Last week
C and I headed down to a part of the world I'd never visited before,
Marfa, Texas, where I'll be for the next month or so, thanks to a
Lannan Foundation residency. (Thank you, Lannan Foundation!) Since the residency does not include family and friends we arrived a few days early to see the town and environs together, before I embarked on my stay. I had only a rough sense of Marfa from various books, films, TV reports, articles, and personal accounts I'd read or heard over the years, but I knew it was small--it is, with roughly a little over 2,000 people--and full of artists--it is the home of several arts foundations, especially the
Judd Foundation and
Chinati Foundation, as well as numerous galleries--while also being a Southwestern town not far from the
Mexican border.
C and I had a wonderful time together, seeing many of the tourist and off-the-grid spots (including a trip to nearby
Alpine, home of
Sul Ross State University); sampling the restaurants; enjoying cocktails at the famous
Hotel Paisano, where
Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and
James Dean lodged during the filming of
Giant (1956); and encountering all kinds of interesting people (see below). He has since flown home, and I am settling in, reading, writing, battling giant male turkeys (I won, without any physical violence), observing unflappable bunny rabbits, and, when I need breaks, watching the finals of the
Copa América, which
Chile won via penalty kicks, 4-2, over
Argentina.
If you happen to be in or near Marfa, I'll be on the air with
KTRS 93.5 Marfa Public Radio this Friday, July 1, at 6:30, and reading this upcoming Sunday, July 3, 2016, at 4 pm at the
Hotel St. George, home of the
Marfa Book Company. Even if you aren't passing through, consider a visit. It's worth seeing!
A few photos (I'll post a second set) tomorrow!
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| Heading to Marfa from El Paso |
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| At Chuy's Restaurant in Van Horn, Texas |
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| Some of the mountains near Marfa |
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US Border Patrol station, on the
way to Marfa (inside Texas's borders) |
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C at the famous Prada Marfa
installation, created by Berlin-based
artists Elmgren & Dragset,
35 miles outside town |
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Vandals had cracked the Marfa Prada
installation's glass! (Why?) |
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A weather plane/dirigible/drone,
in the high desert outside Marfa |
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| At the Hotel St. George, Marfa |
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| The Marfa arch, downtown |
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Desert flora, with a lizard
hidden somewhere in there |
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One the peaks on the way
from Alpine, Texas |
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Eagles band artist
Boyd Elder (at left), with friend
outside the Hotel St. George |
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C photographing some of the wild beans,
at the Chinati Foundation |
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Judd's 15 works in concrete
(it was blazing out there!) |
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| Me standing between the sculptures |
