Neverending roads indeed...
As I departed Louisiana, my cross-country road trip continued the the great State of Texas.
My good friend (former roommate) and his Wife had recently moved to Dallas, and were gracious enough to let me stay for a weekend pitstop while exploring the city. Before my arrival though, I made a slight detour to Stanley's Famous Pit BBQ in Tyler. I know there's great BBQ all over Texas, but the immense research I did pinpointed Stanley's as the overall 'Must-Try' BBQ. The most difficult part wasn't deciding what to order, (I got essentially a sampler of everything) but rather the hour-and-a-half drive I had from Tyler to Dallas. (I didn't want to try it beforehand, so we could all be food critics together). Even re-heated in their oven, the food was RIDICULOUSLY good. I've had BBQ all over the country, but Stanley's might take the cake.
Over the weekend, they gave me the official-visitors tour of Dallas. Deep Ellum, was a neighborhood that reminded me of my old neighborhood, Wicker Park; lot's of local dive bars, and a firm appreciation of the arts throughout. Probably my favorite though was Bryant Street Tavern (not in Deep Ellum). This place was isolated from any other retail/restaurants and featured everything you'd want in a dive bar; dark ambiance, long industrial wood bar, bartenders to shoot the breeze with, and a few pool tables should you feel the need for 'activity'. By coincidence, a couple of his friends (also regulars at Bryant Street) were hosting a wine tasting event at their home, which we were subsequently invited to join. Lots of water and ibuprofen were required that next morning
Since I was spending a lot of time catching up with my old friend, I didn't have the camera as handy, but when leaving Dallas, I headed for Marfa; an eccentric little town I'd heard of in the Southwest corner of Texas, known for it's arts community. When people say the roads in Texas are long, believe them. I misjudged the time my it would take to arrive, and thankfully called the little highway hotel I was staying at because they were getting ready to close up shop. (They hid a key in an envelope for me).
I arose at dawn to begin my exploration of the town. Marfa is such a unique blend of Western roots and avant garde pop-ups. Was I in the past, present or future? With a population of a little over 3,000, the majority of the city exists on a few-connecting roads, with whimsical structures and buildings peppered throughout. For instance, the first store I wandered into was a bike shop, which happened to double as a cafe, (The Choss Shop & Cafe) so while I browsed ergonomic seats for mountain bikes, the 1 employee also prepared my waffles and coffee.
Along with the minimalist art exhibits (Prada pop-up, Target) and store fronts, Marfa has also been a site for shooting feature films. Two of my all-time favorites had scenes filmed in the area in August 2006; There Will Be Blood, and No Country For Old Men.
Adding to the already-eerie feel, Marfa is known for their brilliant lights which can at times be twinkling in the distance on Highway 67. Some will say it can be attributed to ranch lights and automobile headlights bouncing above desert foliage. Others will say atmospheric phenomena; and some will dive into deep-paranormal theories. I didn't stick around long enough to see if a Coast-to-Coast fan club had a branch in the area. Having said that, I wish I would have had a little more time to view the area, or visit during some of their festivals but I had to get back on the road towards AZ. I will prepare accordingly for my next visit back into this strange, interesting town, but until then...I'm comin' home, baby.
TRIP HIGHLIGHTS
RECOMMENDATIONS
Never leave home without the proper music to accompany. -like pairing wine w/ dinner- The playlist below was built specifically for this itinerary.
Texas - Chris Rea
Them Shoes - Patrick Sweany
Southern Sun - Boy & Bear
Daddy - Devin Townsend
Poor Boy - Nick Drake
Lotta Love - Neil Young
Cautionary Tale - Dylan LeBlanc
Burning - The War On Drugs
Gemini - Snarky Puppy
Deep Blue - Arcade Fire
Say I Wanna Know - Nick Waterhouse
Spoonful - Howlin' Wolf
Texas Sun - Khruangbin w/ Leon Bridges
[Won't Be] Coming Home - Robert Cray
Red Clay - Freddie Hubbard
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