Recipes
June 8, 2021
Recipe: A Spicy Spring Cocktail With West Texas Roots
The Desert Plant & Pepper appears as soft and alluring as a glass of pink lemonade, but prepare your palate for a punch.
Marfa
Music
May 6, 2021
Miranda Lambert on the Most Unapologetically Texas Album of Her Career
While sitting in a parked car in Marfa last September, the musicians Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram, and Jon Randall listened to their “work tapes”—what songwriters call raw recordings they typically make just after finishing a song. These iPhone recordings documented the trio of Texas natives’ four trips over seven years
Food & Drink
April 9, 2021
A Hedonist’s Guide to Dining in and Around Big Bend
For a food obsessive like me, Big Bend’s culinary scene rivals the nature.
Country Notes
February 11, 2021
The Girls of Lumber Club Marfa Work to Master the Craft of the Three-legged Stool
During the past few years, a small group of girls in Marfa has used the simple wooden stool to create a business that has, well, legs.
Travel & Outdoors
October 21, 2020
Tour de Texas, Week 7: Tough Climbs and Spectacular Views in West Texas
Bicycling the Big Bend region was an unforgettable experience, with beautiful desert and mountain vistas making up for the painful hills.
The Culture
January 22, 2020
A Battle for the Soul of Marfa
What happens when a wealthy patron wears out his welcome?
Style & Design
December 18, 2019
A Retreat Under the West Texas Sky
This Marfa getaway takes advantage of the incredible desert and mountain views in every possible way.
Art
November 20, 2019
How a Brazilian Artist Found Inspiration in West Texas Prehistory and Deep Ecology
Solange Pessoa’s new exhibition at Ballroom Marfa, ‘Longilonge,’ is rooted in archaeology and human psychology.
Being Texan
November 4, 2019
The National Media Hilariously Misunderstands Texas Geography
All the news from the “Dallas suburb” of Marfa and the “adjacent” regions of El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley.
Books
October 23, 2019
A Garden Grows in West Texas
The coffee table book ‘Marfa Gardens’ proves that there’s more to desert flora than cactus and agave.
Books
October 21, 2019
Rachel Monroe’s Life of Crime
In ‘Savage Appetites,’ the Marfa journalist tries to understand her—and other women’s—obsession with violent criminal acts.
Country Notes
September 18, 2019
Long Live the ‘Big Bend Sentinel.’ Viva ‘El Internacional.’
Small-town papers often serve as bearers of civic pride. But the former owners of Marfa’s Big Bend Sentinel and Presidio’s International learned long ago that writing the news meant looking out for their neighbors.
The Texanist
August 11, 2019
The Texanist: Are the Marfa Lights Overrated?
An El Paso man wasn’t impressed by his recent viewing of the West Texas phenomenon.
Country Notes
February 20, 2019
The Romance of the Rail in West Texas
The railway and Marfa are forever intertwined.
Arts & Entertainment
October 23, 2018
On ‘Parts Unknown,’ Anthony Bourdain Asks If West Texans Are the Platonic Ideal of Texans
Spoiler: The answer is yes.
Style & Design
June 28, 2018
Go Inside Hotelier Liz Lambert’s Private Marfa Retreat
No Wi-Fi, no problem. ‘The Queen of Cool' turned an old ranch bunkhouse into a West Texas getaway, complete with a dreamy desert bathhouse.
The Texanist
June 3, 2018
The Texanist: Can a Born-and-Bred Big-City Boy Learn to Love Fort Stockton?
A Houstonian turned New Yorker’s company is relocating him to small-town West Texas. If life were a sitcom, that would be pretty funny.
The Texanist
January 27, 2018
The Texanist: Any Recommendations for a Big Bend Newbie?
A 39-year resident of Houston is gearing up for his first experience of the greatest road trip Texas has to offer.
Country Notes
November 22, 2017
The Marfa Mystique
Outsiders remain fascinated with unraveling the secrets of this place. But locals can explain, one story at a time.
