!