Day 5, part 2: the paranormal
When we left you last on Wednesday eve we were on our way to Marfa, Texas. We thought that would be the end of our story for day 5, but we were wrong. So wrong. Upon arriving in Marfa, a convenience store clerk asked us if we were there to see the Marfa lights. The Marfa lights? The Ghost lights. Ghost lights?? We turned around and drove 8 miles back East of Marfa to investigate. Cue Scooby Doo Episode # 34. We stopped at the “Mystery Lights Viewing Area,” and it was dark, dark, darker than you could possibly imagine. And deserted. No people, no cars, no nothing — this has become a theme on our trip. There were so many stars in the sky — more than we’d ever seen — that they felt smothering. The lights: basketball-sized orbs hovering waist high, moving around, appearing and disappearing, etc. They were far enough in the distance that they didn’t look menacing, but regardless we were afraid to get out of the car. Did we mention it was dark and deserted? We did venture out (for maybe 5 minutes) to get a better view. We watched the Marfa lights come and go and move around at strange speeds and odd angles until we looked at each other, nodded, ran back to the car, and locked the doors. We were spooked. Mission accomplished, we headed to town to find our hotel. The Thunderbird’s refreshingly modern rooms were a warm welcome for our tired bones and we drifted off to sleep dreaming of the next day’s half-day driving break and wondering what the town looked like in daylight.
Lights out, 1230am
One very wide state, but 600 miles
Alarms set for 7am.
Day 6
J awoke before J to snap a few photos of the sunrise from the hotel door. (It was surprisingly cold out at that hour.) After breakfast at the local cafe we headed over to the Chinati Foundation for our half day of art. Before the tour started, our amazing tourguide Erin the intern reminded J of the basics of knitting so that she could resume her waylaid car project. The first stop of the morning was by far our favorite — Donald Judd’s 100 Untitled Works in Milled Aluminum. The space was incredible and the light spectacular. Highly recommend.
At lunch we stopped by Robert Arber’s print shop. Arber was Donald Judd’s print maker in Marfa, and he and his wife continue to produce work for past and present Chinati artists. While there we met Canadian artist and sculptor David Rabinowitch, there to hand color monoprints inspired by William Blake, which were printed in Arber’s studio. He took a liking to J and gave her his phone number so that they could meet up back in New York (adventure to be continued…) Our lunch from Food Shark was ordered to go, and we rushed back to Chinati for a self-guided hike to Judd’s unfinished metal buildings and “Non-site specific,” works by recent artist-in-residence Eric Gonrich. The afternoon tour featured a lots of Dan Flavin’s trademark florescent lights, as well as other smaller works. Not as cool as the morning session, but the surroundings and our great tour guide made the afternoon well worth our time. We eventually got around to eating lunch, which we enjoyed sitting by the Thunderbird’s swanky pool. We were tempted to stay in Marfa another night to play bingo and look for dancing in the neighboring town with the people we’d met. Marfa’s residents seemed to be intellectually curious and creative folks, the types we’d like to hang out with. But we had a date with Roswell, and 6 more hours to drive.
So off we went. About 60 miles west of town we came across two sites unexpected: #1 – we saw a UFO! It was cool, it was big, it wasn’t moving. We took pictures to show the folks in Roswell. #2 – Prada Marfa. A Prada boutique, complete with handbags and shoes, with no sales counter and no entrance. So surreal, oh how we love art. Entering New Mexico, we crossed into mountain time — an extra hour in the hot tub! When we arrived in Roswell we made a b line for some Mexican take out and spent an hour in the hotel whirlpool. We slept extremely well. No nightlife in Roswell, and they didn’t have any decent beer. Although it seems beer with tomato juice is popular here.
Lights out 12am
2 states, 270 miles
Alarms set for 7:30am.
