Chasing Aliens in Marfa, TX

In the Big Bend region, towns are few and far between. You can drive tens of miles without seeing civilization, and even if you do come upon other signs of human existence, sometimes the towns are incredibly small, with no services for roadtrippers. This is why the few surrounding towns that do have services, are quite the draw for tourists. The locals know this, and they make sure to invite out-of-towners with some entertaining and unique attractions.

One of the more interesting towns outside of Big Bend is Marfa, TX. Known for its artsy and mysterious vibe, the small town of just under 2,000 people is a welcome stop for tourists driving along US 90. Marfa may be small, but this town is certainly one you won't forget once you've visited.

A Valentine's Day windstorm forced us to switch some of our plans around, so we didn't spend nearly as much time in Marfa as we had hoped, but we were able to sneak in a few hours in this town that is known for its art installations and mystery lights. What now? Yes, mystery lights. But we'll get to those later.

There is no shortage of art, local shopping, and dining in Marfa, but we were on a time crunch, and so we decided to embark on a more thematic visit. We're all for quirky themes, particularly those that exemplify the mysteries of our wondrous universe. We also visited during the week of heightened UFO-related stories in the news post-spy balloon saga, so we definitely had otherworldly intrigue on our minds.

We began with dinner at Planet Marfa, an outdoor bar and Mexican food stand that really has nothing to do with anything extraterrestrial except its name, but it's a really fun, cozy atmosphere for a meal or a drink. The bar is the centerpiece of the patio area, which is lit up with campfires and string lights. There is a deck on top of the bar, a stage for live music in the back, and off to the side, a giant teepee with stairs leading to an underground ping pong table. Chairs and benches are strategically placed in small groups, most surrounding a central firepit. Each chair was draped with a Mexican blanket, inviting you to get cozy as you lounge. The aesthetic matches the laid back vibe. We walked in, chose an open firepit, and sat in the nearby chairs. It was a cool night but the roaring fire and Mexican blankets kept us toasty. We ordered some food from the stand and munched on bar peanuts as we waited for it to be cooked. There was no live music that night, but we enjoyed the collection of oldies and country music that was playing over the speaker.

We ordered nachos, chicken tacos, a mole bowl, and fries. Our main complaint is that, after waiting almost an hour to get our food despite being one of only a few parties there, much of our food was already cold when it arrived. We wonder if instead of giving us our food when it was done, if they let it sit so it could all go out at once. Being outdoors and cold, they definitely need a heater in the food stand if they're going to do that. The quality of the food was good, though, and we were there more for the lounge aspect anyway.

The downside to the lounge aspect was that we had to deal with a family blatantly ignoring the only rule posted for the entire restaurant, on a sign that reads, "Dogs and children welcome, but do not let them roam freely on the patio." We abided by the rule with our pup, but the nearby family let their two children run around loudly for the entire evening. This not only frustrated us and scared Tanner, but it was flat-out dangerous with so many roaring fires on the patio. It's disappointing because there is no doubt that Planet Marfa is special. We loved the atmosphere and the staff were very nice, but maybe the laid back vibe was a little too laid back and the staff should have reinforced the rule. Our overall dining experience just ended up being a bit hit-and-miss for us.

You may recall that we mentioned Marfa when we talked about this Prada Store in the middle of nowhere, that's not actually a store at all, but is really a permanent art installation that used to feature real Prada items, but humans are greedy thieves, and so now the bags on display are bottomless and the shoes are all left foot only. Though not actually in Marfa and actually closer to Valentine, TX, it sets the tone for Marfa art. We didn't make it all the way out to Prada on our Marfa visit, though it would have been fitting to go to Valentine on Valentine's Day! Instead, we had to wait until our voyage out of Big Bend to drive by the Prada as we made our way west on US 90. What we did see, though, was an art installation that's more in keeping with our extraterrestrial theme: Actual Contact. Anyone who knows the essence of Marfa can immediately see why this art installation fits so well, but the story behind it adds to the mysterious vibe.

