Van Horn to Marfa, TX 73.9 miles 1,223 feet of climb
We headed SE out of Van Horn and headed towards Maria. This was an area with very limited facilities, so the van was going to wait with water in the little town of Valentine (pop 73) about half way to Marfa. The countryside was much the same as that which we had already traversed. Desert scrub interspersed with green, irrigated fields. The day started cool, 37 degrees (poor Harris from Florida was freezing and wearing multiple layers of clothing). I viewed the scenery much like Claude Monet painted Haystacks. No day or season is the same and there are always different things that one can notice. The key feature of this morning's ride was the utter and absolute sameness of the landscape. The road was long and straight, culminating in what is known as the vanishing point-where the road meets the sky. Also the title of a 1972 film called , appropriately enough, Vanishing Point. What's started as kind of a small celebration of the countryside became monotonous.
Just past Valentine, was an art installation. It looks like a Prada shop, complete with display merchandise, except there was no way to get in the store. It was just that store and nothing else, except a chain link fence around three sides of it where people put padlocks.
The ride to Marfa was more of the same. Marfa is an artsy community which is also where they shot Giant in 1956 which starred James Dean in his last film before his death, and also Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson. While in Marfa, the cast and crew stayed at the Hotel Pisano, which still stands. The films wereThere Will Be Blood and the Cohen Brother's film No Country for Old Men were also filmed in the area.
Marfa was a rest day which gave us time to explore the community. We spent the morning in a coffee shop, got caught up on laundry, and looked at other art instillations around town as well as murals on the sides of buildings. The problem was, we were there on a Monday and a lot of Marfa was closed. The group stayed at a campground called El Cosmico which also had vintage trailers, tee pees, old style mining tents, outdoor showers, and wood-fired hot tubs. They also sponsor a music festival in the summer. While some of the group stayed at the campground, some of us decided to stay at a nearby motel for our rest day.
However, we only stayed at the motel one one night when suddenly there we no water so we moved to the campground. We're flexible but water is nice. Here's some pictures from this day. The food prepared by our fellow campers and there is typically bread, some kind of meat, fruit and snacks for us to pack our own lunch. Sometime we jump at a chance to eat at a restaurant if one appears on the horizon or is close to where we are camping.
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