And on the fifth (and sixth) night of the Great West Texas Road Trip of 2018, we slept with ghosts in Terlingua.
The tiny Texas outpost is a former mining town that was pretty much abandoned after World War II and, as of the 2010 census, houses only 58 full-time residents.
Now, Terlingua mostly operates as a tourist destination for Big Bend visitors with several low-key hotels and restuarants, as well as outfitting services. The town also plays host to two separate International Chili Cook-Off Championships on the same weekend in November, which apparently is a huge party and we sadly missed by just a week.
There’s more people dead than alive in Terlingua. This crowded boothill cemetery hosts hundreds of graves, while only 58 people live in town.
Terlingua is a “blink-and-you’ll-miss-it” kind of place. Literally. We drove by the entire thing on our way in, including this welcome sign on the highway.
The quiet morning scene at Buzzard’s Roost.
There’s nothing like spending the night in a tipi in a remote desert with a keurig machine within arm’s reach.
10/10 would sleep in a tipi again
Is that me, or the ghost of Jackson Maine?
Our itinerary for the last full day of the trip included hitting the Hot Springs Canyon Trail and the Santa Elena Canyon Trail, two must-do’s from my research of the massive park. But first things first… a hearty breakfast!
We were still pretty wiped out, calorie-wise and soreness-wise, from the previous day’s Emory Peak and South Rim Loop exploration, so it was a nice relief to get revved up for the day at a local breakfast spot instead of wolfing down another half-melted granola bar.
The go-to spot for coffee and breakfast in Terlingua is the coffee shop at boutique hotel La Posada Milagro, Espresso Y Poco Mas (“espresso and a little bit more”). I had a massive breakfast burrito (eggs, bacon, beans, cheese) “with a little bit more” (avocado) while Gordon, not typically a breakfast eater, ate grilled cheese.
And, let me just say… drinking espresso after going five days without strong coffee makes you feel like an entirely new person.
On to Big Bend!