Arriving at the Marfa Lights Viewing station, I am impressed to find such a fancy structure erected all for the purpose of viewing lights on the horizon which may or may not exist. The “Marfa Mystery Lights” have been reported to appear in various colors, darting about the horizon on a clear night, morphing into varied shapes. There are many theories as to the cause of the lights, from UFOs to ghosts of Conquistadors looking for gold, to swamp gas.
Marfa Lights Viewing Center
By now, the wicked wind has brought in some pretty ominous looking clouds, and the temperature is plummeting. We are in for a cold, blustery night, too cold even for Conquistadors’ ghosts to be prospecting.
It is now well after dark, and the moon is obscured by cloud cover. We decide to take one walk around the viewing platform to see if there is at least some good people-watching. The parking lot has now filled up, so I am curious to see what kind of characters would wait out this kind of weather, all for the promise of some mystery lights. Only one couple has braved the elements to view from the platform, while the remainder of observers huddle together in their cars like it’s Lover’s Lane.
Lynne radios from her rig, “I am turning off the radio and turning in for the night.” But I am not giving up. I raise the shade of my bedside window and doze on and off, awaking every few minutes holding out hope for the glimpse of a light.
At one point, I decide to raise the shade higher, thinking perhaps the window screen is obstructing the view. As soon as I lie back down, I see LIGHTS! Glowing on the horizon in a vertical pattern – one green, and just below it, a golden light of the same size and intensity. My heart starts pounding as I try harder to focus, and at the same time, I start thinking of how I am going to wake Lynne now that her radio is off, and we have no cell signal. I jump to my knees in the bed…..wait….the lights just moved with me! I move back down and the lights again follow me. Then, I realize this light pattern looks familiar. I have seen the same color pattern before…..on my refrigerator control panel, now reflecting back in the window. DAMN!!
The source of my “Marfa Lights.”
I laid back down to try and get back to sleep, but between my vow to keep vigil throughout the night, imagining footsteps to the sound of crunching gravel outside my window, the rocking and rolling from the howling wind, and temperatures dropping down into the 30’s overnight, it was a fitful first boondock. The only “light” I saw in Marfa was the first light of daylight, when we high-tailed it out of there!
A few parting shots from Marfa…
Members of the Marfa Chain Gang wear orange crocs to match their orange and white jumpsuits.
Marfa Courthouse
The famous “Prada Marfa” Store — is it “Art” or an outlet?
Prada Marfa for all your desert hiking needs…
This devil doesn’t wear Prada.
Love it! Great photos too! You captured the Marfa Mystic just perfectly! I will now always think of Marfa when I see the reflection of my fridge lights on my rear window– ha ha!
I first thought, wow that’s pretty cool that no one vandalized the statue in front of the art work and then I looked closer and see why LOL. Wow, I think that place looks almost as lonely as our great Cement Capital of Texas! Funny about the lights too – deja vu to my frequent lament of “someone’s pulling my tail” (Wizard of Oz). Such interesting places you are getting to visit – keep having fun!!!!
Donald — I was disappointed about the lights. They have been described as something similar to our childhood “UFO sighting.”
HaHAHaaaaa… oh, Suzanne… I’ve done stuff like that soooooo many times … well, not the light from my fridge but from the moon itself… bright bright light shining in … scary … trees rustling … it was the wind and the moon… I swear vampires were about ….
I went right on by Marfa … love the Prada store… it’s world ~ Universe famous …
Hi, Carolyn — I do recall that night you spent in the haunted forest. LOL! I passed the Prada store again yesterday as I was leaving the park, and there were a couple of motorcycles and a car parked there. I am curious as to how it became “Universe famous.” I had never heard of it before reading blogs.
Well, Universe famous MIGHT be an exaggeration … lol but it interesting … here’s Wikii’s description… I didn’t realize or remember that it was 2006…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prada_Marfa
Back to the boonies, eh? well? at least you have yer pal … after that awning episode.. you need a few days to just say hey to the birdies…
Well, I somehow missed the “international press coverage.” I only learned about it from reading another RV blog. That seems to be my only news source these days. LOL!
Sadly, I said goodbye to my pal and Millie yesterday as we left Big Bend. (sniff, sniff) They are headed back to Chicago by way of the bluebonnets, and I am headed west. Off to see Guadalupe Mountain NP today. Ever go there? Doesn’t sound like much there…
I’m pretty sure I didn’t… I may at one time skirted about it like going to Carlsbad which I didn’t ‘really’ do either. About the only desert type thing I did enjoy was the White Sands Monument. AND the sandhill crane festival… aw, jeeez where was that… let me go see… you read Roxanne’s blog, right? she’s either in New Mexico or Arizona… but she’s an expert in that area … I think so. She loves the desert … I haven’t kept up with her in a while… good luck duck.. I don’t have her address and well? RVSue has probably been there too.
You see things so artistically and in a different light than I… you enjoy it all. I do too to an extent … but West Texas, New Mexico and Arizona are … well? you said you are going to Sedona, right? …. now THAT I did like ~ A LOT … Flagstaff ~ Santa Fe and Taos …. it’s all good. Anxious to read and see your desert stuff.
I can ‘feel’ my tiredness in these two posts… lol… I wanted TREEEEES
ahh Bosque del Apache NWR
http://amigoingsomeplace.blogspot.com/2012/11/bosque-del-apache-nwr-new-mexico.html
White Sands is surreal…
http://amigoingsomeplace.blogspot.com/2012/11/valley-of-fires-white-sands-new-mexico.html
I read those just now and remember … ohhhhh me… if I had started out as you are doing… yes, it is beautiful in its own way… all mountains are, to me. Guadalupe sounds sooo familiar but if I did go, didn’t want to remember it and didn’t blog about it…
I was soooooooo tired of desert by this time. But those sunsets and rises are the bomb!
I missed out on the day trip to the Guadalupe area when we were there, but those that went were full of praise about its beauty. Hope you find something there to show us! ;->
Have always wanted to go to the triumvirate of Marfa, Alpine and Fort Davis. Got close once, but had time for only a McDonald Observatory quick visit.
Virtual hugs,
Judie
Hi, Judie! Thanks for stopping by! My assessment so far is that Guadalupe National Park is GREAT if you are a hiker, but if not, there is not much to see here. Just a drive-by on the highway, and a stop at the vistor’s center. But the hiking is very good. Thanks for the comment.
Too funny! Love the Prada shot!