TEXAZTASTE
  • Home
  • Blog
    • AZ Eats
    • About Town
    • Travel
    • Health, Wellness & Recipes
    • Marci’s Favorites
  • About
  • Events
  • Shop
  • Contact
TEXAZTASTE
  • Home
  • Blog
    • AZ Eats
    • About Town
    • Travel
    • Health, Wellness & Recipes
    • Marci’s Favorites
  • About
  • Events
  • Shop
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Travel

Three Days In Marfa

  • 20 July 2019
  • No comments
  • 1K views
  • 5 minute read
  • TexazTaste
  • Blog
  • Travel
  • 20 July 2019
  • No comments
  • 1K views
  • 5 minute read
  • TexazTaste
Total
8
Shares
3
0
5

Cibolo Creek Ranch

A recent family trip led us to the stark beauty of West Texas and the trendy town of Marfa. Preferring adventure and outdoor activities, we opted to stay at the Cibolo Creek Ranch. Cibolo Creek Ranch is a luxury resort located inside the crater of an extinct volcano in the Chinati mountains on 30,000 acres 30 miles south of Marfa. The resort was built around three 19th century forts that were strategically located on the grounds of springs. These springs, interestingly, were once the only water source between El Paso and the Rio Grande River. The guest rooms are scattered throughout the forts, and retain a sense of Old World charm with adobe walls, cottonwood beams, Saltillo tile and other Mexican design accents.

The remoteness of the locale and rustic beauty of the land has attracted such celebrities as Mick Jagger, Jerry Hall, Bruce Willis and Tommy Lee Jones.  Most recently, Cibolo Creek Ranch has made headlines as the “storied West Texas ranch” where Justice Scalia passed away.  If you have a private jet, you can fly right onto the private landing strip on the ranch. Alternatively, you can follow our lead and fly commercially into El Paso, where we rented a car to drive two and a half hour southeast to the ranch.

Owner John Poindexter, a history buff, purchased the ranch in 1988 and oversaw an extensive, multi-year renovation.  Activities on the ranch are numerous and centered on the outdoors, from horseback riding to skeet shooting and cruising around on ATV’s.  It is truly a gem in West Texas, and a great launching point to discover much of this sprawling, high desert countryside. 

Therefore, for our first day, we stayed put, riding horses in the morning and shooting skeet in the afternoon, pausing in between to lounge by the pool.  We also chatted up some other guests who had spent the previous day driving around Big Bend National Park.  They lent us their map, and we set the alarm for 6 am so that we could make the most out of the following day.

Big Bend National Park

After a breakfast of chilequiles on “The Ranch” we drove south on 67 to the border town of Presidio, then made a left turn onto FM170, a beautiful curving country road that follows the Rio Grande river.  Following the road through Lajitas and the famed former-ghost-town-turned-chili-cookoff-mecca of Terlingua, we entered Big Bend National Park on RR 118. 

The landscape in and around the park reminded us of Arizona, with octotillo cacti and desert brush, colors of sage, brown and grey completing the scenery.  Our destination was the Chisos Basin which rises above the Chihuahuan desert floor at 5,400 feet.  The road has sharp curves and steep grades and not recommended for trailers longer than 20 feet and RV’s longer than 24.  Or for people who get violently car sick, for that matter.

The views were stunning, and having only a short amount of time, we opted for a quick 3 mile hike near the visitor center.  The temperature was cool, about 20 degrees cooler than that of the town of Terlingua.  Nonetheless, be sure to have plenty of water on hand and some snacks in the car for grouchy kids.

By this time we were famished and stopped for lunch at the Lajitas Golf Resort, a 27,000 acre property known for its unusual Hole 11A where you putt off from the US to a hole 110 yards across the river in Mexico (there is also a normal Hole 11). We made a mental note to come back to stay either here or at The Gage in Marathon, TX, in order to do a bucket list item:  taking a raft across the Rio Grande to ride donkeys into the Mexican town of Boquillas. However, this was located at the end of the road in Big Bend in the Rio Grande Village, and we just didn’t have the time. For now, we just settled with dipping our feet in the beautiful Rio Bravo and praying that a wall never comes to sully the stunning vistas of this unique part of the US.

