October 02, 2017
WEST TEXAS WITH THE FAMILY
WEST TEXAS
West Texas Feel
Here we are at the Gage Hotel in Marathon, Texas. Sitting outside the room on my gorgeous handcrafted leather chair hearing the sound of a little fountain, feeling the breeze of the mountains and adoring the shadows of carved lanterns shining on the bull skulls on the wall.
Needless to say, this trip has been more about feeling, experiencing, and less about doing, which is exactly what I need right now.
Since we started driving through Texas, the wideness of the West has surrounded us. Vast, endless space, cattle ranches and wind mills as far as our sight reaches.
Cowboys in pick up trucks wearing the real vintage Levi’s with handmade boots and worn cowboy hats. They are so proud of their land and inheritance, I don’t think this place in the world will lose its authenticity for centuries to come.
A scene straight out of a John Wayne movie.
My life mantra of "making everything around me beautiful" would be useless here because everything is already perfect and exactly the way it is supposed to be. Nature's beauty still rules over this gorgeous land.
How to get to West Texas and where to go
We flew into San Antonio, TX and spent the first night there.
The next day we drove for 2 hours to Marathon and stayed one night in The Gage hotel. The coffee shop has healthy options and is an amazing place for breakfast. Dinner is a must at 12 Gage. You can pick up groceries at French Market and that's where we bought our yummy sandwiches for the road.
The following day we drove one hour and stayed at the Chisos Mountain Lodge in Big Bend National park. Our goal was to get some hikes in so we stayed there for 2 days. We stopped at the Fossil Discovery Exhibit which was very interesting.
We ate at Star light theatre in Terlingue Ghost town ( a fave ) the first night. There's live music and an amazing view on the mountains. Breakfast and lunch at the Chisos Mountain Lodge Restaurant had pretty good options so we ate there a few times. We loved the soup & salad, the kids loved the quesadillas, and the best reward after a long hike was the fudge brownie with vanilla ice-cream.
The hikes we did were pretty intense. Our 7, 11 and 12 year old did them all but not without whining.
We hiked The Window (5 miles ), The Lost Mine Trail (4.8 miles) and Grapevine trail (2.2 miles). Other activities include Horseback riding or paddling on Rio Grande.
We drove two hours to Marfa from there and stayed at The Paisano's hotel for 2 nights. Loved how this hotel was in the middle of the city and walking distance to all the galleries and little local shops. We ate at Jett's grill in the hotel ( best Portobello Mushroom burger with Parmesan Fries ), ate lunch at the Food Shark truck, had the best Margherita pizza and beer at the Pizza Foundation and had the friendliest breakfast at Buns & Roses.
We loved discovering all the arts and crafts in this funky little town. The Ballroom, The Wrong Store, The bookstore in the St. George hotel, Cobra Rock for authentic leather, The Marfabrand soap company and many more inspiring places to go to.
Last but not least : Prada Marfa and the Chianti Foundation!!!! Wow wow wow!!! But more about that in my next up blogpost.
We spent the last night in Hotel Limpia in Fort Davis. This little town is 30 minutes from Marfa. Hotel Limpia is definitely a good option when traveling with a family. The suites are spacious and affordable.
I would recommend lunch, ice cream or dinner across the street at The Grocery Store. We also got the horseback riding in which was a HIT and went to a Star night party at the Mc Donald's Observatory (only with clear weather).
Highlight of the West Texas trip for our family
For the kids it was definitely horseback riding on the Prude Ranch. With little or no experience on a horse, Cowboy Michael took us through rivers and valleys. We felt like local cowboys riding through the rolling hills of Texas.
For Nicolas and I the highlight was The El Cosmico Trans-pecos Festival. We were so damn lucky we booked our trip the last week of September when the festival had its 12th edition!
There's not many music festivals I know where there is that authentic bohovibe, where the kids are welcome to hang out and have a great time and where the music is so beautiful and relaxing to listen to. I would love to come back here next year and stay in the teepees for a few days!
What I was wearing