Marfa
There is probably no town more unusual than Marfa in Texas - possibly in the United States. Marfa easily could be a mostly dead, long forgotten middle of nowhere hamlet that only those born and raised in the area know about. Not could be – really, should be. But, in a fluke of history, the town went from a railroad stop to playing host to a major army airfield during World War II (including housing Nazi POWs), to then being discovered by a minimalist artist from New York in the 1970s. That set the stage for the Marfa of today – part artists colony, part playground for wealthy New Yorkers who arrive on private jets, part Millenneal hipster mecca, part unexplained phenomenon (those mystery lights remain a mystery), part locals who have always called the town home and struggle with the concept of a town of fewer than 2,000 people literally in the middle of nowhere being gentrified, big city style. Add all that up and you’ve got what Marfa is today, and why it’s likely the one town in this part of Texas most people have heard of. A stroll down Highland Street, one of the town's two main drags, takes you past both local burrito stands in trailers where ordering in Spanish is helpful and modern, innovative, farm to table restaurants that would easily be at home in New York or Washington. You'll pass the ultra modern, Euro-slick minimalist Hotel St. George and its bookshop specializing in fine art books, as well as the 1930s era El Paisano Hotel, where Rock Hudson, Liz Taylor, and James Dean once slept while filming the 1956 blockbuster "Giant" on a local ranch. You'll also pass what might appear, at first glance, to be abandoned storefonts, the windows completed painted over in white – only to realize that they're actually galleries that are not only open for business, but may be filled with priceless works by the likes of Andy Warhol. All this, in a space of fewer than ten city blocks, in a town that has no traffic lights, and the only fast food chain is the local Dairy Queen. That’s Marfa. What it lacks in the natural beauty of it’s neighbors Fort Davis and Alpine, or in the genuine Texas ranch style of Marathon, Marfa makes up for in just plain weirdness, served up with a delicious $20 craft cocktail.
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