Terlingua is the West Texas of movies – dry, dusty, a cactus filled desert with mountains always on the horizon, occupied by friendly but hardy locals who have somehow adapted themselves to live in a place that, at first glance, no sane person would ever think to be a good spot to settle down. While the community has seen a bit of a renaissance in recent years, thanks to a slowly growing number of people discovering the majestry of Big Bend National Park and modern technology like Airbnb easing the process of actually booking accommodations in a place where phone lines hardly existed before the dawn of the current century, Terlingua remains mostly a ghost town. Today it boasts a population of around 50-60 full-time residents; nearly a century ago, it was home to 2,000. As with many western ghost towns, the original draw was mining, and once the mines went bust, the people left, leaving behind dozens of stone houses and a creepy cemetery. Today, a number of those old stone houses have been restored, and compliment nearby newly constructed casitas, providing comfortable vacation rentals for park visitors. There are even a few restaurants, one of which is rather good, a number of places to find good, cold drinks, and an espresso bar that serves not only great coffee, but delicious breakfast burritos. The nightly entertainment mostly consists of locals and their friendly dogs gathering on the front porches of the three main businesses in town, playing their guitars, singing, and enjoying the sunset with cold beers procured from the main restaurant in town. This is a place that is literally at the end of the world, and whether you stay here just for a few days, or for the rest of your days, it is truly an escape from the real world in a way that few other destinations are. And, for that reason, it’s quite easy to immediately fall head over heals in love with this ghost town.