On a somewhat spur of the moment idea Amaris and Fox decided to take an extended weekend trip to one of the least visited National Parks in the United States, Big Bend in south west Texas. Prior to arriving at the park we made some planned, and unplanned, stops along the road less travelled. In our typical fashion, tons of fun was had along the way with positive surprises along with some lessons learned on what to do better on the next trip. Or as Fox likes to say, "we'll see" about going again :D
After work on Wednesday afternoon we began driving with little idea of how far we would make it before being too tired to drive. With the loose target of Midland / Odessa we set out and were soon heading west on I-20. A few hours into the drive hunger kicked in and Fox found Beehive, "An Iconic West Texas Steakhouse" , in Abilene. Dinner consisted of escargot in a garlic bath covered by a layer of cheese, two perfect 10 oz filet mignons aged with coffee grounds for thirty days and a delicious graham cracker crust cheesecake to finish the meal. While it is a bold statement, these are some of the best, if not the best, steaks we have ever had!
Following the ten star dinner we were on our way to Midland when the itis began to set in. Big Spring was the closest city, and despite Amaris commenting that is was nothing more than a small town with a refinery, Fox was able to find the most surprising hotel in the region. The fifteen story luxury Hotel Settles originally opened in 1930 as the tallest building between El Paso and Ft. Worth. Over the following decades the profound building faced decades of boom and bust until it was refurbished in 2006 by Brint Ryan to the tune of $30,000,000 to its former glory. For anyone passing through Texas on I-20 this is definitely a stop worth making whether for the night or simply a bite to eat in the restaurant.
The next leg of the journey was a drive through the Permian Basin on the way to Marathon, TX. The Permian is quite unique with a landscape inundated with drilling equipment, jack pumps basically as far as the eye can see, and sand dunes. South of Fort Stockton the landscape begins to rapidly change again as the mountains begin to emerge and we thoroughly enjoyed the vast emptiness of the desert. Marathon greeted us with a dry heat in the mid afternoon as we arrived at the last outpost before entering the wild of Big Bend National Park.
First stop in Marathon was the Gage Hotel Spa complete with a massage, relaxing in the heated pool, and a sweat out in the steam room. Prior to getting dinner we stopped by The French Company Grocery for some last minute supplies. They were well stocked but prepare to pay higher prices, as is expected, due to the remoteness of Marathon and lack of options.
Unfortunately the Gage Hotel was fully booked but that did not stop us from enjoying an early evening meal at the 12 Gage Restaurant and cocktail in the courtyard. The service, drinks, and food were absolutely delicious and well worth spending the time to enjoy a long meal. The hotel and restaurant regularly host events for anyone who can convince their loved ones to make the trek to the area.
Friday morning arrived after an interesting stay at La Loma Spirit Room, which is not your normal hotel and is a "refurbished" hostel. Needless to say, as can be seen from the pictures, this was a much different experience than the posh surroundings the night before in Big Spring. A quick stop was made at v6 Coffee Bar before heading south into the wide open expanse of South Texas and Big Bend National park.