So Cool
How to eat easy, play hard, and sleep well in the Davis Mountains.
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About six miles west of Fort Davis is the Prude Ranch, a one-hundred-year-old working ranch that is now also a guest ranch. The jovial volubility of owner John Robert Prude appears to have been directly imparted to staff and guests alike. With tennis courts, a swimming pool, horseback riding, hayrides, and a rodeo arena, where staff and locals hone their skills until the wee hours of the morning, the ranch has nonstop go-ings-on. During the summer the Prudes help close the generation gap—youngsters attending the ranch’s summer camp commingle with regular guests and elder hostel patrons. At breakfast the next morning I note that the Prudes have conscientiously allowed for separate dining areas for adults and children. But the wood-paneled, Saltillo-tiled hall resounds with happy campers’ conversations, and it seems only right that I sit with the kids: I’m eating like a camper anyway. An all-you-can-eat buffet leans toward the hearty—sausage, blueberry muffins, eggs, French toast, Cream of Wheat, orange juice, and coffee or tea. I’ll need it—my third day’s schedule includes a day and part of a night in Marfa, 26 miles south.
One of the whimsicalities of Marfa is that the street signs are few and far between and addresses tend to be descriptive. Marfa’s best-known landmark is the old El Paisano Hotel, famous for housing the cast of the film Giant. The lobby’s heavy-beamed ceiling and tiled floor leave a cool Moorish impres-sion. Capacious, rambling suites are startlingly furnished à la Graceland: Some have small wrought-iron balconies overlooking the indoor pool; others have their own patios. If you’ve been missing smoked-mirror ceilings, swag lamps, and shag carpeting, the Paisano awaits at bargain prices.
Back in my car, I head out for the best dead-end road in the state: Farm Road 1112. Take your golf clubs with you because the road halts at the Marfa Municipal Golf Course, a nine-hole bent-grass oasis that is the state’s highest—you’ll add a few yards to your drive here. The 360-degree panorama of the Davis and Chinati mountains makes me want to hit the road again—this time, south down Farm Road 2810, the back door to Ruidosa and the spectacular River Road. The road gently undulates ever downward through rolling hills and dales. After 35 miles, it begins to slink sinuously until the pavement peters out and a gravel road takes over. You won’t need four-wheel drive to complete the journey, but you’ll probably want to drive slowly. The last 20 miles drop into a box canyon. The entire route is notorious as well as beautiful; its inaccessibility is said to have encouraged occasional illegal transactions.
It’s past lunchtime when I get back to Marfa, but not too late for a handsome plate of cheesy enchiladas at Carmen’s Cafe. The modest exterior won’t prepare you for the friendly interior: a counter, booths, and a dining room mural depicting local history. Thick, crunchy homemade tostadas and muy caliente green sauce will get you set for doing Marfa up right. Coconut pie is the appropriate dessert.
If everything I’ve heard about Donald Judd’s artistic establishment, the Chinati Foundation, is true, my afternoon will be enigmatic, if nothing else. The foundation has refurbished vast warehouses in the compound that was once Camp Marfa. Originally established to house cavalry, it was renamed Fort D. A. Russell in 1930 and during World War II was manned by mechanized cavalry units and served as a prisoner-of-war camp. Now in its third incarnation, it is home to the largest permanent exhibit of art in the world—according to Judd. The opinionated New York artist, who has been living in Marfa since 1971, believes art should remain where it was created. Judd has achieved his vision. Along the highway, fifteen boxlike concrete configurations stand in a grassy field, their formal surfaces in mute contrast to the wild terrain. One hundred aluminum sculptures in two artillery sheds reflect Judd’s obsession with form. In a warehouse downtown are huge balls of crushed and welded auto parts by John Chamberlain. Some of the works left me wondering, “Why?” There’s really no answer, so I simply make my own mark in the Zen sandbox in the middle of the floor.
