Marfa, TX: Day 3

Apr 19, 2010 by Monica Danna    1 Comment     Posted under: travel

image by Katie Laird

I awoke on our final day in West Texas, a little bittersweet. I knew we’d be returning home the next morning, yet was very excited for our River Road trip to Presidio, Terlingua, Big Bend and Alpine. In 2 short days I had fallen in love with the charm of Marfa, and had already decided to make it a part of the rest of my travel life. Although I still couldn’t quite put my finger on what was so special about this place, I knew a piece of me had changed. It was the most relaxed I had been in months. Maybe years.

Could it be the distance from deadlines, clients, errands, events that led to this peaceful escape? I wasn’t sure what it was. But I was sure I wouldn’t be able to get this town out of my head.

John came by the casita Sunday morning and made us omelettes, the perks of traveling with a chef are endless. ;-) We fueled up and embarked on our 6 hour trek that would take us to Alpine, TX, where we’d end the evening with dinner at the CF Ranch.

We headed due south of Marfa, to the Ghost Town of Shafter, TX. We traveled in a caravan of 2 cars, John, Kay, Katie, and Nancy in one, and Jenny, Laura, and I in the other. Every so often John would pull over and give us a photo opp, while he sprinkled in interesting facts and stories of the Rio Grande Mexican border towns. It was the perfect way to experience the drive.

We arrived in Presidio and stopped for a rest at Fort Leaton, once the site of a pioneer trading post. Jenny and I had fun wandering around. I forgot my camera but hope she posts some of her pics. We would have made kick-ass pioneers. Natch.

We headed on down to Lijitas (seriously, how many times in a lifetime can  you say that?), and on the way stopped at Contrabando. Which it seems can only translate into one thing in English. No, not contraband, MOVIES! We visited a dilapidated movie set on the Rio Grande that had seen better days, but only added to the desert effect. A few pics below. More on flickr.

After some movie set snooping, we piled back in the car and headed for Terlingua. You may be familiar with Terlingua in the context of Chili, as when you enter the town, the sign boasts, Birthplace to All chili Cook-offs Worldwide. Boastful much? We had to imagine the place crawling with campers, cookers, and hippies, as any other time but the Cookoff, the town might as well be deserted. We stopped for a beer and impromptu karaoke and were on to Alpine.

We had been driving for 5 hours, and needless to say we were famished. Luckily, when we arrived at the CF Ranch, ranch executive Mike Micallef was there to greet us with steaks ready. We were never so happy to see burning coals.

We chatted with Mike about the history of the Ranch, his family restaurant Reata, in both Fort Worth and in Alpine, and some of the activities that take place on the ranch: photo shoots, film shoots, hunting trips, and, you know, the making of the STEAKS: cattle. John first met Mike when they began work on a collaborative cookbook, Legendary Texas Cooking. Former lives as a Polo player, rattlesnake wrangler, and…hedge fund trader?!–Mike proved to us that it was true what we had heard the night before in Marfa…you’ve got to be a character or you just fade away.

After some Twitter and Facbebook talk with Cowboy Mike–yep, Mike’s on twitter!–we gathered our things, thanked Mike for the hospitality, and headed back to Marfa, relishing in the amazing meal that we had just eaten. On a badass ranch. Cooked by a tall, dark, and handsome cowboy. These city girls weren’t quite ready to return to the bright lights of Houston just yet. We made plans to return to visit West Texas in May. We knew we couldn’t stay away for long.

My Flickr Set

Katie Laid Flickr Set

Jenny Flickr Stream

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