how many miles to alpine?

After a night in San Antonio it was decided we should refuel and hit the road with a BBQ lunch in our bellies. A quick search let us know our travel food idol Anthony Bourdain was going to be no help. He was too cool for San Antonio BBQ and Tex Mex. Sorry Anthony- your loss.  Andrew Zimmer  was going to have to point us in the right BBQ direction.  Off we headed to Two Bros BBQ Market.  Two Bros BBQ was delicious. The smoked sausage and pulled pork we shared hit the spot.  They also had a great pickle bar and something that was a little unexpected: Grape Kool-Aid was a drink option.  

Two Bros BBQ Pulled Pork

Once lunch was over, with filled out bellies we hit the road to Alpine, TX. After driving for hours we passed Fort Stockton. Fort Stockton had three exits just off Interstate 10. Lots of options for gas. Eric's co-pilot (ie. Stacy) was very optimistic the Alpine exit would also be a cornucopia of gas stations. Much to the co-pilot’s (ie.Stacy's) dismay this was not the case. It was either turn around and go back to Fort Stockton or run out of gas on the way to Alpine. After trying to interject humor, the car was headed back to Fort Stockton. We pulled into a gas station with only 7 miles left to go on the tank. One of us (ie. Stacy) was still trying to find humor. One of us just knew that we would be stranded on the interstate.  At least we can both laugh about this now. By both of us, we mean one of us. When people tell you anytime that you see a gas station in West Texas to fill up-  listen to those sage words of advice. Fill up. Even if you're at half a tank. Fill up. Trust us!  

The highway into Alpine was quiet. We were in awe of the scenery. Each mile became better and better. We were both excited and in wonder of what lay ahead.      

Alpine and Marfa Ahead 

We stopped in Alpine for dinner at La Casita. Another fun fact: a lot of places aren't open in Alpine on certain days of the week. Things are hit or miss. La Casita hit the spot and saved us from traveling hungry. 

Big Bend Brewing, Tejas Clara.

Marfa was where we ended our day. We were going to do it Marfa style. Our first AirBnB in an Airstream. Our host (thankfully) had the heater going a full blast when we arrived. It was so cold! Eric was living his best life in the Airstream. It's safe to say Stacy wasn't. If you're a fan of tight spaces, limited hot water for your showers, and a bathroom a foot away from the bed then the Airstream is for you! Stacy slyly suggested the next morning that Eric take the first shower. After many attempts and a (slight) meltdown, Eric was able to get the shower door to shut.  

Apache Pines RV Park. Stardust neon in the distance.

With the car reloaded, we headed into Marfa for coffee and the best breakfast burritos of our life. Marfa is not well marked. If you see a lot of cars parked around a place then it's safe to say that's the place you've been searching for. Eric was wearing his Bu-cee's shirt with a Matthew McConaughey quote from Dazed and Confused, "It would be a whole lot cooler if you did." It seemed the only logical place to go for breakfast was a place the mighty McConaughey highly recommend. Marfa Burrito was breakfast burrito heaven!  

This burrito, y'all. Yes. 

Stuffed full of Marfa Burrito goodness we walked around Marfa taking in the sights and the shops. We took photos along the way. Be sure to check out our Instagram if you'd like to see more photos from Marfa. Our next stop was to the art installation, Prada Marfa.  This has been on Stacy's bucket list for over ten years. We were this close. We had to scratch it off. After photo bombing several other tourists, we decided to head on our way. We stopped more than a few times for photos along the way back through Marfa to Alpine. We also may have acquired a cool looking, weathered, skull along the road on one of these stops. Yes, we kept it. This is Texas and this is a road trip. It seemed appropriate.    

Prada Marfa

We retraced through Marfa and headed back to Alpine for the night. Our second AirBnB stay awaited us this time at Pinon Ranch Guest Cottage. We were able to walk around the grounds, enjoying the horses, windmill, and deer. The scenery here was beautiful. It was a nice tranquil change of pace. No shower doors to fuss with and ample hot water!  

Horse at Pinon Ranch Guest Cottage

After befriending the horse we headed into Alpine to check out the Museum of the Big Bend. The museum is very informative on the history of Big Bend and the region. It helped us decide to drive to Marathon and enter the park through the (northern) Persimmon Gap entrance in hopes to see more of the park. We knew our time at Big Bend was going to be limited. After driving past a few places that were closed for dinner, we stumbled into Plaine Coffee. It was a fun coffee shop meets laundry kinda place. The staff was super helpful. They were able to suggest a place that was open for dinner: The Saddle Club. We had a great meal and we had to laugh that the options there were all very Cajun! A shrimp poboy in the desert never tasted so good!  

We went to bed that night wondering what excitement the next day would hold.  Big Bend or bust!  


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