Artist Jason W.A. Tucker spent years sharing his alien-esque drawings on cardstock, dropping cards off at various stores, where people could grab one for free. He left no identifying information on his art. Over time, as more and more people became owners of these unique and mysterious image cards, Tucker was inspired to dream bigger. He created a sculptural installation featuring his images on pillars, which was presented at Burning Man. After a couple of temporary installations, Tucker sought to create permanent pillars. Where better than Marfa, a town just as enigmatic as his art? Actual Contact contains 12 pillars, each standing at 10 feet high. The pillars are arranged east to west like solstice stones, and they each have one of Tucker's images inscribed. At night, the images light up, offering the illusion of floating alien-looking creatures in the desert darkness. Word is that this installation is just as wonderful in the day as it is at night, but we wanted to see those little aliens aglow!

After getting our alien amuse bouche, it was time to head out of downtown, to what is easily one of the most unique rest areas we've ever seen: The Marfa Lights Viewing Area. Like all Texas rest areas, people are allowed to stay there for 24 hours, and so when we pulled up, many trucks and campers were already lined up, ready to turn in for the night. The rest of us were just pulling up as spectators, but the best part was how diligent everyone was about turning off their vehicle lights. With displays like this, it only takes one person to ruin it all, and we're glad that everyone got the memo to keep it dark.

The Marfa Lights, aka Marfa Mystery Lights or Marfa Ghost Lights, are a fascinating phenomenon that has been observed by local Marfa residents for decades, with some accounts even dating as early as the 19th century. As word got out, these unexplained sightings began drawing intrigue from tourists. From this rest area viewing spot, rumor is that if you gaze out towards the horizon southeast of town, towards the distant Chinati Mountains, you might see lights dancing, brightening, and dimming. Viewers of this phenomenon have reported the lights as a variety of colors, from white, to red, to yellow, to blue, and while most report seeing the lights dancing slowly or remaining stationary, some have even said the lights have raced across their field of view.

Despite the large number of people that have reported seeing these lights, to this day no one knows what they are. Many on the more cynical side of the fence claim they must be some reflection of headlights; perhaps cars in town shine their lights a certain way, and the glow hits further away, towards the mountains. This seems likely, until you realize that 1, vehicles didn't even have headlights until well after the early sightings were reported, and 2, the lights aren't always seen, though there are always cars driving through Marfa. This latter debunking could be explained by atmosphere; perhaps headlights only reflect certain ways when the air is clear or there is a certain air pressure. All that to say, when we arrived to the viewing area, we assumed we'd see a whole lot of headlights, and no Marfa lights.

The believers in a more mystical explanation of this phenomenon wonder about paranormal activity, old Native spirits, or ghosts of Mexican Conquistadors. Others simply don't know but love that the lights show up, day after day, year after year.

We didn't have to sit in the dark long before we saw distant lights that we easily deciphered from the headlights. The headlights of distant cars glowed their cool white, stayed in pairs as headlights do, and traveled into and out of our field of vision depending on where the car was on the road. But, further to the left of these roads, we began seeing lights in groups of two and three, more golden with reddish undertones, and they did not travel in parallel. They mostly stayed still, but would flicker and then dim, and suddenly they were gone. A few seconds later, they'd come back. Now, we both have scientific minds, so we weren't quick to exclaim that we saw any spirits, not from outer space and not from folklore, but I was able to capture a video of these distant, dancing orbs, so you can be the judge for yourself.

No matter what we conclude about our mysterious sighting, we can say with confidence that sitting outside of Marfa in the darkness allowed us some incredible star viewing. Up until that point the nights had been cloudy and so we were patiently awaiting our first glimpse of a starry sky that we could never get outside of Boston. That's the beauty of the Big Bend. Whether you see the mystery lights or not, all you really have to do is look up, and you'll be reminded of the vast universe and all the possibilities that lie beyond our Earth. Marfa is the perfect town to embrace that wonder.