First Trip of 2023- A Weekend in West Texas

And just like that 2023 is here and along with it comes a whole new year of places to visit, things to do, and exciting travel opportunities. At the start of every year I like to outline some travel goals for the year and this year I just went with what popped into my mind on Jan 1. Take advantage of my United Gold status and visit more international locations, Travel to at least one new state, Explore more of my home state of Texas. So the perfect start to 2023 was obviously checking one of my travel goals off- by taking a girls trip on MLK weekend to Marfa aka West Texas.

Midland, Texas

There are no direct flights to Marfa (that should say something about how remote the town really is) so the two closest airport options are El Paso and Midland. Both airports are 3 hours away from Marfa so I ended up choosing the cheaper flight, which was Midland. Living in Houston meant that I technically could have made the 10 hour drive to Marfa by car, but since my friend was flying from California there was no way I was going to make that drive alone. The 1 hour flight to Midland plus the 3 hour drive to Marfa was still faster too!

George W Bush Childhood Home

Midland is the childhood home of former President George W Bush and visitors can take a quick 10 min tour of his old house where he grew up with former President George HW Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush. There are exhibits on the Bush family’s early life as well as their love for baseball.

Far West Coffee

I spent the rest of the day in Midland working from a coffee shop (typical working girl life) and managed to find the cutest coffee shop with a western/desert theme. The brown sugar brown butter latte was delicious and there was plenty of tables for getting some work done. I wish I could have tried the pastries through- they sold out so quickly!

Valentine, Texas

Everyone has come across the Insta famous Prada Marfa store on social media and most everyone knows that the store is fake and does not sell any bags, however, it’s not commonly known that the store is actually not located in Marfa. Instead, the art installation is located in Valentine, Texas, about 30-40 min outside of Marfa. The Prada store is definitely worth the drive though because its such a unique sight amongst an empty desert. Pro tip- make sure to arrive early because there is a line to get pictures! A good thing though because it ensures pictures without people in it… Another pro tip- stop along the road from Marfa to Valentine to grab some pictures of the billboards that honor the movie Giant (which was filmed in Marfa) and the Welcome to Marfa sign.

Marfa, Texas

The air in Marfa and West Texas in general was SO dry- I’m so glad I packed eye drops and body lotion and plenty of water because it felt like my whole body was dehydrated all the time. Besides the dry air, everything about Marfa was so adorable and Instagrammable. Here are a few of my favorite photo spots around town!

Greetings from Marfa - Located outside the Frama coffee shop. Iced green tea is super refreshing!

Central Fire Station- Cute pink building located at 110 E Lincoln St

Marfa arch- Western looking Marfa sign located on the corner of E Lincoln St and Highland St

The Get Go- Grocery store that has literally everything (even Harney & Sons tea!) located at 208 S Dean St

The Sentinel- Deliciously fresh breakfast plate and make sure to try the winter citrus and walnut latte! Its a pretty spacious cafe and store located at 209 W El Paso St next to its namesake newspaper office.

Wrong store- Probably the most unique and artsy amongst all Marfa shops and located on the main street too

See Mystery Lights- Although we didn’t see the mysterious Marfa Lights that the town is so popular for (we didn’t feel like waiting in the dark and cold for the potential chance that the lights would appear), I did capture this cute mural that is located on the side of the Thunderbird Hotel.

The town of Marfa has been synonymous with art for the past few years and it was all one man, Donald Judd, who really put Marfa on the map for art. Judd fell in love with West Texas when he was traveling from Alabama to California to be deployed during the Korean War and he came back to the area after establishing a name for himself in the New York art scene in order for his art to be displayed in a more spacious environment. There are two foundations in town that honor is life, work, and art collection and both are able to be viewed via tours. Visitors can also tour The Block (Judd’s home), however, it was closed for renovation during the time I was in Marfa.

Judd Foundation

Chinati Foundation

The coffee in Marfa was a pleasant surprise. I thought it would be mediocre because it is the middle of a desert, but the baristas in town work so hard and create such amazing coffee. Aside from The Sentinel and Frama, there is also Do Your Thing and Big Sandy.

Do Your Thing

The coffee is what people come for, but the toasts are what they stay for.

Big Sandy

Located in a renovated silver trailer, Big Sandy serves up a refreshing cold brew and a spicy hot brisket and cheese kolache (made by local bbq Convenience West).

Marfa Burrito

Not a coffee shop, but also a Marfa experience. The huge breakfast burritos here are so famous that celebrities such as Matthew McConaughey and Mark Ruffalo have stopped by. Make sure to bring cash!

Fort Davis, Texas

Fort Davis is located about 20 minutes north of Marfa and has its only small town charm (there is a soda fountain here!) as well as a State Park. We drove through town to get to something that has been on my bucket list for a while- stargazing.

McDonald Observatory

Not many places in the world are dedicated as part of the Dark Sky Program (meaning that no open lights can be on after a certain time to preserve a truly dark sky), but Texas just so happens to have a place like the University of Texas funded McDonald Observatory. The Observatory hosts Star Parties every Friday and Saturday nights where visitors can get a constellation tour as well as the chance to look through 5 extremely powerful telescopes to view different stars and galaxies. Stargazing was a truly amazing experience and one that I will never forget!

My West Texas weekend was so relaxing, although I have fully come to terms with the fact that I am a city girl and could never survive in a remote desert for longer than a weekend. I’m so happy I was able to kick off 2023 with a unique vacation in my own state! Where else should I travel in 2023?