Art and History in Alpine, TX

Our remote camping experience was most welcome after our busy blitz across Texas, but the downside was, we were an hour away from town. The ranch where we were staying had a small country store for any necessary essentials, but sooner or later, we knew we'd want to drive into downtown Alpine, TX to resupply. Fortunately, this would be a fun resupply day because Alpine has a variety of attractions, activities, and events.

Like Marfa, Alpine has a love of art, history, and its surrounding geography. It's larger than Marfa, housing over 6,000 residents and Sul Ross, a Texas state university. There are plenty of shops and restaurants, plus a continuous events calendar for those who are spending an extended period of time in town. Because we only drove in for one day, we split our time between running errands and seeing some of the attractions.

Alpine seems like an unlikely place to have a natural foods store, but Blue Water Natural Foods lies right on the outskirts of downtown. Naturally, we needed to take advantage and resupply there. (Catch the pun?) We were pleasantly surprised at how well-stocked this store was with extremely high quality foods, some brands we know and love, and others brand new to us. (Catch the pun? Okay, I'll stop now). We hoped that as we traveled the country, we would find new stores with new items that we could try, that fit into our clean and organic lifestyle. We know this can be difficult sometimes, but it wasn't here! We found some amazing regional and local brands of high-quality foods with unrefined ingredients.

With our grocery haul packed into coolers, we were ready to head downtown and explore. We first stopped at the Museum of the Big Bend, located on the Sul Ross campus. We're not sure why - probably because everything is small and historic in the area - but we were expecting a little building with some information on the Big Bend. We were mistaken. This building and its exhibits are state-of-the-art and absolutely spectacular. Cathy the volunteer docent was a fantastic resource, explaining the museum's history and architecture, and telling us what to expect from all of the exhibits. The exhibits themselves were displayed in a variety of formats, from video to written, and some interactive. They told stories of the history of the Big Bend and its role in the journey of Texas from becoming a Mexican state, to gaining its independence, to becoming a US state. We read about the Natives in the area, as well as the development of the railway that was built to bring supplies into the region. A railroad runs through Alpine to this day and even houses an Amtrak that visitors can use if they'd prefer to leave their cars and ride the rails into town.

Aside from the Big Bend exhibits, the museum also had a beautiful portrait photography exhibit exemplifying Texas, as well as one of the best cartography exhibits we've ever seen. The museum has an impressive collection of maps of Texas and Mexico, dating from as early as the Spanish and Portuguese colonies all the way through the 2000s. The room displayed the maps in chronological order and we were captivated by the changing shapes and borders of Mexico and the states through the centuries. Some maps showed specific details such as popular trades and highways, while others illustrated the differences in cartographers' perspective during the same time period.

Right at the entrance to the main exhibit was a vast wall poster, glistening with rainbows from the colorful window that lies opposite it. On the poster is this quote from Ross Maxwell, the first superintendent of Big Bend National Park and namesake of one of the most scenic drives in the Park. We loved this explanation for this frontier, decorated in such vast, majestic ecology, that to find this land all in one place, can only be the work of a higher power.

Anthony and I joke that we often work backwards when we explore as tourists, waiting until the latter part of our trip to visit visitor's centers. We did it again in Alpine, popping in to see what we missed and what we should keep in mind for next time. The visitor's center is great, though, and even has free water bottles and souvenirs such as pens, banners, and postcards. We picked up a mural tour guide before heading out. One of Alpine's most popular draws for tourists are the murals that can be found all over town. We needed to pick up our last remaining supplies and head back to camp, so we couldn't do the full tour of 44 murals (we hear there are even more than the 44 on the tour!), but we parked the truck and walked to some, including one of the most famous, the Sul Ross Alpine Mural. The art is vibrant and depicts so many aspects of life in Alpine, from the Natives to the present-day shops and companies.

For its size and remoteness, Alpine is certainly a town that you could visit for a week or two and not get bored. As happens with our limited time in a place, we only scratched the surface of what Alpine offers. The calendar of events showcased the upcoming Cowboy Poetry festival, as well as daily community activities such as BINGO, Zumba, and karaoke. There is hiking right in town, and it's not your average nature trail. You're sure to see "art" on your hike, in the form of abandoned desks and bikes embedded into trees. And if you want to encapsulate the quintessential small western town vibe, head to Murphy Street. Just be sure to go when the shops and restaurants are open, because lots of places around here have limited hours.

Alpine charmed us and was a delightful cherry on top of all our Big Bend adventures. We truly felt like we got an introduction to the culture and landscape of the Southwest, but with the unique Texas twist that we've been enjoying on our quest across the country.