Houston to Marfa (599 miles*)

Day one of the trip began on a drizzly Sunday the morning of our seventh wedding anniversary heading westward to the hipster art town of Marfa, TX. I will readily admit that there were three places I did not thoroughly research: Yellowstone, Denver and Marfa. I'll go more in depth with the first two later but, for now, Marfa. 

Fran and I had spent a Valentine's Day weekend in Marfa right before our wedding. It has always been one of my favorite trips full of amazing sculpture and phenomenal food. However, I failed to remember that sleepy Marfa shuts down very early on Sunday and does not reawaken until Wednesday. Which means, that when we arrived not much was open and available to explore. 

My bad. 

WHERE WE STAYED

Now, with that gloomy set up, let me reassure you that we still had an amazing time! One of the few reservations we had set up for the trip was at El Cosmico. It is a large plot of land set up into four different parts. You can either bring your own tent and camp the night or you can rent one of their safari tents, tipis or trailers.

The extreme bright side to us arriving on a Sunday evening was that the camp was basically empty. There were a few guests here and there but, for the most part, we had the entire campground to ourselves! 

All the tents and trailers are set up along a graveled pathway where happy little bunnies hop through every now and then. Along the pathway are different little lazy areas where hammocks have been strung up for you to sit back and enjoy the day. We were very lucky to arrive to an overcast sky with a cool breeze. It made lounging on a Texas summer day entirely sweat free. Considering that our safari tent came equipped with a tiny fan...not sure what it would be like to stay during an actual hot and sunny day! 

Aside from the hammocks (and the bunnies) my favorite part of the hotel were their outdoor showers. They are all enclosed with rustic wooden boards but once inside you have a bench and small cubby to set your stuff down. The rainfall shower in the outdoors was awesome. I left asking Fran if there was any way to incorporate one in our future home. 

Staying at El Cosmico had been on my bucket list for quite some time thanks to the wedding of a blogger I followed in the past. I will say that the novelty of staying in a safari tent was super cool and I would love to return for one of the trailers or tipis. However, it's a shame that the staff at the place are not the friendliest. A smile or friendly greeting would go a long way.

I hope to return to Marfa again in the future (because it's the Texas gateway to White Sands National Monument) but, in all likelihood I'll be looking to stay elsewhere. 

WHAT WE DID 

Other than exploring the campgrounds of El Cosmico, we walked the main street area of Marfa that Sunday. It's not a very big town and from the pictures, it totally seems like a ghost town (because again, no one was out and about). I would love to learn more about how the town has cultivated such a uniform aesthetic. Because, seriously, everything in the town is picture perfect. The buildings are all lovingly preserved, even the cars parked along the streets are picturesque. 

Who doesn't love a PINK fire station?

The next morning, we ventured out super early because 40 miles west of Marfa is the infamous Prada Marfa! It is literally a blink and you'll miss it landmark. In fact, it just happened to be that a giant trailer passed by us right as we drove by. If it hadn't been for the angry blinking cursor on my GPS, I wouldn't have realized we had passed it! Luckily, we quickly u-turned and spent a few minutes happily walking around it once more. 

Giant tip? Be sure to fill up your tank before heading out to see the art piece! There is literally NOTHING along the way and by nothing, I mean gas OR cell reception. We very quickly learned our lesson the last time we were there. 

WHAT WE ATE

Due to limited options for food, we felt fortunate enough to find a happy hour at Hotel Saint George. We ordered a few appetizers and drinks, none of which were memorable as far as taste. But, the vibe of the hotel was super chill. Everything was in sleek grays and whites. With lots of stone and marble. The staff was kind and attentive. Not to mention that the hotel gift shop was superbly curated. Lots of local prints, books, pottery...and rather reasonably priced, too. I wanted to come home with a good chunk of their inventory! 

The next morning, again with limited options, we stopped at Mando's on our way out. Talk about the perfect place. No, it was not picture perfect (think dingy vinyl chairs and cheesy western decor) but it was so good! And, apparently where all the elderly locals hang out at 7am. Fran and I could not get enough of the people watching (or their breakfast burritos)! I wish I had thought to either tape or photograph the group of gentlemen gossiping over steaming cups of coffee and heaping Mexican breakfast in their cowboy hats and boots. Alas, I highly recommend you go witness it for yourself. 

VERDICT 

Marfa is hard to get to. It's a nine hour long drive from Houston. Even if you chose to fly into El Paso, you would still need to rent a car and drive another 3 hours to get there. However, it's worth a stop. Especially considering it's en route to Alamogordo, NM which was one of my favorite stops along the trip.

*anyone else start humming this right away?