Chinati Foundation and Prada Marfa

There is much ado about the art and art galleries of Marfa, specifically the Chinati Foundation and Prada Marfa.  The Chinati Foundation is a must see, as the brain child of Donald Judd, the visionary who arguably started the Marfa art scene.  The large-scale art installations at the Chinati Foundation are from various modern and contemporary artists and are displayed among the grounds or in the buildings that once housed German WWII POW’s (which is why in the buildings you will see original signs in German).  Hubby and the kids were a bit confused by the art, but I felt it led an interesting discussion into the question of , “What defines art?”. 

We had a delicious lunch in the newly remodeled Hotel Saint George and made the obligatory visit to The Hotel Paisano to take in a bit of Marfa history.  For, before there was Donald Judd, there was the movie Giant, with Liz Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean. The Paisano was the headquarters during the filming of the movie and movie memorabilia is abundant (please tell me you have seen the movie…it is fabulous!). 

On the way out of town, we pulled off the roadside to snaps pics of Prada Marfa, technically located a mile west of the town of Valentine.  I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to locate the building, but it is literally on the side of the road, and everybody makes a stop to catch a selfie and post on IG, including yours truly.  Until next time, happy trails, y’all!  xoM

Cibolo Creek Ranch

97139 US Hwy 67Marfa, Texas  79843

Toll Free: 1 (866)-496-9460 Direct: (432)-229-3737

www.cibolocreekranch.com

All photos by Marci Symington for TEXAZTASTE.COM.

Liked it? Please share:
fb-share-icon
Tweet
Pin Share
Total
8
Shares
Share 3
Tweet 0
Pin it 5
Related Posts
Continue Reading
  • Blog
  • Health, Wellness & Recipes

Vegan Chickpea Salad Sandwich

For my first recipe of 2021, I am going to share my Vegan Chickpea Salad Sandwich with you. This sandwich is one of my most popular Instagram posts, and the…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
  • About Town
  • Blog
  • Travel

Mountain Shadows Resort Staycation

If your travel plans have been waylaid by the current pandemic, I encourage you to consider a “staycation” at one of the valley’s most chic and stylish resorts, Mountain Shadows…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
  • About Town
  • AZ Eats
  • Blog

Dine Like A Local : Dinner | The Scout Guide

The Scout Guide Phoenix Scottsdale followers nominated an impressive 28 local restaurants for the Favorite Dinner section, an indication of how many wonderful businesses we have in the valley. Please…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
  • About Town
  • AZ Eats
  • Blog

Dine Like A Local : Breakfast & Brunch | The Scout Guide

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and with choices like the ones that The Scout Guide readers nominated, I am left wondering why anyone would argue otherwise.…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
  • About Town
  • AZ Eats
  • Blog

Reopened Asian Dining Concepts in Phoenix, AZ

Over the last few months, I have been covering many restaurants that reopened following the COVID-19 shut down. I continue to be impressed with the efforts all have taken to…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
  • Blog
  • Health, Wellness & Recipes

Stuffed Acorn Squash With Black Beans, Lentils, and Brown Rice

When the holidays roll around, I often find myself looking for interesting options for friends and family who have dietary restrictions and cannot partake in the ubiquitous turkey with stuffing.…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
  • About Town
  • AZ Eats
  • Blog

Dine Like a Local: Coffee & Tea | The Scout Guide

I have to admit that I have been looking forward to working on the Dine Like a Local: Coffee & Tea category as an excuse to scoot about town to…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
  • Blog
  • Health, Wellness & Recipes

Vegetarian Moroccan Stew

I will never forget the first time I ate at a Moroccan restaurant in Paris in 1992. For a girl who grew up in South Texas, my range of exotic…
Continue Reading

