Emptiness Tour 2021: Only In Texas: White Sands, NM to Marfa, TX

 

Outside Valentine, TX 33 Miles from Marfa

I explored White Sands National Park and ran across a BBQ party in the middle of the Sands:

It was getting late (around 11:30 am), so I hightailed it out or White Sands and headed to Marfa.  I took the long route over the mountains to the east so that I could take a look at a resort called Cloudcroft, NM.  Here is a video of what I saw on the way to the mountains:

I stopped in Cloudcroft for lunch, and I met a fellow biker, Scotty Gordy, a City Commissioner from Lovington, TX.  We talked about economic development and what could be done in his fair city.  We then road together to Artesia, NM, where I headed south on my way to Marfa.

The ride through the Guadalupe Mountains, in Texas, was thrilling.  I never knew these mountains existed:

As I got near Marfa, TX I noticed a group of people standing next to a building - as it turns out this was the famous Prada store in the middle of the Texas desert:

The two in the middle were getting married the next day.  I found that Marfa is apparently a popular wedding destination.

Thirty-three miles later I pull into Marfa.  Checked into the Riata Inn, and was directed to The Water Stop Restaurant & Bar.  I sat at the bar and the server, Anisa, fielded all my questions about Marfa.  Marfa was named by the wife of a railroad executive who happened to be reading The Brothers Karamazov at the time - Dostoyevski used the name Marfa in a few of his books.  The Water Stop is reflective of what Marfa used to be: a water stop for travelers.  

I have to say that, from appearances, Marfa looks like a dusty Texas run down town.  Marfa became famous when the movie Giant, starring Elizabeth Taylor & Rock Hudson, was filmed at the Hotel Paisano.  The New York artist, Donald Judd, moved to Marfa.  Other artists followed.  Thus, Marfa is now known to be an artist community, of 1200 residents, in the middle of the Texas desert.  Housing prices are through the roof, according to Brenda, the owner of the Riata Inn.

I asked Brenda if she knew Anisa at The Water Stop.  Anisa is her cousin.  She said most people in town are related.  Anisa was very bright, and was sophisticated in her dress.  She has lived her whole life in Marfa (around 25 years).   High fashion, great food and cocktails, all clothed in run down wood-frame buildings.  

Only in Texas: a town of 1200 people, in the middle of the desert, far from any major city, a Prada building 33 miles away in another county, and it becomes famous.  Reminds me somewhat or the town Luckenbach, TX, population 3, that is famous for being Luckenbach.  Of that I will write tomorrow.