MARFA

Out in the Chihuahua Desert, centered somewhere between the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park is a tiny town straight out of an X-Files script. To my knowledge, Chris Carter never set the show in Marfa.

I guess Mr. Carter did not know about the Marfa Lights back in the show's heyday.

I've seen those lights.

The first trip I made was with my mother. She's talked about those lights for as long as I can remember, so Thanksgiving weekend in 2016 we went together for the first time.

Mom and I had had a rough go in our relationship for quite some time. Rough was an understatement. But a series of odd events culminated in our reconciliation that came to fruition during the pilgrimage to Marfa.

We saw the Mystery Lights of Marfa on the night of November 24, 2016. We arrived at the Chinati Foundation's viewing platform that evening after getting settled in our motel room. The viewing platform is on the left side of the road as you drive into Marfa from Alpine.

I was able to point out the Milky Way to my mother in the night sky above us. She had never seen it out in the open like that. Any where else, the view would be obscured by light pollution. Not that night. And not in Marfa.

We saw something that looked just like all the stories we had seen on TV about the mystery lights. Might have been headlights, but I doubt it. Car headlights don't move like that.

CHINATI FOUNDATION
MARFA LIGHTS
VIEWING PLATFORM

The rest of our visit to Marfa was spent poking around the town, discovering Mando's Cafe where we had most of our meals, and a trip out to Valentine to see Prada Marfa.

We did not buy any souvenirs which is unusual for us, since shopping has been our shared pasttime since I was little. I am not a shop-o-holic. I only enjoy it when it is with Mom. The rest of the time, shopping is just a necessary evil and I only do it when I am desperate.

We did, however, check out the thrift shop in town after going to see Prada Marfa that Friday morning. Didn't buy anything, but it had a lot of interesting items and was "chock full o' hippies," a phrase I uttered that made my mother spew her coffee when I said it.

MOM VIEWS PRADA MARFA, JANNA ZEPP

Prada Marfa sits on the other side of Valentine. I've been wanting to see it since it was built out there sometime in 2004-2005. Here's a little explanation of Prada Marfa for the uninitiated.

PRADA MARFA, JANNA ZEPP

It's weird and slightly creepy. I love it.  The image of Prada Marfa at twilight in this entry is not mine, but I love the lighting. It's moody. That appeals to me, and it is why I have engineered the look of this blog to reflect that.

PRADA MARFA AT TWILIGHT

Take some time to research Marfa, TX and the surrounding area. In the meantime, I'll share with you what Marfa has come to mean to me.

Shortly after returning from our trip, my life began to shift and fall a part just a bit. It would have been truly unbearable except for the fact that my mother and I began to heal our differences between each other significantly after that visit. We bonded again. We came to like one another again. And it was just in time because I really needed her strength in the coming eighteen months after that.

I credit that crazy little jaunt to and through the Texas Trans-Pecos for that.

STARDUST MOTEL SIGN, MARFA, TX

On the road to and from Marfa, Mom and I talked about my father. We laughed at all the quirky place names (Toe Nail Creek. Yes. It exists.), we ate at some of the roadside cafes along the way, and played "Name That Roadkill" as we drove. By the way, as you drive into Marfa from Alpine, be aware that it has not snowed. Those are tufts of jack rabbit fur stuck on the road, left behind by the leporids that ended up as hood ornaments. Those jacks will jump out at you in the middle of the road throughout the evening. Marfa is the only place I've ever witnessed this happen. Drive carefully.

We visited Hotel Paisano. That's where the cast and crew of Giant stayed back in the 1950s when they filmed the movie near Marfa. It's beautiful and if you want to spend the money, worth the price of lodging, especially if you are a big fan of the show. I confess, I have yet to see it. On Demand does not carry it, and I have not yet summoned the strength to go rent it. Or whatever one does now to view motion pictures at home.

BALLROOM MARFA, JANNA ZEPP

Mom and I visited Ball Room Marfa and tromped around the old Fort D.A. Russell air base that now houses works of art maintained by both the Judd Foundation and the Chinati Foundation. Minimalist art is not my mother's cup of tea, but I had a fantastic time watching her expressions of confusion, puzzlement, and sometime outright eye-ball rolling. Her color commentary under her breath was even more entertaining.

"I don't understand any of this," she said.

"Mom, art is not always pretty. You are not required to understand it. It is supposed to elicit a reaction and make you think."

"Oh I have thoughts," she responded.

"Well, then the art did its job," I replied.

Mom just rolled her eyes and laughed.

Flush the toilet in the bathroom at Ballroom Marfa before you use it. It's the only way to discern whether that commode is art or actually where one does one's business. That was a conversation had with my mother while we were there. I am happy to report that the plumbing worked just fine.

THUNDERBIRD HOTEL, MARFA, TX

The weather in the desert was cold and misty. Most of the time was overcast and gray. I thought it was beautiful, since sunlight and heat are not things I enjoy. The rain and cool temperatures gave the mountains a certain mystery. I found it comforting. Having my mother with me made it more so.

MANDO'S, MARFA, TX, JANNA ZEPP

Mando's Cafe was excellent. If you are not into haute cuisine or you simply appreciate a great meal in generous servings and brought to you by really nice people, Mando's is your eatery. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner, you cannot go wrong at Mando's. That's my mother on the far right side of this photo. She thought she was ducking out of frame. I got her anyway.

I like Marfa, Texas. It's weird. It's smaller than Salado by half. Everybody's real nice.

MASONIC LODGE, DOWNTOWN MARFA, TX, JANNA ZEPP

This November (next week as of this writing), I am taking my husband to Marfa. He has not experienced the glory yet. We are not having any relationship problems, but I never get to spend much time with him alone. He is a Freemason and the Masons are the mistress with whom I contend. Frank disappears on me about eight to ten nights a month and I miss him. I am hoping that this trip will make some good memories for us and allow us to reconnect as a couple. It's been awhile. We are long overdue for some quality time of just being together.

I have more photos over on my Facebook page for this blog. And I will report on how this next trek to Marfa goes. I hope two years don't pass before I write that one, but life happens and one never knows what's down the road after that.

Anyway...go to Marfa. See the lights and the art. Or don't. Just take someone you love and go find some healing. Oh...and have the enchiladas at Mando's. There's good medicine in that.

EL COSMICO, MARFA, TX