West Texas Travel ?

[CindyBlue]

Thanks for the tip! I will probably get this without telling her and stash it for emergency use... and to use in case she tries to veto any future road trips in remote locations with long drives...

I have another version of this device, and it's frankly quite handy...but tell her to practice before (and don't ask me how I know!!)

 

[dixonge]

I am planning a girls trip to Marfa, TX in April...we are from Iowa so need to fly and drive. Question, is it better to fly into Midland or El Paso, those look like our choices? We will then rent a car to drive to Maria. Thanks in advance for any info or advice.

Check flight options in advance. I would imagine you will find more flights at cheaper prices headed to El Paso vs. Midland.

We just spent a few weeks in that part of the world, and here are a few observations:

1. Marfa ain't what it used to be (if it ever was). Part of this is COVID, I'm sure, but online info is mostly useless re: hours, menu options, etc. Until you get to the front door, you will have *no* guarantee that any particular business or museum is actually open.
2. Just west of Marfa is a blimp hangar. You can see it for 100 miles up in the air. For most of that distance it is also the most interesting thing.
3. McDonald Observatory star parties are $25/person

 

[bhdad]

Just a few tips for the observatory star party. It's fills up quickly so plan ahead. It's in the mountains so it will likely be cold at night - the benches you sit on outside are concrete so a stadium cushion or blanket can be a help. If your schedule permits - going near a new moon allows for a darker sky. Be careful driving. We encountered deer on the road after. You can see also see the sky and have fun looking for the "marfa lights". No narration but the facility is pretty good. Both the "marfa lights" and the "faux Prada" store are a distance from Marfa proper.

 

[iloveyoga]

Just a few tips for the observatory star party. It's fills up quickly so plan ahead. It's in the mountains so it will likely be cold at night - the benches you sit on outside are concrete so a stadium cushion or blanket can be a help. If your schedule permits - going near a new moon allows for a darker sky. Be careful driving. We encountered deer on the road after. You can see also see the sky and have fun looking for the "marfa lights". No narration but the facility is pretty good. Both the "marfa lights" and the "faux Prada" store are a distance from Marfa proper.

Thanks for the info, we are going in April, so hopefully it will be a bit warmer. We went ahead and bought our tix for the star party.

 

[street]

You might want to stash one of these in the glove compartment:

LOL! My mind was wondering with imagination when I saw that. What the dickens is it Lol

 

[audreyh1]

Thanks for the info, we are going in April, so hopefully it will be a bit warmer. We went ahead and bought our tix for the star party.

West Texas mountains, altitude, arid, clear nights temps drop fast - it can be chilly in April.

 

[Koolau]

What I recall most about west Texas (drove from San Antonio to El Passo in a day) was the total desolation (no people, no cars, no radio, not even AM radio.) YMMV

 

[big-papa]

We did our West TX trip a couple of years ago. We stayed in Alpine and used it as our base at the beginning and end of our trip. Both Marfa and Alpine are pretty cool places, but it doesn't really take all that long to see what there is to see and do what there is to do. We knew that ahead of time so we also included hiking in the Davis Mountains and visiting some of the other small towns nearby.

In the middle of the trip we stayed at the lodge at Big Bend National Park for a few days. Loved it! We decided to drive around to the west down to Presidio on the border. Good place for a quick stop, maybe pick up some snacks, etc. We then took Hwy 170 along the Rio Grande past Big Bend State Park, and on through Terlingua then we entered the Park from the West Side. Really pretty area and a drive that I recommend. The park itself is really big, so lots of driving to get where you want to go, but plenty of opportunities for hiking, etc. though some of the best hikes require a drive down some pretty rough gravel (as in big rocks) roads - recommend an SUV if that's your thing.

There are some cool resorts along 170 outside of the park as well, by the way. Main thing is that if you're not actually staying in the park, the drive is going to be pretty long each day to get there. Then again this is TX where "a little ways up the road" could mean anything from 50 to 200 miles.

Cheers,
Big-Papa

 

[Texas Proud]

If you plan on staying in Big Bend you need to book early as it fills up fast... I do not know now but years ago it was booked 6 months in advance.

 

[aja8888]

What I recall most about west Texas (drove from San Antonio to El Passo in a day) was the total desolation (no people, no cars, no radio, not even AM radio.) YMMV

Great drive! Total peace and you can run that machine up to 100 MPH with no worries! Oh, you will hit Ft. Stockton along the route.

 

[Bamaman]

+1

Don't be surprised by posted 75 mph speed limits on very narrow, rural roads. You're not in Iowa anymore.

I like that the shoulders on the side of 2 lane highways are wide, and that slower drivers pull onto the shoulder to allow faster cars behind them to pass.

I once worked a week outside Midland/Odessa. I was surprised to not see a tree in sight, and that they really have tumbleweeds out there. All the native Texans spoke with a perfect Middle Tennessee accent--where their relatives came from.

 

[iloveyoga]

If you plan on staying in Big Bend you need to book early as it fills up fast... I do not know now but years ago it was booked 6 months in advance.

Thanks, we have an Airbnb rented in Marfa, and will do our day trips from there.

