February 2001.........

Marfa: A small ranching community located on a Chihuahuan Desert plateau in the Trans-Pecos area of west Texas. Established in 1881 as a water stop of the Texas and New Orleans Railroad, it is where the movie "Giant," with James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and Dennis Hopper was filmed. Marfa is best known for the Marfa Mystery Lights. Nine miles east of Marfa, out on the Chihuahuan Desert at the base of the Chinati Mountains, we went to watch the small, ethereal lights floating through the night air with no apparent source of explanation. The Ghost Lights of Marfa, as they are now called, were first reported more than a century ago in 1883. They have been described as campfires, phosphorescent minerals, swamp gas, static electricity, St. Elmo's Fire and "ghost lights," the lights change colors, move around and change in intensity. To us, the lights appeared over toward the mountains, sort of resembled headlights, would pop up, disappear, then pop up somewhere else. We saw only white lights, no colors.
James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and Dennis Hooper stayed in the El Pasino Hotel While Filming Giant. In the lobby is a wall dedicated to the movie with pictures and information. The hotel is still open for business. Bottom Photo: Marfa Hotel, Second Row lower right: Courthouse.

March 2001.........

Big Bend National Park: One of the largest and least visited of America's national parks. It has over 801,000 acres. The elevations range from less than 2,000 feet along the Rio Grande Valley to nearly 8,000 feet in the Chisos Mountains.Big Bend includes massive canyons, vast desert expanses, and the entire Chisos Mountain range. All roads end up at the Rio Grande, the boundary between the United States and Mexico. While we were there there were open border crossings where one could take a row boat, ride a horse, or I suppose swim across to Mexico. Those crossings, we understand, are now closed. There is a campground in the park, we didn't stay there because it was spring break. The park earned its name for the sharp turn the Rio Grande takes in its midst. It is generally crowd free with the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and Spring Break

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Big Bend National Park

March 2001.........

Terilingua/Lajitas/Study Bute: These three towns are close to Big Bend and worth the visit. You must also learn to pronounce them! Terilingua is a ghost town with a great restaurant, The Starlight Theatre. We ate there, didn't see any type of show. The town also has a chili cook off every year that is very popular. The campground where we stayed was in Study Bute, that's about all that's in Study Bute. In Lajitas there is a large compound that some one developed with shops etc.

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