May 8, 2013 - Marathon, TX

We spent 3 days in Marathon, TX. Two days of full bus tour. The 1st day we visited Big Bend National Park, unique city of Terlinqua, and then stoping at the Famous La Kiva Cave Bar and Restaurant for happy hour and BBQ dinner. Day 2 Visiting Fort Davis Area tour and then to the McDonald Observatory. Stop by to see the Marfa lights area, but can only see at night, would have like to see them. Then the 3rd day was free and we enjoy a leasurely 5 star lunch on the outside patio and stoping by the Brewery.

Mar 14, 2013 - Marathon, TX

We are on our way to Big Bend National Park. 280 miles under the Trek today! We are staying in an Rv park in Marathon, Texas for the night. We are still about 100 miles from Big Bend, but it be a nice drive in tomorrow. We really feel we are in the west now. We had to make a stop in Langtry and see the original saloon and pool hall of Judge Roy Bean. Lots of history here. He was incorrectly called "the hanging judge" but he did deal out justice with an iron fist. The worst sentence he could hand down was to take a criminal's horse, money...

Jan 11, 2013 - Marathon, TX

We found that Del Rio and Marathon were nothing special as far as destinations, but the trip was interesting. Traveling northwest to Marathon, we were on some of the most deserted highways we have seen so far. The countryside is right out of a Hollywood Western movie! Very interesting for us Vermonters but probably boring for locals. We crossed the Pecos River, which is a big river in an enormous canyon crossed by a large impressive highway bridge, and we had to stop to see the Judge Roy Bean Museum. His little saloon and court house is...

May 26, 2012 - Marathon, TX

Today we left San Antonio and drove about 375 miles to Marathon, TX, a town with a population of about 500. Marathon's main claim to fame is that it is the "gateway to Big Bend." We walked along the main street of the little town and went in the few shops it had, but we were pretty tired and went back to the camper early. We stayed in Marathon Motel's RV park, which is basically a gravel parking lot with hook-ups. But, it has a nice courtyard and friendly staff, so we were pretty pleased with the place. Tomorrow, Big Bend NP!

May 25, 2012 - Alpine to Marathon, Tx

Because the camp is so clean and has nice amenities, we did a load of laundry, washed the rig and the other rig (the Weber grill). It is going to be hot today! We are in Big Bend Country which is part of the Chihuahuan Desert. It is exactly the vision I have of old Texas western movies complete with hot, sandy plains, cacti and scrub brush that stretch for miles. Yet there are small town sites that are dedicated to preserving the heritage of their protecting pioneers and travelers. First stop was UT McDonald Observatory at Mount Locke. We...

Apr 10, 2012 - Blackout

We haven't had a reliable Internet connection for the past several days so were unable to update the site. Anyway . . . Thursday (4/5) – out just after daybreak this morning and heading for the southwest portion of the Park – Castolon, Santa Elena Canyon, etc.. I was hoping we might catch a lion on the road. We even drove to the Chisos Basin – no luck! It was still fairly cool when we arrived at Santa Elena. We waded across the Terlingua Creek (not much of a problem as it was dry) and hiked up along the side of the Canyon wall. The Canyon...

Jan 11, 2012 - Marathon, Texas

We visited with Mary's brother-in-law and sister-in-law (Arthur's family) and her niece and nephew and their families, before leaving Houston. It was great to get together--it's probably been about nine years--and of course we all look the same, no older, but the kids have certainly grown! Then we were back on the road and stayed last night in Castroville, Texas, at a huge regional park there. We took one of the hiking trails and saw a herd of deer. The Castroville founding fathers or mothers had a good idea--many trees and all park benches...

Oct 21, 2011 - Marathon

Left Alpine at around 10.30 am to travel down to the Big Bend National Park. The weather was fine and clear and it was David's birthday. The scenery was quite spectacular and we stopped a number of times to take photos. We finally reached the park after about 80 miles and then visited the ghost town of Terlingua where they used to mine the mineral that made mercury. The town is now inhabited by people who live in the former adobe houses, mostly without electricity or running water. We saw a road runner bird with a snake in its mouth there....

Feb 11, 2011 - Alpine - Marathon, the "Second City in Brewster County

When we were in Fort Stockton the end of last year, we decided to drive down to areas around Big Bend National Park to see where we’d like to stay. We stopped in the small town of Marathon and thought it was darling. In fact, we contemplated staying at the RV Park at the edge of town. BUT, that was before we realized “no grocery store, no service station” in town and the closest one was in Alpine, thirty miles away. Consequently, we proceeded to Alpine. Marathon was established in 1882 and grew as a shipping point for livestock and ore....

Jun 5, 2010 - Marathon, Texas

The gateway to Big Bend National Park! We finally drove into Texas - will we ever get out? The bad news is that it's 108 degrees, the good news is that because of the breeze it only feels like 102 and that's with 9% humidity. If you're outside drinking water you can feel yourself prespiring as you're drinking. Reminds me of why we left Las Vegas 14 years ago. But cheer up when we leave here and move east it will be in the high 80's, low 90's. Oh, Oh, there's both a Heat Advisory until Monday and a Special Weather Statement concerning the...

Mar 15, 2010 - Through Big Bend Park and down the Texas/Mexico Border

Saturday we headed South from Artesia to Pecos, Fort Stockton and then to Marathon TX. Marathon is not much of a town but about the closest we could get to Big Bend National Park without staying in the Park. There was one gas station and it had diesel, a small store, a couple of small cafes, an old hotel and the motel/RV Park we stayed in. Not many amenities but adequate for our needs. We are getting used to staying on gravel in desert settings. There were several groups in tents stopping before going to Big Bend. This is spring break week...

Mar 9, 2010 - On the road again!

We had such a great time at the escapees park in Hondo, Texas. I am enclosing more photos of the park. In our short time at the park we got to know 2 couples both full timers living in their motor homes. The last 3 evenings we talked about San Antonio and Big Bend Park. One couple just left the park six days ago so we got some ideas about the drive and what to do in the park. We had lots of fun playing Mexican dominoes. This morning we left the park and one final good by from our friends. While traveling today I noticed more herds of goats...