 

[ktdtx]

Haven't seen the Marfa Lights mentioned. Don't know what they are but I've seen them.

https://visitmarfa.com/marfa-lights/


And, don't know if you can do anything other than drive by but I thought the giant tomato growing buildings north of Marfa to be interesting. No idea why they would locate in a near desert close to nowhere.

 

[iloveyoga]

My group of three retired ladies is heading out to Texas and Marfa next week, so I was just taking another look at the goods tips and advice provided. I missed the Marfa lights the first time around.

 

[iloveyoga]

Haven't seen the Marfa Lights mentioned. Don't know what they are but I've seen them.

https://visitmarfa.com/marfa-lights/


And, don't know if you can do anything other than drive by but I thought the giant tomato growing buildings north of Marfa to be interesting. No idea why they would locate in a near desert close to nowhere.

I do think we drove by these giant buildings, I did not know what was in them and wondered about how they were watered.

 

[iloveyoga]

I wanted to thank everyone who took the time to send advice and ideas. We got back late last night and had an awesome trip. West Texas was vast, desolate and beautiful. Not many people or services, but we stocked up at Walmart and took a cooler in the car with us on our daily drives. Our VRBO was very nice.The Star Party at the McDonald Observatory was my favorite and I loved Big Bend, we made it down to the Rio Grande. I would call it adventurous for three retired ladies. I recommend this if you want to do something different and get off the beaten path.

 

[TheWizard]

+1

Don't be surprised by posted 75 mph speed limits on very narrow, rural roads. You're not in Iowa anymore.

I actually used a long straight section posted 75 (or 80?) mph when I was out there a few years ago to see if my newish F-150 actually had an electronic speed limiter as rumored in an F-150 forum.
It does...

 

[Koolau]

I actually used a long straight section posted 75 (or 80?) mph when I was out there a few years ago to see if my newish F-150 actually had an electronic speed limiter as rumored in an F-150 forum.
It does...

Halfway from San Antonio to El Passo, I let my 2.2 liter Mazda 626 go - and it hit 100 with no problem. Amazing how quickly you adjust to driving that fast. I still recall casually watching the dust devils while the speedo hovered at 100. Very strange. Fastest I've ever driven here was 65 and that was 5 over the highest speed limit in the Islands. Only one road on Oahu has a 60mph speed limit and that's H3. It's a bit different than West Texas here - mostly in a good way in my opinion but YMMV.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

I had a Mazda 626. I kinda miss that car...

 

[TOOLMAN]

TX is on my fly over state lists.

 

[Koolau]

I had a Mazda 626. I kinda miss that car...

Yeah, I liked mine too. I kept it for 21 years then sold it to a kid for $100. Everything still worked including the AC - except the drivers side door. The kid could do a NASCAR entry and exit instead of what I had to do - crawl over the 5 speed floor shift - not fun in your 60s but YMMV.

 

[FI_RElater]

And don't forget to use the facilities whenever available... every ounce counts!

Did this trip (and more) this past fall... DW had her first experience of not being able to hold it any longer and we could NOT find a place... had to pull over on the side of the road... said she had never been so embarrassed as squatting to pee, trying to hide behind a door, and of course there's always some traffic going by when you don't want them!

I was going to say, before I saw it above, that DEFINITELY get gas, insure that you are full, when departing Midland/Odessa... there ain't no stations for very long distances (same comment for San Antonio to Laredo.... sometimes all you see are CBP stations)

As far as the other, I've been in areas south of Lubbock going through Big Springs, San Angelo, towards Fredricksburg (to SA) that only had two walls and a pit for rest areas ... certainly no gas stations except in the bigger towns... so do watch out for the rattlesnakes (scorpions are usually more out at night... and Gila monsters are generally more reclusive so you're not likely to encounter them)

Oh... and check your tires...especially make sure that you have a spare.... it's a long walk otherwise
(I went through two tires back in the day on a trip... glad I actually had two spares... but I was prepared)

 

[Koolau]

Curious how the cell coverage is along the Interstate system of West Texas. As mentioned earlier, there were stretches ca 1994 I drove which had no AM/FM radio for 50 miles or more. Didn't know if there are now cell towers for emergency/normal communication along the way.

 

[iloveyoga]

We followed all the good advice and stocked up on everything before heading out on our daily road trips. We actually really enjoyed the roads, they were in good shape and not busy ha ha. Many times we had no cell coverage at all and the gps would get stuck. One of my travel mates wrote to AARP or AAA and had nice printed maps for all of our routes and we did used those when we had no cell service. We decided if we had car trouble it would be like to old days before we all had cell phones.

 

[REWahoo]

Curious how the cell coverage is along the Interstate system of West Texas. As mentioned earlier, there were stretches ca 1994 I drove which had no AM/FM radio for 50 miles or more. Didn't know if there are now cell towers for emergency/normal communication along the way.

Cell phone coverage is generally very good along all Interstate highways in WTX. It is also decent along most US highways. However, there is a very large area with very poor/nonexistent service located west of San Antonio and south of I-10, extending to the border with Mexico. This includes several thousand square miles in and around Big Bend National Park.