Country Notes
June 21, 2017
The Purest Type
Pronghorn were almost perfectly fitted to the West Texas landscape. And then people started building fences.
Film & TV
April 19, 2017
Prime Opportunity
How a native Marfan's short story landed him a job on Amazon Prime's anticipated 'I Love Dick.'
Travel & Outdoors
March 2, 2017
Music to our Ears
Austin celebrates its beloved Eklektikos deejay for his fifty years on air.
The Culture
February 21, 2017
Snake!
In West Texas, we've learned to live with our slithery neighbors. Not that we have a choice.
Travel & Outdoors
December 27, 2016
15 Highlights From My 2016 Texas Wanderings
The best sights, bites, and experiences from my travels around the state this year.
Travel & Outdoors
November 22, 2016
Saving Grace
Eleven ideas for holiday fun after the turkey sandwiches are gone and Uncle Al wants to talk about politics.
Travel & Outdoors
November 11, 2016
Renaissance Man
Step into the Sistine Chapel to gaze at the famed Michelangelo frescoes—in Dallas.
Travel & Outdoors
September 22, 2016
Music, Love, and Baseball
The eleventh annual Trans-Pecos Festival, at El Cosmico in Marfa, brings together not just top musical acts but a community of baseball aficionados.
Film & TV
August 26, 2016
What Does the New Show ‘I Love Dick’ Say About Marfa?
A new Amazon Prime show is partially set in the West Texas town, the latest Hollywood-ification of the far-flung locale.
Country Notes
July 20, 2016
Toast of the Town
In Marfa, there’s one place where everybody knows your name.
Film & TV
July 15, 2016
On the Shoulders of Giants
How the essence of the Lone Star State was captured on film.
Art
June 22, 2016
Miracle in the Desert
Robert Irwin’s long-awaited Marfa installation is a work like no other: a massive project that reflects the austere, light-filled beauty of West Texas.
Travel & Outdoors
May 20, 2016
Celebrating Vintage Bathing Beauties, Texas Jazz, Dazed and Confused, and More
Six of the state’s top event offerings.
Travel & Outdoors
May 12, 2016
The Best Texas Hotel Awards
The most superlative amenities at the state's top getaways.
Travel & Outdoors
March 10, 2016
The Ultimate Texas Road Trip
And the apps to download before you go.
Family
November 18, 2015
Friday Night Lite
The only thing that’s smaller about six-man football is the field.
Travel & Outdoors
September 18, 2015
Six Must-Attend Events: September 18-24
The state's top offerings, from a West Texas troubadour's homecoming to craft brewing at its best.
Travel & Outdoors
August 28, 2015
Six Must-Attend Events: August 28-September 4
The state's top offerings, from supporting Dallas's musical heritage to surfing in far West Texas.
Travel & Outdoors
July 31, 2015
Six Must-Attend Events: July 31–August 6
The state’s top offerings, from everything you ever wanted to know about podcasting in Fort Worth to a car show like no other in Far West Texas.
Texas Trip Guides
November 20, 2014
Trip Guide: Marfa
It’s the favorable acreage-to-other-humans ratio that draws most visitors, who come for the space that this Chihuahuan Desert outpost has in spades.
Where To Stay Now
October 12, 2012
Where To Stay Now 2012: The Ten Best New (Or Improved!) Texas Hotels
As a recent study of hotel booking trends pointed out, us Texans prefer to vacation in Texas. Since our last roundup of the state's most notable lodgings was in 2004, I thought it was high time to revisit the subject. So
Feature
May 31, 2006
The Truth Is Out There
Spoiler alert: The mythic Marfa lights may not be real. But there’s no way to know for sure, and that’s why they’re cool.
Being Texan
November 1, 1984
Texas Primer: The Marfa Lights
What is it that makes them dance across the desert night? A trick of physics—or something stranger?
Texas History
November 20, 1977
The Last Frontier
The pioneers who came to tame the West met their match in the land of Giant.