The unofficial slogan for Marfa is, “Hard to get to, Hard to describe”. And it is so true since the only way you can get to Marfa is by road (the closest airport is 3 hours away). Moreover, it is really hard to describe Marfa but I’ll do my best. Marfa has always been on my bucket list since the day I read a blog post from another world traveller about remote places in the US. Marfa is a small town in west Texas with a population of about 2100 but don’t judge it by its size. Even though it is small, still it is a major hub in Texas when it comes to arts. Marfa is the home of 15-20 art galleries and all thanks to one guy, Donald Judd. He was the father of minimalism and he is the one who put Marfa on the map when he decided to open the Chianti foundation there. These days if you Google Marfa the first picture will be of a Prada store. It is not an actual store but it is an art installation by artists Elmgreen and Dragset and it is situated in Valentine, a ghost town 26 miles from Marfa. I was a bit skeptical about going to Marfa as it is in rural west Texas but turned out to be a blue county surrounded by red ones.
When I told my friends about my trip to Marfa, they laughed their asses off. Most of them were like what? where? And some who knew about the place were like, “why are you going there and what you gonna do”?. There are no malls or substantial architecture or numerous Hotels or restaurants. And I didn’t respond to any of their queries as it was something I just had to do. Still, to jot down a few things to see in and around Marfa are as follows:
- Chinati foundation
- Judd foundation
- Marfa lights
- Parda Store
- McDonald observatory
- Ayn foundation
- Marfa book Co.
- Marfa and Presidio museum
- Marfa Contemporary
It is an 8 hours drive from Houston to Marfa. I started the journey with my friend as early as possible … 6 AM. By the time we reached San Antonio it was 9 AM and we were breakfast ready. The Twin Sisters, a small family cafe/diner came to our rescue. We were outbound after our meal and by 4 PM we were in Marfa. We drove freeway I10 most of the way and the drive was not that exciting. Fun fact: Marfa is a mile above sea level but you don’t realize it as you see a seemingly vast flat land but the climb is very gradual. We checked into our hotel, the Thunderbird, the only hotel available for our travel dates. Moreover, Marfa only has 4 hotels so please do your booking way in advance and there is no peak season for Marfa. There is a prominent bar/restaurant in the Hotel vicinity called the Capri. The vibe was pretty chilled and people were really friendly. After checking in, we took a stroll and by 40 mins we were done with the main roads of Marfa. For dinner, we went to another town called Alpine to one of the steakhouses, the Reata. The food was not that hot but it was pricey. On the way back to Marfa we stopped for the Marfa lights, which are mysterious lights twinkle in the distance. They move about, split apart, melt together, disappear, and reappear. But hard luck, we were not able to see them.
Next day it was a lazy morning. By the time we got up (11 30 AM), breakfast time was over in Marfa. We went for lunch at the Hotel Saint George Bar. Yes, Marfa is weird as they serve food in their bars. Although menu was limited but the food was excellent. I was satiated with a Bristket sandwich. The Marfa book company is situated inside the Hotel Saint George lobby and their collection is somewhat as quirky as Marfa. Post which we went to see the Palace, Marfa’s only movie theater and the Marfa courthouse. It was time for the Ayn foundation, which was holding Andy Warhol’s last supper paintings. In most of the galleries in Marfa, photography is not allowed. In the evening we visited the Marfa Contemporary (another gallery) and the Marfa Presidio museum. We called it a night by seeing stars and planets at the McDonald observatory.
Next day we reserved a guided tour at the Chianti foundation, the crown jewel of Marfa, with the compliments of Donald Judd. It was a surreal experience as the whole foundation is located over 340 acres and some blocks in the city as well. For me, most of the exhibits were pretentious or maybe I don’t have an eye for that type of art. Our experience was wholesome and the tour was divided into morning and evening tours, so by the end we were done with the whole day. After a coffee at Frama (Laundromat + cafe), we had our dinner at Jett’s Grill located in the El Paisano Hotel. The hotel is top-notch and should be everyones’ first preference if they are going to Marfa. Next day we were on our way to San Antonio after breakfast and this time we took US90 instead of I10. US90 is really picturesque and it goes through some border towns as well. By the time we reached we were informed that in about 2 hours, their annual river parade was taking off. We enjoyed that to the fullest after having a Mexican meal at the Acenar. The next day we were home bound.
Was Marfa fun? Yes, indeed.
Will I ever go again? Hell yes.
As next month there is the Marfa film festival and in February they do CineMarfa, which is another film festival. Plus my soaring ride is still pending.
