MARFA

Marfa is an odd town in West Texas. It claims a population of between 2,000 and 3,000 and sits in the desert about an hour south of I-10 and maybe an hour and a half north of Big Bend National Park. The town itself is in a relatively flat area but it is surrounded by some of the highest mountain ranges in Texas. The people that have been there the longest seem to be mostly Mexican, and probably employed on nearby ranches, or maybe at one of the nearby greenhouses. Newer residents are mostly white, progressive and either wealthy 40-somethings who wanted a second home in a real western setting or younger and bohemian.

Here's the town's water tower ...


There are only a few buildings in the town, but they include: a bookstore that sells espresso drinks and pastries; a Town & Country gas station that serves a wide-variety of breaded, deep-fried foods; several art galleries, including a lot of modern art; a Dairy Queen; an upscale restaurant that includes vegetarian options; a couple of bars with boarded up windows and neon signs that say simply "beer" or "air conditioned;" a pizza joint that could have been relocated from South Austin complete with concrete floor, its own t-shirts, and 20-somethings making pies with roasted garlic and feta cheese; and a Dollar General.