Day 53 - Big Bend to Marfa

After an amazing couple of days in Big Bend, it was time to pack up and say goodbye to this awesome National Park.

We drove along one of the scenic drives to Terlingua Ghost Town. To be honest, it wasn't what we had in mind as a ghost town; whilst it was indeed an old mining town, a lot of the old ruins had been renovated and repurposed as houses or businesses.

Next was the small town of Lajitas, where we stopped to have strawberries and yoghurt near some goats! As you do.

Then we drove along the Mexican border to Presidio. By this point we had left the National Park and entered Big Bend Ranch State Park. This part of the drive was eerily quiet - we didn't spot a car for what seemed like an hour, not even a Border Patrol car. We had imagined a lot more activity this close to the border, but maybe this isn't a hot spot for 'illegals'?!

We did spot a number of tiny airstrips which proudly called themselves International Airports - presumably because they ferried people the short distance across to Mexico.

We were by this time anxious to get to our next destination - Marfa - in time to catch at least some of the England-Belgium game. Our progress was hindered by a massive stretch of road resurfacing, for which we had to wait an age to get escorted through the road works. Once underway, our relief soon turned to anger, as one of the resurfacing vehicles - going way too fast in the other direction on newly-laid gravel - kicked up a large stone which hit Fin's windshield, resulting in a chip and a large horizontal crack.

Poor Fin. His first injury :(

Even more eager to get to Marfa and some WiFi or mobile signal to work out what to do next, we came across a mandatory inspection station. Fearing that we'd have to empty our chock-a-block Fin to prove to absence of Mexicans, we approached gingerly. Best English accents prepared, we handed over our driving licenses. "Have you got proper ID?" the uniformed chap asked. "We have; they are somewhere hidden in the bottom of our trunk, shall I get them?" I apologetically asked. "Aren't you missing the soccer?" he asked, scanning the GB livery on our driving licenses. "Yeah, we're trying to catch the second half in Marfa", we pouted. "You'd better get going then - have a great day" he beamed, waving us through.

That was a glimmer of sunshine in an otherwise downer of an afternoon, and we continued to head North, watching the crack slowly grow as we did.

On entering Marfa, we bypassed the campsite and headed straight for a bar in town. It was showing the footy and also had WiFi, so while I sat at the bar watching the second half of the game, Sam undertook a monumental session of online research and numerous phone calls to get Fin booked into a car doctor to get his windshield replaced. Epic work, Sam!

Feeling a little happier about Fin and indifferent to the defeat by Belgium, we headed to El Cosmico campground.

We expected that this was going to be a bit of a funky campground with an alt lifestyle vibe, and we weren't disappointed. Communal areas had hammocks, clothes-optional hot tubs, a shared kitchen and bar area. The shop sells all you essentials, including incense, herbal tea and vagina colouring-in books. It was a very cool place to spend a night.

After swinging in the hammocks for a while, chewing the fat with some free-spirited American youths, it was time to find some food. Options were somewhat limited, so after a quick meal in town we headed back to the hammocks and waited for darkness.

Its arrival prompted us to get back in the car and head in search of the Marfa Lights. These mysterious lights appear, move and disappear in the distance. No-one can be certain what they are: are they visitors from another world, secret government experiments, or strange lifeforms from our own Earth communicating across the desert? Personally I poo-poo the studies that have 'proven' they are merely car headlights from the Interstate in that direction!