San Antonio to El Paso on U.S. 90 and Interstate 10

An old opera house, Judge Roy Bean's grave, ancient pictographs—and a drug blimp.

by Suzy Banks

May 2002

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Once in Marathon you can't miss the unexpectedly stylish 1927 Gage Hotel, complete with chic Café Cenizo and the White Buffalo Bar. J. P. and Mary Jon Bryan bought the derelict property in 1978, opened the resurrected hotel in 1982, and subsequently jump-started a tourism boom in the sleepy town. The Adobe Rose Inn is a relative newcomer to the lodging and cafe scene. A restored two-story adobe on the south side of the tracks, it offers three romantic upstairs bedrooms, an outdoor whirlpool, and an inviting patio where you can nosh on quiche and other fresh-baked goodies and sip a cup of, yes, cappuccino. At the Evans Gallery, next door, photographer James Evans sells his arresting images of the region, from stormy skies to desert critters. More photographs—and more frothy coffee—can be had at the Marathon Coffee Shop, a newly minted gallery-cum-cyber cafe.

On the road to Alpine, the craggy Glass Mountains loom to the north. Just imagine—in these seemingly barren ridges, elk, reintroduced in the seventies, are frolicking. Texas mountains are secretive that way, hiding treasures like maples, aspen, and even bighorn sheep in their folds and shadows.

With a university and a population of 6,200, Alpine is an actual functioning town, not just a tourist stop. You'll find a wealth (by West Texas standards) of lodging and dining options. For a mix of history and funk, you can't beat the fourth-floor penthouse at the 1912 Holland Hotel, a cozy aerie with a rooftop deck. (Amenities include terry-cloth robes, aloe gel, and best of all, earplugs. Did I mention that the trains run all night through the towns along the Southern Pacific rail line and, as required, blow their whistles many times?) The White House Inn B&B, in a residential neighborhood, offers two elegant but homey rooms that open onto a sunny balcony, and the charming Antelope Lodge, built in the forties, has gussied-up adobe cottages with kitchenettes and front porches. As for eats, there is, of course, the renowned Reata, where the creative Southwestern cuisine is top-notch and both patrons and waitstaff have attitude to spare. Locals and savvy visitors battle the crowds at La Casita for consistently tasty Mexican food. For breakfast, I queue up early at the Bread and Breakfast Cafe and Bakery for a hot-from-the-oven sticky bun, the best I've ever had, then linger over a latte and the Sunday New York Times at La Tapatia.

The Museum of the Big Bend is like an iceberg: Only a small percentage of its eclectic holdings—which include antique business machines and a big-game hunter's stuffed prey—has ever been on view. But static it's not. Shows come and go faster than a full moon and range from artworks by Russian children to contemporary cowboy finery like silver spurs and exquisite saddles.

Don't speed on your way to Marfa. Even if Smokey wasn't on constant vigil here, why hurry through this spectacular scenery—craggy cliffs hugging the road and the Davis Mountains in the distance? Besides, you'd miss the soon-to-open Marfa Lights visitors center.

Driving into downtown Marfa is like entering one of those hollow sugar Easter eggs with a pastel scene inside, perhaps a bit faded by the sun. Okay, okay—maybe I've been on the road too long. Time to check into the Hotel Paisano, a 1930 Trost and Trost creation that's currently undergoing a heroic face lift. A mammoth suite, a balcony, plush linens: Elizabeth Taylor didn't have it so cush when she stayed here during the filming of Giant. Be sure to take a gander at the recently restored Presidio County Courthouse, a stately doozy even by Texas courthouse standards. If you time your trip to Marfa properly, a tour of the Chinati Foundation, with its rows of aluminum cubes by the minimalist sculptor Donald Judd, is a must. But if you miss this high-concept outpost, you can sate your intellectual hunger at the Marfa Book Company, a combination coffeehouse-wine bar, eclectic bookstore, and community clearinghouse.

Head on to El Paso—if you must. The destination is fine, but the road ahead is anticlimactic. Maybe the herds of antelope, the drug blimp, the wind turbines tickling the foothills of the Davis Mountains, and the state's sole adobe courthouse wasting away in Sierra Blanca are worth the drive. But there are also caravans of eighteen-wheelers, miles of Interstate 10 that are under construction and reduced to two lanes, and giant truck stops selling fried mystery meat. Civilization.

