http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/column?oid=oid%3A435157Neat Pic.
Columns: January 12, 2007
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/column?oid=oid%3A435157Day Trips
By Gerald E. McLeod
Every day-tripper should have a life list similar to the checklist that bird watchers keep of avian species that they have spotted. Here are a few places I would recommend adding to your life list of day trips if you haven't already.
Take a trip to Marfa. Texas' town with the highest altitude has become an artist colony since Donald Judd moved his studio and galleries to an abandoned Army post on the edge of town in the early 1970s. The community hasn't lost its small-town charm despite the influx of out-of-towners.
Although there isn't anything left of the set from the movie Giant, a stay in El Paisano Hotel lets you wander the halls where Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, and James Dean stayed. The Thunderbird Motel is another place that has been remodeled for modern visitors. If you want funky, head about 50 miles south of town to the Chinati Hot Springs and stay in one of the rustic cabins.
The best reason to visit Marfa is to see the Marfa Lights. For more than 120 years, no scientific explanation has defined the flickering lights that put on a dazzling show at sunset. The best place to view the lights is at the observation area about 10 miles east of Marfa on U.S. 90 toward Alpine.
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811th in a series. Day Trips, Vol. 2, a book of Day Trips 101-200, is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, PO Box 33284, South Austin, TX 78704.
