Two Days to Home

March 12th, 2023, began the two-day finale of our OBP (Off the Beaten Path) tour of the Big Bend National Park. We departed early, before dark, to reach the nearby parking area for the Lost Mine trail before it filled up. Melissa, our guide, grabbed one of the last spots; it's a popular hike.

There was barely enough light at at the beginning. We were aiming for a good viewing location partway along the 2.4-mile (one way) uphill trail, and reached it without difficulty as the darkness began to lift. Here, Melissa is taking a photo. (Click on any image to enlarge.)

That bright spot is a half-moon (waning).

The view to the east.

A panoramic view, as the sun begins to strike the heights.

A few minutes later, at about 8:10, nature's art had begun to come alive. You must click on this one.

Half an hour later, on our downhill return, it was truly daytime.

We arrived at the van and began our drive. On regaining the desert floor and passing the west entrance, we were astonished to see a backup of incoming traffic as far as we could see. This was not due to an accident or other calamity; it was spring break. Sort of a calamity. You do not want to attempt a visit here during spring break, and OPB does not schedule any.

 

Before reaching the town of Alpine, we stopped to stretch our legs and peruse refreshments and novelties at the Little Burro country store.

The establishment's setting is dry, southwest Texas dry.

Image from Google StreetView

I took a closeup of the jalopy parked next to the highway.

Then we drove on. In the afternoon, we arrived at the Chinati Foundation, established in 1986 by the artist Donald Judd as a site for "permanent installation of large-scale works of art" in which "art, architecture, and the surrounding land are inextricably linked." The Foundation is expansive, covering multiple buildings and fields, and is definitely about conceptual rather than representational art. Inside photography is forbidden. Here's one of the buildings.

A peek through the glass.

That exhibit was about the different forms a stainless steel cube could take, employing open or missing sides, diagonal panels, etc.

OK. Now, we shall see three forbidden photos from the interiors of different buildings. The photographer shall remain nameless. First, a historic structure used to house GIs during the Second World War.

Several buildings were dedicated to the moods and tricks of light, color, and orientation.

And this one.

It was a short hop from the Foundation to our lodging for the night, the Hotel Paisano. It's proudly aware of the hotel's role in the production of the movie Giant (1956), having hosted Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean. Here's an image from StreetView ...

The next morning, March 13th, we drove in the AM darkness to the Buns 'n Roses for breakfast. Ordinarily, it would not have been open on a Monday, but Melissa had arranged our visit beforehand. As we had a fabulous breakfast, other visitors wandered in, seeing it was open. Here's a Google StreetView of the establishment.

Half an hour down the road, we paused at the Prada Marfa, a roadside exhibit of Prada goods inaugurated on October 1st, 2005. It remained unnoticed by the Texas Department of Transportation until 2013; then TxDOT considered it an advertisement that required a permit to be displayed along a US highway on unlicensed land. But there was no company behind it, just a solo artist, so in 2014 TxDOT classified it as a museum, with the Prada Marfa as its only exhibit! Unfortunately, all I have is, again, this StreetView:

While we were there, a van pulled out and a model in a black dress posed in front of the Prada for a photo shoot!

 

Then we climbed back into our van, traveled for 2½ to 3 hours to the El Paso airport, and thence home. If you haven't already, you must visit Big Bend National Park someday.