2020... what a year. Things started out normally enough, with some major events during the first couple of months that only half a year later felt like they had taken place in another lifetime: the death of Kobe Bryant in a plane crash, Parasite winning the Oscar for Best Picture, the wildfires in Australia, and the U.K. withdrawing from the European Union. Needless to say, any plans I might have considered makig for a big road trip in the fall were completely and utterly dashed by the COVID-19 pandemic and all that went along with it. Initial "stay at home" orders, masking, social distancing, and the closure of offices, restaurants, and "non-essential" establishments such as clubs and concert halls] turned life for many of us into a veritable hell of anxiety and isolation. A return to normalcy seemed far off, and there seemed to be few apparent opportunities to interact normally (and, more importantly, safely) with anyone outside of one's own household. But, despite all of these setbacks, I did manage to pull off a road trip in 2020. There were caveats, of course. I had to plan on a much less ambitious scale than what had become my norm. I had to contend with a drastically pared down itinerary of things to potentially see and do, and much greater care was taken when booking somewhere to stay along the way. I wouldn't be traveling outside my own country's borders, quite obviously. And - for the first time ever - I had a companion traveling along with me, someone who, like me, had spent the past six months barely going anywhere or seeing anyone outside of home. When we finalized plans to go on this adventure over a phone call in August, it set in motion soemthing that would prove to be one of the only highlights of an overall dismal year. And thus it was that on September 7th, following a mutual isolation period, I set off for southeast Texas to begin our six day long journey.
Day 1/Sept 8 - Heading Out (Tuesday)
We hit the road after 9 AM, beginning the 560 mile drive out west to Alpine.
Getting ready to head out in the morning
Photo by Allison Patrick
Heading west
There were a couple of things we wanted to see before stopping at our motel, so we continued on past Alpine toward the Prada façade.
The Prada façade on a remote Texas highway
Behind the façade
Dust blowing across the highway
Video by Allison Patrick
About to double back toward Alpine, by way of the Marfa lights viewing area
We waited outside in the viewing area for a good while as it got dark, but were never able to see anything. Several others were out looking for the lights as well, and all of us likely had our own theories as to why the lights failed to appear. For myself, I speculated that the weather was too overcast: we were just slightly ahead of rain that was coming our way, and time to get back to the motel before being overtaken by it was short and getting shorter. We returned to Alpine and checked into our motel, turning in for the night.
Outside looking for the Marfa Lights, but to no avail. Photo by Allison Patrick.
Day 2/Sept 9 - Marfa (Wednesday)
While working on plans for our trip, we had considered several possibilities. Among the ideas discussed were a trip up to Oklahoma, a visit to the McDonald Observatory area (unfortunately not a viable destination at the time), and a trip to a cabin area in Texas. We had ultimately settled on visiting Marfa and Big Bend, and West Texas in general. Marfa, being the place where the movie Giant was filmed, was particularly attractive to Allison. We set out Wednesday morning to explore the town and do some walking around.
A historical artifact found while exploring the town center
The Lincoln Marfa (a boutique hotel)
Photo by Allison Patrick
I knew I needed a picture of this rustic-looking truck as soon as I set eyes upon it
Photo by Allison Patrick
Photo by Allison Patrick
Presidio County Archives building
Photo by Allison Patrick
Photo by Allison Patrick
Photo by Allison Patrick
The El Paisano Hotel
Most of the town square was closed or deserted.
Photo by Allison Patrick
A sign of the times
Photo by Allison Patrick
Photo by Allison Patrick
After spending over an hour exploring Marfa proper, we headed out toward the Fort Davis area.
Photo by Allison Patrick
We stopped at this restaurant in Fort Davis and sat inside until the place started filling up with people.
Driving along State Highway 118, with lots of rolling hills:
Photo by Allison Patrick
Photo by Allison Patrick
Photo by Allison Patrick
Scenic overlook
A makeshift memorial
We eventually reached the Fort Davis National Historic Site
The site was about to close as we were winding up our drive
Ending the day's outing, we returned to our motel. Overall Marfa had suggested itself to be a pretty sleepy place diromg most of the year, and in a pandemic year all the more so.
2020... what a year. Things started out normally enough, with some major events during the first couple of months that only half a year later felt like they had taken place in another lifetime: the death of Kobe Bryant in a plane crash, Parasite winning the Oscar for Best Picture, the wildfires in Australia, and the U.K. withdrawing from the European Union. Needless to say, any plans I might have considered makig for a big road trip in the fall were completely and utterly dashed by the COVID-19 pandemic and all that went along with it. Initial "stay at home" orders, masking, social distancing, and the closure of offices, restaurants, and "non-essential" establishments such as clubs and concert halls] turned life for many of us into a veritable hell of anxiety and isolation. A return to normalcy seemed far off, and there seemed to be few apparent opportunities to interact normally (and, more importantly, safely) with anyone outside of one's own household. But, despite all of these setbacks, I did manage to pull off a road trip in 2020. There were caveats, of course. I had to plan on a much less ambitious scale than what had become my norm. I had to contend with a drastically pared down itinerary of things to potentially see and do, and much greater care was taken when booking somewhere to stay along the way. I wouldn't be traveling outside my own country's borders, quite obviously. And - for the first time ever - I had a companion traveling along with me, someone who, like me, had spent the past six months barely going anywhere or seeing anyone outside of home. When we finalized plans to go on this adventure over a phone call in August, it set in motion soemthing that would prove to be one of the only highlights of an overall dismal year. And thus it was that on September 7th, following a mutual isolation period, I set off for southeast Texas to begin our six day long journey.
