© Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd 280 Big Bend & West Texas West Texas is the land of wide open spaces. If you’ve ever wondered whether we’re going to run out of places to put people, west Texas is like a big sigh of relief. There are places where you can drive for hours and see few signs of other people. That’s not to say it’s the land of nothing: two national parks, one large city and a handful of interesting small towns offer worthwhile stops between your long stretches of solitude. Along I-10 there’s not much to look at, just scrub brush and open skies. But dip below the interstate and you’ll find a landscape that, while perhaps not traditionally beautiful, is captivating and unusual enough that you may find yourself staring out the windows for BIG BEND & WEST TEXAS BIG BEND & WEST TEXAS hours at a time. Sometimes the rugged terrain looks just like a backdrop for an old Western movie (more than a few have been filmed here) and at other times it looks like an alien landscape, with huge rock formations suddenly jutting out of the endless desert. There is a slowness here that gets under your skin. You may try to keep up with your email and cell phone for a day or two, but spend a week and you’ll feel less of a need to keep apace with the modern world. Moving to west Texas means dropping out, and a lot of visitors drawn to the laid-back lifestyle have been inspired to do just that. Even if you don’t buy a pair of boots, pack up your things, and relocate to the desert, odds are good you’ll come away from west Texas with a new outlook. HIGHLIGHTS Most Surprising Nightlife Music, margaritas and mixing with the locals at the Starlight Theater (p 291 ) in Terlingua ghost town Quirkiest Art Installation Fort Marfa Davis The Marfa Prada (p 295 ), in between Marfa Prada and Valentine Marathon Most Increasingly Scenic Big Bend Terlingua Big Bend’s Lost Mine Trail (p 286 ), which just National Park gets better and better as you climb Best Taxidermy The Gage Hotel in Marathon (p 300 ), both for quantity and for having a unique white buffalo Most Fun Learning Experience A late-night Star Party at McDonald Observatory (p 293 ) in Fort Davis lonelyplanet.com ᝲᝲ 0 100 km BIG BEND & WEST TEXAS Living Desert Stat Park 0 60 miles Rio Grande Lincoln Sitting Bull Falls Eunice 54 National Sweetwater Mesquite Andrews 20 Fort Bliss ὈForest 180 Colorado City 10 18 176 Franklin Carlsbad Caverns Whites 128 Big Spring 70 Mountains N e w M e x i c o National Park City Jal Colorado River Anthony 20 Big Springs State Park ᝲᝲ62 285 385 Santa Teresa State Park 277 T e x a s Dell City Permian Basin Midland BIG BEND&WESTTEXAS Guadalupe Mountains Red Bluff Lake 158 87 El Paso Hueco Tanks National Park Notrees 208 180 State Historical 62 Deleware Mountains 302 Midland International Airport North Concho River Monahans 158 Bronte Ciudad Juárez Park Salt Flat 302 Odessa MEX Sandhills 2 Orla Mentone State Park Odessa Fabens ᝲᝲ 18 Sierra Blanca Meteor ὄὈ Crater Mountains Monahans 10 54 OC Fisher Lake Pecos 137 385 San Angelo State Park Sierra Lake San Angelo Porvenir Blanca Apache Pecos River Lake Nasworthy Mountains 20 Toyah Twin Buttes 87 MEX 18 Reservoir 45 Toyah Ck Van Horn 10 17 285 67 Christoval U S A McCamey Fort M E X I C O 118 67 277 Balmorhea Fort 385 163 McKavett Balmorhea Stockton Davis State Park 10 State Mountains 10 190 Park Mountain Time Zone Toyahvale Eldorado 190 Central Time Zone 90 Villa Ahumada 166 Edwards Fort Davis National Plateau Fort McKavett Davis Valentine Historic Site 385 Sheffield 277 Sierra Vieja Mountains Ozona Rio Grande 67 Mountains State Park Fort Davis 285 Río Bravo 118 Stockton Sonora 17 Alpine Glass Plateau 10 Marfa Mountains Candelaria 2810 Marfa Mystery 277 C h i h u a h u a Lights Viewing Area Chinati Hot Springs Marathon Sanderson El Sueco Ruidosa Chinati Mountains67 Plata 118 90 377 170 Cibolo Creek Ranch Santiago385 MountainsBlack Gap Rocksprings Shafter Wildlife Rio Grande Langtry 163 Management Río Bravo del Norte Area Presidio Big Bend Ranch Seminole Canyon Comstock Ojinaga State Park State Historical Park 2627 Amistad National Fort Leaton State Redford Sauceda Presa de la Recreation Area MEX ὈὈHistoric Site ὈὈHeath Canyon MEX Colorado 45 Terlingua Amistad 16 Canyon Study Butte La Linda Del Rio Lajitas Chisos Basin 90 Brackettville Paseo C o a h u i l a Ciudad Acuña Chihuahuan Lajitas Big Bend Desert Santa National Park 277 Elena Spofford 18 Quemado 281 57 CHIHUAHUA ὈὈὈὈ BIG BEND & WEST TEXAS TEXAS WEST & BEND BIG .