Cooped Up in Marathon (TX)

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Winter has tracked us down again. Chilly, windy and dampish here in the Permian Basin. Had some precipitation last night but not sure what; Debbie claims sleet and freezing rain. I was asleep. So the cold temps and wind have us cooped up inside the RV today, Monday. Still waiting on parts. MB of SA responded to me Saturday with profuse apologies. Seems the wheel and tire ended up in Fort Worth (?!?) via Fed Ex and will not find their way to Marathon, TX until late in the day Tuesday, tomorrow. My guess is MB of SA put the low-man-on-the-totem-pole in the Parts Department in charge of our parts order to begin with and this is how that ends up. Profuse apologies from management! Oh well … I have ridden all over Marathon, TX  on my ‘bent bicycle and have seen many interesting sights (a side yard pygmy pony, wildly colorful and seemingly out of place B&B, a junk yard masquerading as a classic car depot, high end tourist hotel as destination resort) and met people to go along with those interesting sights. In turn the towns folk are probably commenting on the interesting sight that would be me riding a recumbent bicycle all over the back and side streets of Marathon.

😉

We met ‘Talkin” Ted Thayer out at the county park, the Post Park. We (He) spoke at length about the Thayer family  genealogy and their connections to Dublin and Keene New Hampshire. Ted spoke, as we all should, with pride and knowledge of his New England forebearers. Dr. Willam Henry Thayer, a civil war surgeon, and his son Abbott Handerson Thayer, an artist of some reknown, figured in Ted’s reminiscences. William Henry Thayer the civil war surgeon wrote letters home during the war that were eventually bound and kept within the family. More recently the family heirloom, much to Ted’s disappointment and chagrin, was sold outside the family to settle a disputed family debt. Abbott Handerson Thayer, the son of the Civil War surgeon, interestingly enough, on top of his artistic accomplishments completed an extensive study, with the assistance of his adult children I believe, of protective coloration in the animal world. Abbott Handerson Thayer proposed the idea of military camouflage to the US government. As for many forward thinkers and visionaries Aboott Handerson Thayer was roundly pilloried and derided by many of his peers, among them President ‘Teddy’ Roosevelt, for his ideas and theories.

A little time on the internet supported all of Ted Thayer’s family remembrances. Ted also happens to be the owner of the Classic Car (and Antiquities) Depot on the eastern end of Marathon.

Later we met brother Tim Thayer at the sole affordable dinner place in town, Guzzi Pizza. Tim being a local volunteer fireman and contractor/handyman was taking his dinner meal break after working to get the newest business in town, the Snake Bite Saloon, ready for it’s upcoming mid-week opening ‘gala’. After chatting for awhile we began to put two and two together. Tim smiled knowingly and offered up the nickname ‘Talkin’ Ted’. He also referenced two sisters, only one remaining in Marathon running a B&B known as ‘Eve’s Garden’. (Eve’s Garden FB)

In a fit of anti-boredom yesterday, Sunday I went out along the back fence line of the Marathon Motel and RV Park (nice people, nice place) with a long lens looking for wildlife.

From the grab shots of the avian life among the desert’s thorns you can be the judge of Abbott Handerson Thayer’s theory of protective coloration in the animal world.

Not sure it holds when they are coming in to a feeder or hanging out next to a steel fence post.

US 90 parallels the Union Pacific Railway line and they both run through the center of Marathon, splitting it in two. The town cemetery is across the tracks and is split in two as well but not by a railway/road corridor.

The Union Pacific Railroad is a busy rail corridor, more than just a train morning, noon and night. This is no doubt a good indicator of the economy beyond  Marathon.

Bar none, everyone that we have met in Marathon has been gracious and friendly. Not a bad place to be stuck in waiting for parts.

Randon Marathon, Texas Images ~ Randon West Texas Observations

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Marathon, Texas

Not a bad place to be marooned waiting on Smart Car parts once again. Not happy with the parts people at MB of SA. It would have been cheaper to go get them in San Antonio and bring them back here but, oh well …

Small railroad, ranching and get away from it all town along RT 90 above Big Bend NP. Not far from a US Customs & Border Patrol Station (C&BP). My experiences there have left me feeling that we live in a police state. Now this may sound extreme but it is not far off: My mother used to talk about traveling in Europe before the break up of the communist states. She recounted when crossing borders their car being surrounded by unsmiling uniformed gun-toting state police. Questions where asked and answered and paperwork was demanded. On our way up from Big Ben NP and the borderlands on approaching this check point four olive green-clad gun-toting representative of the US Customs & Border Patrol sprinted out of the building. One at the driver’s side window two in back and off to one side of the passenger side and the fourth positioned where we could not see him. Questions were asked, no paperwork was demanded but I had my ID ready and handed it over. Eerily similar to my mother’s description of  her experience in eastern Europe.

It begs the question: Are we becoming a police state?

We had the opportunity to socialize with a C&BP guy and his family in Terlingua. He works in Big Bend NP and his presentation was very different from what I experienced outside of Marathon.