The art tour puts me in the mood for more of the inexplicable, so as night falls, I drive nine miles east of town to a picnic area and a wide circular drive that accommodates the many tourists who come to see the Marfa Lights. The phenomenon has been variously described as campfires, swamp gas, phosphorescent minerals, static electricity, St. Elmo’s fire, and ghosts. As I face the remote Chinati Mountains to the south, I’m not sure what—if anything—there is to see. Suddenly, a single glowing light materializes. It floats like a modest beacon, bobs eerily, and then winks out. Another soon appears, erratically wafting through the dark night. It is the perfect finale to a full day. As I head back to the Prude Ranch, I vaguely recall that I came out here to take a break from the heat. But I got more than I bargained for: a long weekend that was cooler than I could ever have guessed.
How to Get There
The Davis Mountains are two and a half hours by car from either El Paso or Midland-Odessa. Lone Star Airlines flies into Alpine from Austin and Dallas on Thursdays and Sundays (800-877-3932). In Alpine, rental cars are available from Aerflite (915-837-3009).
Where to Eat and Stay
Butterfield Inn on the square in downtown Fort Davis (915-426-3252). Four Victorian cottages with fireplaces and jacuzzis. $60.
Carmen’s Cafe on U.S. Highway 90 at the east end of Marfa (729-3429). Open Monday through Saturday 7—2 and 5—9.
Desert Rose just up the hill from the Fort Davis National Historic Site on Texas Highway 17 (426-3022). Open daily 6—2 and 5—9.
El Paisano Hotel 207 N. Highland in Marfa (729-3145). $48—$120.
Hotel Limpia on the square in downtown Fort Davis (426-3237 or 800-662-5517). $49—$62.
Indian Lodge Davis Mountains State Park, four miles northwest of Fort Davis on Texas Highway 166 (426-3254). $40—$55.
Prude Ranch six miles northwest of Fort Davis on Texas Highway 118 (426-3201 or 800-458-6232). Guest lodges, $65—$75; family bunk (sleeps twelve), $40—$49; ranch bunkhouse (sleeps eight to twenty), $10 a bed.
San Solomon Springs Courts Balmorhea State Park, four miles southwest of Balmorhea (375-2370). $35 ($39 with kitchen) and up, depending on number of guests in room.
What to See and Do
Balmorhea State Park four miles southwest of Balmorhea on Highway 17. Entrance fee $3—$4, camping $6—$11, swimming $1—$2.
Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute Visitors’ Center four miles south of Fort Davis on Highway 118 (837-8370). Open Monday through Friday 1—5, Saturday and Sunday 9—6. Free.
Chinati Foundation Fort D. A. Russell in Marfa. Take U.S. Highway 67 south half a mile past the intersection with U.S. Highway 90 (the Immigration and Naturalization office is on the left), turn right, then take a left at the gatepost and historical marker (729-4362). Open Thursday through Saturday 1—5 and by appointment. Free.
Davis Mountains State Park four miles northwest of Fort Davis on Highway 118 (426-3337). Entrance fee $3—$4, camping $6—$12.
Fort Davis National Historic Site just north of Fort Davis on Highway 118 (426-3224). Open daily 8—6. Free—$1.
McDonald Observatory fourteen miles northwest of Fort Davis on Spur 78, just off Highway 118 (426-3263). Guided tours daily at 9:30 a.m. (through August) and 2 p.m (year-round); self-guided tours daily 9—5. Star parties Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday thirty minutes after sunset. Solar viewing daily at 11 a.m. (year-round) and 3:30 p.m. (through August). Free.
Marfa Municipal Golf Course three miles east of Marfa at end of Farm Road 1112 (729-4043). Open Tuesday through Sunday 8:30—7:30. Greens fees $6.38— $8.50, carts $6.38.
Scenic Loop Take Highway 17 south from Fort Davis until it joins Highway 166; proceed north until the road intersects with Highway 118, then head south on 118 back to Fort Davis.
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