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

I can’t stop eating this guilt-free, irresistibl I can’t stop eating this guilt-free, irresistible snack! You have to crack open a bag of ParmCrisps crunchy goodness. It’s keto-friendly, sugar-free and vegetarian, so everyone can enjoy these cheesy crisps. A snack this good will guarantee that you’ll stick to your New Year Resolutions. 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
DISCOUNT ALERT: ParmCrisps is giving my followers 25% OFF their orders with promo code TEXAZTASTE over at www.parmcrisps.com today only! 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Follow @parmcrisps on Instagram and experience these ParmCrisps in all of their glory!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
#snackmix  #premium #protein #newyear #newyearsresolution #newyearnewyou
#parmcrisps #ketofriendly  #lowcarbdiet #ketosnacks #healthyeating #zerocarbs #lowsugarsnacks #sugarfree #lowcaloriesnack #glutenfreesnack #snack 	#cheesesnack #Costco #CostcoFinds
Glow Bowl from @eatflowerchild has a delicious com Glow Bowl from @eatflowerchild has a delicious combination of sweet potato noodles with bok choy, zucchini, jalapeños, shiitake mushrooms, and snap peas in a coconut milk sauce. #flowerchild #glowbowl #vegan #azblogger #foodblogger #instafood #igfoodies #foodie #foodwriter #foodstagram #azfoodie #foodphotographer #foodlover #bloglovinfood #instafoodie #eater #dailyfoodfeed #foodbeast #phoenixeats #phoenixfoodie #huffposttaste #texaztaste #eatsaz #azfoodblogger #foodandwine #thedailybite #myphx
This #tacotuesday I find myself outside on this be This #tacotuesday I find myself outside on this beautiful winter day enjoying #tacos at #joyridetacos on their lovely patio. I chose their chipotle shrimp, the veggie, and the Baja fish taco.  And I have to wash that all down with a blood orange margarita of course. Do you have any fun taco Tuesday plans? 

#azblogger #foodblogger #instafood #igfoodies #foodie #foodwriter #foodstagram #azfoodie #foodphotographer #foodlover #bloglovinfood #instafoodie #eater #dailyfoodfeed #foodbeast #phoenixeats #phoenixfoodie #huffposttaste #texaztaste #eatsaz #azfoodblogger #foodandwine #thedailybite #myphx
Starting the week off @sipcoffeeandbeer_ with thei Starting the week off @sipcoffeeandbeer_ with their classic egg muffin, fried eggs with white cheese, and chicken sausage patties on a toasted English muffin. 

#sipcoffee #sipcoffeeandbeerhouse #eggmuffin #whatsforbreakfast #azblogger #foodblogger #instafood #igfoodies #foodie #foodwriter #foodstagram #azfoodie #foodphotographer #foodlover #bloglovinfood #instafoodie #eater #dailyfoodfeed #foodbeast #phoenixeats #phoenixfoodie #huffposttaste #texaztaste #eatsaz #azfoodblogger #foodandbeer #thedailybite #myphx
What are y’all excited to read this year? I wan What are y’all excited to read this year?  I want to put my Amazon gift certificates to use and am looking for some suggestions!  #bookclubfavorites #bookclub #whattoreadnext #whattoreadnow
Avocado Toast Hearth '61 style, with poached egg, Avocado Toast Hearth '61 style, with poached egg, roasted poblano, queso fresco, and watermelon radishes.  Delicious food and one of the most beautiful views of Camelback Mountain from anywhere in the valley. 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
#mountainshadows #hearth61 #avocadotoast #paradisevalley #paradisevalleyeats #azblogger #foodblogger #instafood #igfoodies #foodie #foodwriter #foodstagram #azfoodie #foodphotographer #foodlover #bloglovinfood #instafoodie #eater #dailyfoodfeed #foodbeast #phoenixeats #phoenixfoodie #huffposttaste #texaztaste #eatsaz #azfoodblogger #foodandwine #thedailybite #myphx
TEXAZTASTE
  • Home
  • AZ Eats
  • About Town
  • Travel
  • Health, Wellness & Recipes
  • Marci’s Favorites
© Marci Symington. All rights reserved. Web Design & Development by Found it Digital

Input your search keywords and press Enter.