1:39
Music
July 15, 2022
In Marathon, Happiness Is a Two-Chambered Wood Flute
Bob Freeman is a craftsman who carves, plays, and sings the praises of the traditional Native American instrument.
Marathon
Texas Country Reporter
May 12, 2022
The Marathon Motel & RV Park Has Out-of-This-World Views
The small motel has a sliding-roof observatory where people can enjoy some of the darkest skies on the planet.
Art
April 6, 2022
The World’s Tiniest Buc-ee’s Has Appeared in West Texas
The anonymous artist calls the piece “a light-hearted jab . . . at America’s propensity for ever-expanding excess.”
Texas Country Reporter
March 31, 2022
The Man Known as the “Big Bend Photographer” Reflects on His Life’s Work
Texas Country Reporter revisits James H. Evans after thirty years. His long career has taken different turns, but his unwavering commitment to the people and places of West Texas defines his legacy.
Food & Drink
January 26, 2022
As the Pandemic Endures, Texans Flock to Small Grocers
From Flatonia to Marathon, communities—often small and rural—band together to serve their own needs with local essentials.
TM BBQ Club
December 9, 2021
Burning Questions With Brick Vault Brewery and Barbecue
For Phillip Moellering, barbecue means family, hard work, and basic instinct.
Being Texan
January 22, 2020
Small-town Benefactors: A Face-lift in the Desert
The philanthropic financier who restored a West Texas outpost.
BBQ Joint Reviews
January 18, 2019
Pair Brisket With a Local West Texas Beer at Brick Vault Brewery & Barbecue
The peppery ribs and cream ales are both worth going out of your way for.
The Texanist
July 25, 2018
The Texanist: Great Small Towns That Have Gone Untouched by a Hipster
The Texanist on five great small towns that are (pretty much) just like they always were and don’t need to change at all.
Travel & Outdoors
October 19, 2017
Next Time You Travel in Texas, Stay in a Hostel
For an affordable stay in a new city, with built-in friends.
Travel & Outdoors
September 21, 2016
A Love Unearthed
My grandfather’s work as a paleontologist took him to West Texas over and over again. Fifty years later, I found myself retracing his steps.
Travel & Outdoors
June 30, 1998
Marathon Man
Houston’s J.P. Bryan is remaking a West Texas town into what could be the next Taos—and for some locals, that’s a mixed blessing.
Texas History
September 30, 1997
Hallie and Farewell
The life and legacy of a Texas icon.
Music
May 31, 1997
Satisfaction
That’s what Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall got on their recent trip to West Texas. West Texas retailers got it too.
Art
April 1, 1997
Marathon Man
In 1988, when James H. Evans was in his mid-thirties, he left behind a successful photography studio in Austin and moved to remote Marathon, where he took a job as a cook at the Gage Hotel and shot pictures on the side. “Everyone thought I was nuts,” he says. “I
Travel & Outdoors
February 1, 1994
Go West!
Now is the time to check out newly stylish hotels and restaurants in West Texas. Tourists aren’t far behind.
Books
December 1, 1987
Growing Up With George and Martha
By turning two tiny dots into two huge hippos, James Marshall made an indelible mark on children’s literature, and little people laughed happily ever after.
Libations
November 1, 1985
On the Menu: Johnny B’s Old Fashioned Soda Fountain
IT WASN’T BECAUSE I was touring West Texas that I ate a cheeseburger for breakfast. It was after stumbling upon Johnny B’s for lunch the day before. Never mind the open sky and distant mesas, the cheeseburger at this inviting luncheonette was all I could envision.Open only since November (and