11-19-10 Big Bend thru Marfa

Friday – 11/19/10

Photos:  http://silverserenity.shutterfly.com/2531

It didn’t take too long to be fully loaded and ready to hit the road. Thomas did most of the packing on the outside while I took care of the inside.

Mike and Adela came over to say good bye. They were heading out today also and our paths may cross again later today but only time will tell.

Mike spotted a stick bug on our tire. Thomas removed it and as he moved it from the tire to a stick, it changed color to green. Interesting little bug.
Heading out we decided to have a good shower for the road. That was nice.

From our campground, we head up hill for 20 miles back to the main welcome center. We get just enough water to do us for a couple of days since we have a lot more up hill to travel and don’t want to pull the extra weight.

From the Main Welcome Center we head towards the West entrance and from there to Alpine, Texas. The road is much like the one coming in. There are mountains around us and in the distance.

Once outside of the park we stop in Study Butte/Terlingua for gas. Here it is $3.059 we get $20 to get us to Alpine where it will be cheaper. Notice the “No Swimming” sign over the door to the store in the photos. Who are they kidding?

In Terlingua the land is cheap if anyone is interested but water and road access is the problem. Oh, and it helps to be about 200% hermit if you want the best priced land. A lady we talked to had purchased 80 acres for $14,000. It’s amazing how many RV’s and mobile homes there are in this area.

All the mountains, peaks, mesas, etc in this area have a sign on the road with their name and height pointing to them so you can’t miss them. This is something that would be nice for other areas to do also. Coming in we passed Santiago Peek on one side and now we pass it on the other. Gradually there are no more homes to be seen. At times you see mailboxes and a few roads. The land is flat to slightly hilly with a mesa or butte or mountain thrown in.

Shortly after 3pm it is time for lunch and a break. Back on the road, things are getting greener and bushes start to appear. Beside the road is a gray colored deer. We’ve never seen one that color before. The deer back home are mostly browns.

Now we are coming into Alpine, Texas. There are valleys and mountains beyond the town. We gas up here and then head out to Marfa.

Marfa is partly known for it’s mystery lights. Across the desert is a mountain which the lights play on. On this mountain there are no roads and if you go close to the mountain you can no longer see the lights. To date, there has been no explanation for these lights.

The lights appear every night just as the sun is setting and continue for about 1 ½-2 hours before disappearing until the next night. They float along or sometimes zip from place to place. There can be two or three that join into a third one or one that separates. Mostly they are white but can be seen changing colors from white to red or blue or green and back again. Some are very bright, some dim, some change in their intensity.

Tonight the most that I saw at the same time was nine. To the left were the brightest ones and this was also the ones that changed from red to white and back again. A few danced sideways while others moved diagonally and horizontally. Several times they merged from 2-3 into 1. One would separate into 2 or 3. This was amazing and fascinating for me.

Back in North Carolina in the northern most part of McDowell County (where I was born and raised) they have the Brown Mountain Lights. Like these, there are all sorts of folk tales to explain their history but no one has a concrete explanation for their existence. I never have seen the Brown Mountain Lights. At least now I can say that I have seen the Marfa Lights. Needless to say, Thomas was not as captivated by them as I was. The lights were mostly gone by 7:30pm.

Since the wind has died down, it’s now a good time to be on the road. Thomas wants to get some miles behind us now that he’ll not be fighting the wind. It’s 7:40pm and we hit the road. Shortly afterwards, there were some deer standing beside the road eating. They had really large ears and were not frightened by the closeness of the traffic.

Another good day with plenty of excitement.