Shops, restaurants and galleries in Marfa are notorious for keeping odd hours even on a normal day of business, so you can imagine that barely anything was open on Thanksgiving Day.
I made a reservation at one of the exactly two restaurants in the entire town open for dinner at 3:45 p.m., which is by far the earliest I’ve eaten Thanksgiving dinner in my entire life. So by the time I ran and we drove to Prada and back, there were only a few hours to kill anyway.
The artsy details of this dusty ghost town made for some great…CONTENT! so we basically had a photo shoot day and by that I mean Gordon earned his keep as my instagram boyfriend. Thanks :)
Presidio County Courthouse.
From a plaque on the building: “A landmark of the Big Bend. Large dome is visible for miles. Constructed of native stone and brick made at Marfa. Stucco added later. Built 1886 in this county’s third seat of justice. First county seat was Fort Leaton on the Rio Grande, second, Fort Davis. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark—1964.”
View of quiet downtown Marfa from the Presidio County Courthouse.
Marfa water tower. I used this as my landmark when I went on my long run down the highway.
“Giant Marfa” by John Cerney and Michael Nesmith.
One of the coolest things we stumbled upon on our Marfa Thanksgiving was the “Giant Marfa” installation by John Cerney, a self-proclaimed highway muralist who specializes in cutting and painting giant plywood figures for display on highways across the country.
This piece is a dedication to the 1956 film “Giant,” which stars James Dean (pictured), Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson and was filmed in West Texas during the summer of 1955. If you look closely, you can see plywood figures of the film crew, including director George Stevens.
Cool time-lapse video of John Cerney working on the James Dean figure:
Visitors who stop and get out of the car will be pleasantly surprised to hear music accompanying the structure; secretly planted speakers play tunes by Michael Nesmith & The First National Band Redux.
Behind-the-scenes video of “Giant Marfa” set-up:
The exhibit was completed only in October of 2018, so it’s brand-new, and is located five miles west of Marfa on Highway 90, on a ranch where “Giant” was actually filmed.
Making use of my jumpsuit.
Another closed art studio—but at least we could peek through the windows.
Let’s Truck! This area is used for outdoor movie screenings and other community gatherings.
I love this picture. An out-of-use gas station repurposed for… ART!
Lineaus Hooper Lorette’s New Star Grocery Art Museum.
There was one art gallery open on Thanksgiving—the New Star Grocery Art Museum. We knocked on the door, not expecting an answer, but were greeted by cacophonous barking. A man’s hand beckoned us in—“only if you don’t mind dogs”—and that’s how we found ourselves in Lineaus Hooper Lorette’s art gallery, along with no less than a dozen dogs.
The New Star showcases multiple artists’ work, from creepy, life-like masks to blown glass to mixed media political dioramas and paintings done by Lorette’s mother.
A quick Google search reveals that Lorette is a CPA and owner of Lineaus Athletic Company, which sells handcrafted leather medicine balls, punching bags and footballs.
The medicine balls retail for $650 and he once sold four to Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger.
“All CPAs want to do something honest for a living,” he said in a 2010 interview with Monica Khemsurov for Sight Unseen.
Beyoncé and Solange came here four years ago; alas, Planet Marfa Beer Garden was closed on Thanksgiving.
Gordon outside Planet Marfa.
Boyz 2 Men/Bad Hombres, a cool looking bar/vegan-friendly restaurant that was unfortunately closed. Apparently they serve breakfast tacos and killer bbq.
“THEY’RE KIND OF EXPENSIVE”
❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Nothin’ chillin’ at the…
The Hotel Paisano is one of Marfa’s famous landmarks, as the cast and crew of “Giant” stayed here during filming, including James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson.
View from inside the courtyard at the Hotel Paisano.
Thanksgiving drinks at the Hotel Paisano: Pimms Cup and an Old Fashioned.
These rolls were by far the best thing I ate all week.
Thanksgiving dinner at LaVenture, a restaurant inside the Hotel Saint George. Little did we know this would be our last real meal for a few days.
After dinner, we wandered back to El Cosmico and collapsed for a three-hour nap, waking up well after dark—the perfect time to check out the famed “Marfa Mystery Lights.” Ghosts, aliens, or simply headlights from the highway? We’ll never know.
