Marfa, Texas Town + Lights Guide | Texas

 

When my friend suggested we go to Marfa, he was surprised to find out that I had already heard of this tiny town. I remembered it from the Prada ad I saw a few years ago. Prada built a tiny one room store in the middle of nowhere here. At first, I thought the Prada store in the ad was just a photo prop, but after seeing more pictures of it I realized it was an actual place. While its really more of a glorified window shopping experience (you can’t actually go in and buy anything) it is a fun stop. Don’t blink while you’re driving by though or you might miss it. That’s what I almost did. I was expecting the Prada store to be right downtown but instead it was about 30 minutes out on the way in. By the way, if you’re surprised to hear that I even care about Prada, remember that I grew up a Chicago girl and I’m also a magazine junkie. I love studying fashion ads. :)

I put Marfa on our list of stops because I knew I would love it. Its just totally random. There are these beat up food trucks, cacti growing out of coffee cans, and vintage style hotels, mixed in with an artistic gourmet lifestyle. All in the middle of nowhere. Restaurants show pictures of Beyonce, Matthew Mcconaughey, and Mumford & Sons enjoying their town. Its 3 hours from the nearest city, but somehow its become an eclectic celebrity attraction.

Outside of the attractions around town, there are also the Marfa Lights. The Marfa Lights are a natural phenomenon similar to the Brown Mountain Lights of North Carolina. No one can explain them it seems, but these orbs of light pop up in the desert at random. Sometimes they jump, zoom around, or maybe they stand still. The town built a Marfa Lights Viewing Center off the highway where we saw a bunch in the distance. Someone with a telescope let me have a look and it appeared like a ball of fire. So strange. Unfortunately all it looks like in the photo is a speck of light in the middle of blackness.

That night we boondocked at the Marfa Lights Viewing Center then headed off in the morning to check out Big Bend National Park. More pics of that coming in the next blog post.

Thanks for reading! Shelley Hartman, Texas + North Carolina Wedding Photographers