texas forever

clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose.

you can't go on a west texas road trip without referencing friday night lights, am i right? (if you haven't seen this show, do it! it is so not about the football. well, it is, but it isn't.) i spent a long labor day weekend visiting my friends out in alpine, texas. it was my third trip out to west texas in less than two years and each time, i like it more and more. there's not a whole lot to see and there's not a whole lot to do, but, man, it's beautiful.

of course there were a few trips to marfa, which is just west of alpine. i always make the trek to snap a picture of prada marfa (which isn't actually in marfa) and this time there was a new (controversial) installation just outside the city, playboy marfa.

we also ate at el paisano hotel, where james dean and elizabeth taylor stayed while filming giant in the early 1950s, before standing under the amazing night sky trying to find the marfa mystery lights.

a few of my favorite places to visit in west texas are terlingua and big bend national park. terlingua is a mercury mining ghost town and has an amazing cemetery with graves dating back to 1903. it also has a fantastic view of the chisos mountains in big bend and the sierra del carmens in mexico.

we did a driving tour of big bend this time (there were five of us in the car) and got out to hike to the hot springs. it's crazy how quick the landscape changes from mountain to desert to something almost tropical. it was stupidly hot and we were all glad to be back home after a long day exploring (read: mac & cheese and pajamas).

of course, there was some much needed couch-surfing on the last day. after a late breakfast at buns & roses in marfa, we pretty much devoured the first season of american horror story (why did it take me so long to watch this?!) and grazed on pizza. 

so, all in all, an excellent little break from real life. did you have a good holiday?