Marfa, TX

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Back2PA

Back2PA

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Will be transiting Big Bend to Taos end of September. Looks like Roswell will be a stopover. I've read a few things about Marfa, sounds like a quirky little place. Worth the extra 30 min on highway 90 vs. 67/285 thru Pecos?
 
Marfa is a quirky little town that has evolved into kind of an artsy, crafty place.  If that interests you go for it. 

Fort Davis, Davis Mountain State Park and the McDonald Observatory is more interesting to me.  Lots of history in Fort Davis and the observatory has a fantastic star program.

It all depends on your interest.

If you plan on going up US-285 from Pecos to Carlsbad, keep in mind the oil field tanker trucks have torn up the highway.  It is rough and bumpy now.  Also lots of truck traffic.  An alternate route is to go to Van Horn and then take SR-54 to US-62 and on to Carlsbad.  US-285 from Carlsbad to Santa Fe is a very good highway.  North of Roswell 285 to I-40 is almost like an interstate hwy. 
 
Some other interesting sites are White Sands, Three Rivers Petroglyphs, Valley of Fires, Ft Stanton, Lincoln and the 9Air and Space museum in Alamogordo.
 
Sun2Retire said:
Will be transiting Big Bend to Taos end of September. Looks like Roswell will be a stopover. I've read a few things about Marfa, sounds like a quirky little place. Worth the extra 30 min on highway 90 vs. 67/285 thru Pecos?
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We enjoyed Alpine much more than Marfa...  Lost Alaskan RV Park, great restaurants, interesting display at the University there, gem shows, art shows, etc.  There are some "big" names in the art world evident in Marfa but many of the store fronts were vacant and we could not find a place open for a late lunch.  Maybe you'll have better luck.  BTW, it's raining almost everyday in Taos so it is really green this year.
 
AStravelers said:
If you plan on going up US-285 from Pecos to Carlsbad, keep in mind the oil field tanker trucks have torn up the highway.  It is rough and bumpy now.  Also lots of truck traffic.  An alternate route is to go to Van Horn and then take SR-54 to US-62 and on to Carlsbad.  US-285 from Carlsbad to Santa Fe is a very good highway.  North of Roswell 285 to I-40 is almost like an interstate hwy.
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I appreciate everyone's input on Marfa and other info. Our plans have evolved, and the day we will be passing abeam Marfa will be one of our longest on a 5 week trip, about 475 miles - just no way to avoid it due to scheduling issues. So Marfa and the other suggestions will have to wait until the next trip to the area.

I really appreciated the highway advice. Lajitas-Vaughn, NM (our overnight target) via Van Horn adds about 22 miles. That's a lot on a long day, but well worth it if the roads are really bad which as we all know can make the day miserable.

So, just to confirm, is the extra 30 minutes worth it in this case?
 
If you like cottage arts and crafts, high prices, and a hippy lifestyle, you'll love Marfa. We really enjoyed Marathon and Alpine the most.

Be sure and get fuel every chance you get down there. The gas stations are few and far between, even on the Interstates.  I was down there in June and we almost ran out of fuel twice.

Hope you have a great time in the Big Bend, we sure did.

With best regards.
 
Marfa is where the movie Giant was filmed.  The Marfa Hotel is where Jimmy Dean, Elizabeth Taylor and the other cast members stayed while on set.  There are signed photographs of the cast in the hotel.  It has a dining room and we ate lunch there.  Not much else there except the "Marfa Lights" which we did not observe.

ArdraF
 
I know the OP's plans have changed and Marfa isn't on the schedule, but I thought I'd throw this out there in case someone else is reading the thread...

I suspect that if people are the sort to like this sort of thing, they already know about the Chinati Foundation in Marfa.

https://chinati.org/

It's a unique experience that you can't duplicate anywhere else, and really swell. 

 
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