I don’t know exactly when I first heard of Marfa, but it’s been on my radar for years. I knew it was some type of artist/maker community in Texas, but that was about it. Despite my lack of anything firm to base my reason for going on, when I realized we were going to be within a couple hours of the town on our way from Carlsbad, New Mexico to Houston, Texas… well, I started looking for a place to stay there for our mystery location Sew Together Tuesday.
Not surprisingly, we couldn’t find anywhere to park the RV in a driveway, so we parked on the street and stayed at the sweet little Casita del Sueno so we could have some place to spread out. I needed to do some sample sewing and we had a show to film, so it worked out perfectly with a big screened-in porch to do my work in.
It was a fabulous stay that started by after visiting the Carlsbad Caverns National Park and heading southwest. Along the way we passed the Gualdalupe Mountains National Park, but we didn’t have the time to stop so we drove on, admiring the grand edifice from the road. It’s the larges Permian fossil reef, which made it enticing after learning about the reef at Carlsbad Caverns. It’s really mind-blowing for me to think of that whole area of the country as a sea.
We also drove past the Blue Origin Launch Site, which we didn’t realize would be along the way, so that was a fun surprise even though we couldn’t stop.
Our few days in Marfa were filled with work, but we were able to get out on a couple of evenings and walk around, visiting shops, galleries and a couple restaurants. Inspiration is everywhere.
If you end up out there, be aware that like many rural towns, many of the businesses are closed on Mondays.
We got lucky and found The Waterspot open on the Monday we arrived. The restaurant is unassuming, but the food and drinks were delicious. We shared Steak & Frites with a couple of cocktails, including one of the better hot toddies I’ve had.
Other stops in Marfa, we’d recommend:
- Stock up on paints, pencils, paper and art boxes at the delightfully packed Marfa Art Supply.
- Buy some handmade leather coasters or a gorgeously-crafted leather purse at Skora Marfa.
- Check out the books and utilitarian art at Wrong.
- Grab a cup of coffee over at Frama (especially great while you wait for laundry at the laundromat next door).
- Enjoy lunch at Line Thai Food, a delicious food truck in the same square that shows outdoor movies in the summer.
- Pick up your own bag of beans from Big Bend Coffee Roasters.
- Catch the art show at Marfa Open and enjoy their bonfire action.
The remoteness of the town and distance from any major metropolitan area makes it ideal for art making and there’s a part of me that definitely wants to come back and spend a month here, making art and soaking in the art and craft of others. We’ll see if I can ever make it happen, but until then I’ve got coasters and a rad tool box to remind me of our time in Marfa.