Can't I stay here at the Marfa Book Company? Just park me on the bench with the green-suede cushion, give me a stack of Texas guidebooks, and come back in a week or two, why don't you? Armchair travel is suddenly very appealing.

Directory:

Adobe Rose Inn, 22 S First, Marathon; 915-386-4564 or 866-386-4564; double rooms $75 to $105; closed in July, August, and September

Alamo Village, 7 miles north of Brackettville on FM 674; 830-563-2580; $7, children 6 to 11 $3.50, 5 and under free

Antelope Lodge, 2310 W Holland Ave, Alpine; 915-837-2451 or 800-880-8106; from $40 for a double room to $64 for a suite

Avanti, 600 E Twelfth, Del Rio; 830-775-3363; closed Mon

Bread and Breakfast Cafe and Bakery, 113 W Holland Ave, Alpine; 915-837-9424; closed Mon; no credit cards

Brown's Pharmacy and Gifts, 300 N Center, Sabinal; 830-988-2312; closed Sat (through April) and Sun

Café Cenizo, 102 US 90, Marathon; 915-386-4437; breakfast and dinner daily, lunch on Sun only

Chinati Foundation, 1 Cavalry Row, Marfa; 915-729-4362; tours Thur through Sun at 10 and 2 and Mon through Wed by appointment; $10, students and senior citizens $5

Evans Gallery, 21 S First, Marathon; 915-386-4366

Evett's Barbecue, 301 E Main, Uvalde; 830-278-6204; closed Sun and Mon; no credit cards

First State Bank of Uvalde, 200 E Nopal, Uvalde; 830-278-6231; tours by appointment; closed Sat and Sun

Gage Hotel, 102 US 90, Marathon; 800-884-GAGE; from $69 for a room with a shared bath to $189 for a suite

Haby's Alsatian Bakery, 207 US 90 East, Castroville; 830-931-2118; closed Sun

Hart's Antiques and Mesquite Furniture, 312 N Center, Sabinal; 830-988-2733

Holland Hotel, 209 W Holland Ave, Alpine; 800-535-8040 or 915-837-3844; from $45 for a double room to $135 for a suite

Hotel Paisano, 207 N Highland Ave, Marfa; 866-729-3669; from $89 for a double room to $160 for a suite

Janey Slaughter Briscoe Grand Opera House, 104 W North, Uvalde; 830-278-4184; closed Sun

Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center, on Loop 25S off US 90 in Langtry; 915-291-3340

La Casita, 1104 E Avenue H, Alpine; 915-837-2842; closed Sun

Landmark Inn, 402 Florence, Castroville; 830-931-2133; double rooms $55

La Normandie Restaurant, 1302 Fiorella (3 blocks north of US 90), Castroville; 830-538-3070; lunch Tues through Sun, dinner Thurs through Sat; no credit cards

La Tapatia, 202 W Holland Ave, Alpine; 915-837-2200

Main Perc, 114 W North, Uvalde; 830-278-4714; closed Sun

Marathon Coffee Shop, 301 US 90 West, Marathon; 915-386-4444

Marfa Book Company, 105 S Highland Ave, Marfa; 915-729-3906

Museum of the Big Bend, Sul Ross University campus, off US 90 East, Alpine; 915-837-8730; closed Mon

Reata, 203 N Fifth, Alpine; 915-837-9232; closed Sun

Seminole Canyon State Historical Park, 45 miles west of Del Rio off US 90; 915-292-4464; $2, children under 12 free

Uvalde Rexall Drug, 201 N Getty, Uvalde; 830-278-2589; closed Sun

Val Verde Winery, 100 Qualia Dr, Del Rio; 830-775-9714; no credit cards

Villa del Rio, 123 Hudson Dr, Del Rio; 830-768-1100 or 800-995-1887; from $95 for a double room to $195 for the adobe cottage

White Buffalo Bar, 102 US 90, Marathon; 915-386-4437

Whitehead Memorial Museum, 1308 S Main, Del Rio; 830-774-7568; closed Mon; $4, senior citizens $3, children 13 to 18 $2, 6 to 12 $1, 5 and under free

White House Inn, 2003 Fort Davis Hwy (Texas Hwy 118), one mile north of US 90, Alpine; 915-837-1401; double rooms $98 and $120

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