Terlingua, Texas
February 1–4, 2022
February 1–4, 2022
I loved, loved, loved this weird little “pirate town,” as my friend Owen calls it. The majesty of Big Bend National Park (and Big Bend Ranch State Park!) was a big part of my love, but I also simply fell in love with the desert itself and the tiny town. The silence, darkness, and open space of the desert won my heart completely.
The Chili Pepper Cafe was my haunt most mornings and one evening, and I had a lovely dinner, drinks, and conversation at the Starlight Theatre in the Terlingua Ghost Town, accompanied by a musical duo that was a somehow tasteful combination of cowboy country and opera. The bartenders, Pollo and Andrea, introduced me to sotol, a spirit similar to tequila but made from the sotol plant rather than the blue agave. Sotol grows only in the Chihuahuan desert, and within the desert it’s everywhere. I bought a bottle of my own a few days later.
My friend Alex was also on a road trip to escape the Vermont winter, so we camped at the same site for a couple nights and explored the parks together. His dog, Mouse, and Mochi wrestled up a storm and eventually became so covered in dust and dirt that their fur changed colors. There are two trails in Big Bend Ranch State Park that allow dogs, so we hiked them around there, but none of the trails in the national park allow dogs. For dinner on the chilly, rainy second night of Alex’s stay, we went to the High Sierra, an odd but jaunty bar near the Ghost Town.
After Alex headed west to Tucson, I spent another couple days exploring the national park, taking a solo hike on the Santa Elena Canyon trail and being lucky enough to see a coyote and a roadrunner all in the same day. Meep-meep!
The Chili Pepper Cafe was my haunt most mornings and one evening, and I had a lovely dinner, drinks, and conversation at the Starlight Theatre in the Terlingua Ghost Town, accompanied by a musical duo that was a somehow tasteful combination of cowboy country and opera. The bartenders, Pollo and Andrea, introduced me to sotol, a spirit similar to tequila but made from the sotol plant rather than the blue agave. Sotol grows only in the Chihuahuan desert, and within the desert it’s everywhere. I bought a bottle of my own a few days later.
My friend Alex was also on a road trip to escape the Vermont winter, so we camped at the same site for a couple nights and explored the parks together. His dog, Mouse, and Mochi wrestled up a storm and eventually became so covered in dust and dirt that their fur changed colors. There are two trails in Big Bend Ranch State Park that allow dogs, so we hiked them around there, but none of the trails in the national park allow dogs. For dinner on the chilly, rainy second night of Alex’s stay, we went to the High Sierra, an odd but jaunty bar near the Ghost Town.
After Alex headed west to Tucson, I spent another couple days exploring the national park, taking a solo hike on the Santa Elena Canyon trail and being lucky enough to see a coyote and a roadrunner all in the same day. Meep-meep!
