TechMOGogy wrote:How’s Marfa?
Marfa in itself was ok but not enough to make a trip out of. If you're going, definitely include Big Bend when you're in that neck of the woods (plains).
We stayed at El Cosmico in Marfa which allows for public camping as well as some customized camping spaces you can rent out that have massive teepees and revamped Airstreams! Then of course you have the Marfa lights and a well constructed observatory. El Cosmico was great!
We actually ate most of our meals in Alpine though. Alpine is more of a city than a town compared to Marfa. It's about 25-30 miles East of Marfa. Open road in between but be careful, tons of state troopers out there. Along the drive from Alpine back to our campsite in Marfa, we saw a couple of the most amazing sunsets leading up to seeing the Marfa Lights. That was neat (more the sunset than the lights to be honest).
When I go back, I will dedicate more time towards Big Bend itself. Probably staying in the park for a few nights. You can't make enough time to cover all of Big Bend in a trip. It was pretty remarkable. So epic! I met a guy there who said he lived in Big Bend seven years and did something different each day. His name was Steve. Seemed more like a legend than a human but that's another story.
I'd maybe drive into Marfa, check it out for a day, stay at El Cosmico, then head down through Presidio and Trelingua to get to Big Bend. This was a beautiful drive and I enjoyed a few stops along the way of some great scenery. On the way back, go up through Marathon and over into Alpine for a little while. All comes down to how much time you have. If you're passing through, Marfa would be cool to take a peak at but not for a full vacation. (personal opinion of course. The people and lifestyle there were great just not a ton to do.)
PS: Prada Marfa is not actually in Marfa. It's located West of Marfa about 30 miles in a town called Valentine.