The Great American Road Trip ChallengeOne trip, ~2.5 years, 48 states
Day434

Day 434 — Marfa & the StarsBig Bend National Park & Marfa

Full day7h planned

Minimalist art and dark skies.

  1. 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM· 3h

    Marfa: Chinati & Prada MarfaMuseums & HistoryAnchor

    Donald Judd's monumental installations at the Chinati Foundation, and the Prada Marfa art piece out on the highway.

    1 Cavalry Row, Marfa, TX
  2. 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM· 2h

    The Reata frame & the Hotel PaisanoFilm & TV LocationsWorth it

    Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean spent the summer of 1955 in the Hotel Paisano shooting Giant; the lobby is a shrine to it and you can walk in. Twenty miles west on US-90 the skeleton of the Reata mansion facade still stands in a field — three posts against the sky, all that's left of the most famous house in Texas. Dean died in his Porsche before the film was released.

    US-90 W, Marfa, TX
  3. 9:00 PM – 11:00 PM· 2h

    McDonald Observatory star partyGuided ToursWorth it

    A star party under some of the darkest skies in the Lower 48 (or watch for the mysterious Marfa Lights).

    3640 Dark Sky Dr, Fort Davis, TX

What the colours mean

On this day

  • Museums & History1
  • Film & TV Locations1
  • Guided Tours1

And how much each one matters

  • AnchorAlways do — the reason this stop is on the map
  • Worth itDo most of these
  • BonusQuirky bonus, if it's happening while you're here