Marflyn, TX

The trusty Subaru rolled into Marfa around 7:30pm and found a very dark, sleepy town. As we drove in from the East we thought we might catch a glimpse of the famous, yet unexplained Marfa Ghost Lights, but we settled for the amazing sunset pictured above. We drove around a bit trying to find the center where, thanks to Gary, we knew the historic Hotel Paisano could be found. Luckily it is quite affordable on Wednesdays and they allow dogs so we checked in. The hotel was built in 1930 and had been mainly a "cattleman's hotel" for many years. In 1955 Hollywood came to Marfa for the filming of Giant and the cast, including James Jean, Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor, all stayed at the Paisano (There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men were also filmed here).



In 1971, minimalist artist Donald Judd moved to Marfa to create huge abstract installations in old abandoned warehouses now known as the Chinati Foundation. Soon, other artists inspired by Judd and the minimalist landscape of the area followed suit and Marfa became somewhere stuck between 1930's TX and 2000's Brooklyn, NY.

Needing to refuel after the long trip we poked around the dark streets for a restaurant. We decided on Maiya's, which was one of 3 places that were open. As we walked in the ten or so scarved, tight trousered people at the bar turned to look. Maiya's was a bit pricey so we split the cheese plate and roasted vegetables, both very delicious.


Maiya's. Love the ironwork.

In the morning we walked around town a bit to see the place in daylight and purchased supplies for Big Bend in a fancy little supermarket called The Get Go.


The bustling streets of Marfa.




Presidio County Courthouse

After a fancy meal of PB&J's and leftover Mexican (see Austin post) on the hood of the car we got going for Big Bend.

About 30 miles out of town, stuck out in the middle of the Chihuahuan Desert is Prada, Marfa. Don't be fooled -This is not a place of commerce (the door doesn't even open) but rather another art installation full of bags and shoes from the 2005 Prada collection.