Thursday, April 10, 2008

Tales From Marfa and Beyond!

Blogger Time Sucker Warning: Level Orange
Alrighty then.... sooo I have broken my own slacker blogger record by posting a mere 1 times last month. Busy,busy,busy here at the Pagoda. We continue to look for a new home where we can all be who we wish to be. I am hoping for a clear decision on this soon. Until that time I am a bit discombobulated.
How about a recap of our road trip?
We generally fly on our fam trips,so it was quite refreshing to pack up all our cares and woe and drive!
We live in North Texas and drove out to West Texas. We stopped on the way at a B&B in Glenrose, Texas. It was a beautiful old farm house that we had all to ourselves!
You were able to build a bonfire in the backyard,and we roasted marshmallows. I prefer mine nicely blackened ,carcinogens be damned!My hubs and I found it rather romantic to shiver and freeze in the farm house,and we had a good giggle when we found the heater the next morning!
The main attraction in Glenrose is Dinosaur Valley !
Crooked Halo keeping the Dinosaur EXACTLY where I suspect she will keep all the men in her life!
The 3 most important people in my life standing in a track where the dinosaurs once roamed!I stayed behind on this hike because my cowboy boots were too slippery!
Whilst the hubs and C.H. wrangled lunch up,the wee petal and I took in the cheesy delicious-ness of a kitschy Dinosaur statue display park.
Her best T-Rex imitation(note the face!)!
Our personal faves the Chicken Dinosaurs !
Those who complain that Texas is not beautiful country ,have not seen West Texas.
Can you say sleepy little town?
We stayed at The Hotel Paisano where the cast and crew of Giant stayed.
Not to worry I kept my eyes to the ground ,just in case Liz had lost a bauble or two.
Driving into town in the dark of night,I saw an eerie group of black creatures. Turns out they were these boviney rodent nocturnal things called Javelinas. I was fascinated. They instantly became my new favorite animal!I always try to find a X-mas orny to commemorate our trip. I lucked out and found a Javelina gingerbread cookie cutter! It will have the added bonus oflooking sleek and minimalist on the tree.
Walking to breakfast the next morning I spied one in a shop window. The shop window displays in Marfa were quite unexpected and arty.
Even the yards were arty. Here a giant donkey pulling a wagon for my collection!
This was its yard art buddy.
That night we ate at Jetts Grill . Guess which NON-South Beach en tree I chose(click to enlarge any image).a hint: Embracing my southern roots was well worth the miss step!
The next day we antiqued a bit. Another AMAZING giant donkey. I was in love!!! Alas ,it was not for sale!
On our way to McDonald Observatory,we saw a wild brush fire that shut down the highway for a bit.
Here we are at one of the highest elevations in Texas,the observatory is in the distance!
That night we attended the Star Party. It was absolutely one of te highlights of the trip. We sat(and froze,can you tell?)in a gorgeous amphitheatre
The design of the theatre was based on an ancient Greek design,and housed such an impressive presentation. It was an Astronomy lesson I shall never forget! The presenter had a handy dandy super nova laser pointer that looked as if his fingers touched the stars!
among the lessons learned ,finding Polaris ,the one trustworthy star. Otherwise known as my husband.Random JDP trivia: I inscribed my hubs wedding ring with "You are Polaris",thats a line from something...I forget just what.
....and last but not least ,what to my wandering eyes should appear....but this sign(please click and enlarge).A diggety dang nab delici-osity of a thrift store RIGHT NEXT DOOR to our hotel.
Their widows also held a delightful and bizarrely whimsical display for my viewing pleasure(oh yes, I did feel it was just for me)!
Remember this was right befor Easter,so the window had a bit of a seasonal theme.The view from looking into the rabbit hole!
Little girl and her lamby.
For a nominal fee she had set up her own version of an Etsy shop.
DIY mobile kits!
...um...and a candelabra.
This is what I got. A taupe-y beige lace and silk dress for 10 bux. What do ya think? Jean jacket, pearls, and cowboy boots to accessorize?
For 3 bux,an old lady polyester scenery shirt. I think just the jeans and boots for this.
For 2 bux ,a little vintage homemade shell in my favorite fall tones.
...and last for one buckeroo,this strawberry fruit salad smock. It will be perfection over a Kowalski undershirt and jeans.
The whole motivating force to go to Marfa was to check out the Chinati Foundation started by modern art champion and artist himself Donald Judd(ironically Mr Judds children AND Cliff May was featured in the March issue of Mens Vogue). We waited all week for their 1st tour,which as the sign denotes begins promptly at 10:00. No one was there. This was actually typical for our week,NOTHING was open practically(oh and I'm talkin' the where do ya eat? kinda Not open.). This nothin'(or hardly nothin') to do schedule was actually just what the Doctor ordered!
I shall try to come back soon to bloggy world in spite of a broken camera.

13 comments:

Sarah and Jack said...

Wow, crooked halo looks so grown up!

And welcome back. :-)

Unknown said...

I've missed you! I was literally thinking of you just yesterday, wondering what adventures you were having...and now I know! Love the photos and the tales of your trip. The girls are darling! The T Rex face on Flower Petal is my favorite. :)

Anonymous said...

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Jennifer Perkins said...

I must, must, must make it out to West Texas sometime. Just watched There Will be Blood tonight and was thinking about Marfa.

Anonymous said...

Yea! Nice to have you back, Lisa. It looks like your getaway was fun albeit challenging at times. Now what's with the name, Marfa??
Orange alert or not, I love how you write-wry, funny, and sincere. Do you have a ghost writer?? Kidding!!
D.

Anonymous said...

your vacation looked lovely, the kids are growing up so fast! Welcome back. That thrift store was totally meant for you.

Vallen said...

Well, that was certainly worth the wait. Thanks for the road trip. I'd never been to Texas before and now Ithink I can honestly say I have. Great thrift finds as usual - and beautiful girls!!!

Jane said...

I agree with Sarah, Crooked Halo sprouted up since we last saw her! We just got back from a similar trip to Santa Fe. I had to laugh because we stopped at a cheesy dino park in AZ. Sadly it was closed!

mary jane said...

I'm late for work but I had to do some traveling with y'all. Thanks for the vay-cay!

Anastasia said...

i was wondering where you were! sounds like a fanatastic time!! your girls have grown!! great pics!

Timothy Hogan said...

And not a mention of the infamous Marfa Lights! Of course if you were looking down for dropped rocks from Richard Burton you wouldn't have seen that aliens approaching.

Timothy

Timothy Hogan said...

Monkey stuck to the trail as the Wise One had instructed - occassionally leaving his feet to hang as he traveled the trees hand over hand. Exhaustion began to whisper in Monkey's ear - Rest! Sweet Monkey, lie down and let my sleep take you!

Monkey shook his tired head and blinked his eyes against the thought. The wind drew a tear from Monkey's eye and in it it saw the gleam of red - Jungle Red - he knew the Pagoda was near.

Walking now, his strength renewed, he aimed his ambling gait - straight and tall like a Man - he strained and toward the Sweet Pagoda he strode. Soon I will dream, Monkey whispered...

Anonymous said...

Dear Jungle DP.
I'll be moving to Tx in Sept. Cause for us to meet and celebrate. Must Thrift etc.

xox
Constance

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