The Stars at Night Are Big and Bright … Deep in the Heart of Texas

My dad and I did our first solo father, daughter trip this winter. We chose Big Bend National Park and surrounding areas as our destination.    

Getting There & Where to Stay…

Pop at the Gage Hotel bar with his new friend

We flew into Midland International Airport and then drove a little over two-and-a-half hours to Marathon, Texas. Marathon is a dusty little town (population of less than 500) and doesn’t offer much except the lovely Gage Hotel. I suggest the Los Portales section of the hotel with rooms opening out into a little courtyard. The pueblo-style rooms feel like you are in your own private ranch house with rustic wooden doors and shutters, tile floors, small corner fireplaces and Mexican and western-style décor and furnishings. The hotel bar and restaurant were also bustling every night while we were there. I loved coming back and reviewing the day over margaritas in the bar followed by dinner in the restaurant. It’s Texas, so it’s a very beef forward menu. The chicken fried steak with jalapeno gravy was sinful and totally delicious. The hotels in Marfa looked nice, and I know there are a few places to stay inside the park, but I think the Gage is a must if you are in the area.

What to Do…

We spent two full days in Big Bend, exploring the different sections of the park. Due to the park’s size (1,250 square-miles), I would suggest at least two (preferably three) full days in the park. The park is extremely diverse with contrasts in elevation of more than 6,000 feet throughout the park and with options to explore the river, the desert, and the mountains. The varied topographies and elevations mean that layers and lots of sun protection are a must even in the winter. Many of the hikes took us along the countries’ southern border with spectacular views of Mexico often just a stone’s throw away.   

Posing in Big Bend

Coming from Marathon, we entered the park both days at Persimmon Gap Visitor Center (or the northern entrance to the park) and drove down to Panther Junction Visitor Center, which is the park’s main visitor center and a great place to stop for a bathroom break and to fill up your car. On day one we stopped at the Fossil Discovery Exhibit, drove into to the South-East portion of the park to the Rio Grande Overlook and the Rio Grande Village Nature Trail, checked out the Boquillas Canyon Overlook, and went down into Boquillas Canyon where we did the 1.4-mile roundtrip hike and saw wild horses roaming across the river. On day two we went South-West to Chisos Basin and did the short Window View Trail to admire the park through its own natural “window.” This was my favorite part of the park and would be an ideal picnic spot. We then drove the 30-mile Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, which has some spectacular views; stopped at Castolon, a long-standing trading post; and hiked into the Santa Elena Canyon where the limestone cliffs rise hundreds of feet overhead. I recommend both itineraries, but if you are pressed for time, day two was my favorite day in the park. I would have loved to do some of the longer hikes or a float-trip, but we had limited time (and stamina).       

Posing with Pop at Chinati

We also spent one day in Marfa, Texas exploring the town, the various small galleries, and doing a little shopping. We visited the Chinati Foundation (the local modern art museum) for a guided tour in the afternoon. You can walk the grounds alone, but I highly recommend the tour to get the history of the space and some context for the modern art that is housed there. Most of the art is on display in a former military fort (originally a cavalry fort erected to protect the locals from Mexican bandits, it later became a base during both World Wars to guard the border with Mexico and serve as a camp for German prisoners of war). The land and buildings were later purchased by Donald Judd who converted the former fort into a space to house permanent large-scale art installations he created as well as other installations by John Chamberlain and Dan Flavin. The art is very modern – large metal boxes, huge neon light installations, mashed up cars – so this is not for everyone, but if you go in with a sense of fun and without preconceived notions of what is and is not art, I think it can be very accessible. Our guide was so enthusiastic, which made the whole tour much more fun and engaging as well.

Finally, because this area is so remote, this is one of the best places to see the stars. Big Bend is designated a Dark Sky Park, and the McDonald Observatory is an hour and fifteen-minute drive from the Gage. We pre-booked tickets to a Star Party at the Observatory, and this was the highlight of our visit. The Star Party began in the outdoor amphitheater where our host pointed out the various constellations and planets. We then got to visit five separate telescopes pointed at three different planets, the moon, and various stars. A huge, outdoor planetarium.   

Things to Know 

If you take this trip, be prepared for a lot of time on the road in relatively remote locations. We put about 1,000 miles on our rental car in four days, and when we weren’t in the car, we were on our feet walking 10+ miles each day. I don’t really recommend this trip for families unless your children really enjoy outdoor activities and love camping. My daughter would have complained about being stuck in the car for hours at a time only to realize our destination was another hike or some oddball art. Personally, I had a terrific time. Would I go back? Probably not, just because of the amount of driving required. But the quality time I got with my dad was the highlight of the trip for me (and, of course, the stars).

What should you read?

Larry McMurtry, Larry McMurtry, and then more Larry McMurtry. I’m recommending classics like Horseman Pass By or the Last Picture Show. On my trip I read a book of his essays, In a Narrow Grave, and remembered how much I love Larry McMurtry all over again. I think I go through a McMurtry phase every 10 years or so. He’s such a talented writer, and nobody captures the dusty remoteness of small-town Texas like he does. I also found that having Larry McMurtry as my breakfast companion lead to lots of nice chats with other visitors to the area. Everyone seemed to want to talk about him. If you are traveling solo, this could be the way to meet fellow travelers. But for everyone else, it’s just quintessential Texas reading, and while I thought about recommending something other than Larry McMurtry for this trip, I just couldn't.

That said, if you finish your Larry McMurtry or just want a good audible for all those long car rides, I’m recommending The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe on audible, narrated by Dennis Quaid. This is the fast-paced story of the first Americans in space and how they got there. A book about astronauts and the space race is just the sort of thing you should be listening to while you’re gawping at those stars.