My pail is full when it comes to my “bucket list” of travel desires! I’m slowly checking them off one by one. National parks, natural wonders and history related subjects usually take priority, but every once in awhile, some else, maybe unusual, catches my fancy. This was the case for Marfa, Texas.
By definition, Marfa was historically a ranch town in far west Texas before outsiders found it. You have to really want to go there to get there, and I wanted to get there. Of course you know I love small towns, so that part is right up my alley, but Marfa is known for these mysterious lights. I first learned about the “Marfa Lights” through family, then NPR and other publications. The subject just kept finding me so that was clearly a sign I needed to find them! So I did. And it was awesome.
There’s great debate about what the lights are and if they’re even real. Some theories claim they are ranch lights, cars, trains, static electricity, etc. Supposedly there’s nothing out there. Those who have seen them say there are very much real and can dance across the sky, change color and may even chase each other. Some of the first “recorded” sightings took place in the late 1800s.
There is a lovely rest stop and viewing platform outside of Marfa.. We arrived about sundown to claim our spot. Some say early evening is a good time to get a view. We weren’t the only ones hoping to catch a glimpse. Travel rigs and vehicles gradually streamed in as the last of daylight slipped away.
There’s a lot of waiting that takes place for things like this. We’re not shy so we struck up conversations with those willing interact. The group we visited with were academics out of Austin also there, like us, for fun and adventure on the high desert. We had a great chat and then things started happening, or did they? There were lights, and they might have moved, or did they? Then there were other things that appeared, but were they lights from the highway? Debates started, excitement grew, but can we claim we actually saw them? We don’t know for sure, though we may have seen something!
But, that’s part of the fun isn’t it? Whether we saw something or not, we met some nice people out there on the Chihuahuan Desert, took in some fresh evening air, saw spectacular stars one rarely sees now days with the light pollution, put our phones down and spent time with others. For a moment, time stood still and we escaped the stresses of regular life to take the chance to believe in a fairytale as adults when long ago our imaginations for such things ran dry. And that my friends, was worth the miles, mysterious lights spotted or not!
To read more about the lights, here’s a link from the BBC: The mysterious “Ghost Lights” of Marfa, Texas
Would I do it again? I plan to!
Gorgeous scenery.
Sky turning blue.
Sun’s going down! Let’s get this party started!
I’m not an astrophotographer (another bucket list hobby), but I tried my best with the lacking equipment I had that night. Seriously though, isn’t this incredible?
The marker with a little more explanation.