Lots of borderland locals and old timers talked about the pre-911 state of affairs at the border. The Anglo and Mexican communities freely mingled back and forth across the border with commerce, friendship and families shared back and forth. Everyone to a person decried the current state of affairs along the border. 9/11 and our politics since has changed all.

I am not sure about the immigration issue and do not want to spark any outrage. It seems to be fences and police states are poor solutions affecting our liberties as much as anyone’s. If employers did not hire folks in the States illegally there would certainly be less cause to be here illegally. Buttoning up the hiring of illegal aliens ought to be the first step.

Marathon is a nice place, maybe a little down on its luck of late but still a nice place. There is more green here than further south in the Chihuahuan Desert. Again a town of all sorts and all stripes. Closed up gas stations on both ends of town. The towns chief employer is the Gage Hotel, with the Marathon Independent School District and Texas DoT in second place. There is an elementary school and a combined middle-high school. No football team and small graduating classes. A recent senior class ended up graduating no one after the lone senior dropped out. Most of the town folk that work at the Gage Hotel probably could not afford to eat or stay there.  We can’t. Pricey place for those from away. So once again both extremes. Lots of homes for sale, a number of businesses for sale. Friendly people: Anglos and Mexican-Americans. The businesses in town that seem to be doing well cater to the crowd that the Gage brings in or those passing through to Big Bend NP. There seems to be a healthy service industry with lots of folks wearing lots of hats. Three churches for a population of 430: one Catholic church and two Protestant churches all on the same street. A library (a branch of the Alpine Public Library) and a town museum. Some galleries, a beer and liquor store, a number of breakfast places. One grocery store: the French (Company) Grocer, not what one would think given the name but well stocked with the essentials. There web site probably sums up Marathon, Texas best when they say “Reflecting the Diverse Culture of the Town and Visitors.”

Some Random Marathon, Texas Images

Hand carved doors by local Marathon artisan Maize Lee.

Carving detail.

Main street Marathon gas station buildings headed in different directions.

Images from in and around the Gage hotel.

The Gage Hotel waters their plantings.

Residence out back of the Gage Hotel, may well be part of that property.

Marathon is a quirky but thoroughly enjoyable west Texas town!

Marooned in Marathon ~ Warning: Contains Images of Tow Car Destruction Not Fit for Viewing By the Timid or Weak of Wallet

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Yikes – A beautiful morning for travel ends up to be a day filled with frustration, unanticipated expenses and unanswered questions.

As best we can piece together (no pun intended) the passenger side front tire of our tow car blew out, shredded and wrapped the remains of itself around the inside of the wheel apparently locking it up. Wow!

Sixtos Towing hooked us up and got us off of TX FM 118 and out of  Big Bend NP and onto TX 90 at Marathon. A days worth of phone calls to the Smart Car dealer in San Antonio gets us tires and a new wheel maybe by the next day.

So here we sit in Marathon, Texas waiting for a tire and a wheel to be shipped from San Antonio.

Waiting for answers as well.

The following images need no commentary.

White marks are gouges from the wheel rim in the road surface, made as we got the rigs off the road.

Oh my!

Chisos Mountains across the Chihuahuan Desert. Debbie and Sixto tend to the flatbedded Smart Car.

 🙁

Black-Eyed Peas : New Year’s Day in Terlingua, Texas

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Black-eyed peas and cornbread abound throughout Terlingua, Texas on New Year’s Day.

Word has it that the black-eyed peas bring you luck and the boiled cabbage bring you money; not sure what the cornbread prompts in the mix.

Folks, that we feel pleased to call friends, put together a free feed for the community out at Long Draw Pizza: Nell and Milton Mow, Pat and Larry Neff, and Nancy. Light-hearted and loving attention went into preparing the meal: boiled cabbage a la Milton, black-eyed peas by Nancy and Larry, cornbread from Nancy and Nell, and last but not least Mimosas by Pat.

Arriving at what I thought would give me enough time to catch the prep happening, Milton and Larry beat me to it. The cabbage was prepped and on the boil.

There was a lone vehicle out front, a left over from the Sheriff’s intervention  New Year’s Eve.

Come noon New Year’s Day 2012 the community arrived.

Terlingua is full of and attracts all sorts.

We were amazed at the number of community people that turned out for this meal. Come to think of it, this was the third or fourth free community meal we had experienced in our time in Terlingua: a community and they look after one another. Lots of hale and hearty greetings and well-wishing for the New Year: people catching up!

Manitoba Larry the Thursday night music guy provided the New Year’s Day music as well.

Pat and Nell served, Nancy surveyed the bar, while Milton and Larry dished up the plates.

Proud to be from Tennessee!

Tennessee Stud in his day? Certainly a Tennessee Gentleman!

By 2 PM the gathering was winding down and moving into town. Thank you Nancy et al for a great community feed.

There is another annual black-eyed pea based event in Terlingua.

This one is a touch more intense and is a fund raising event for the local high school. It is fondly known as the ‘Terlingua Pea Off’. Like many other happenings in Terlingua, the Pea Off takes place on the ‘Front Porch’ of the Starlight Theater and Terlingua General Store.  A fair number of folk cook up their own black-eyed pea recipes and then by 2 PM a portion is turned in for judging. The remainder is offered up for consumption via a $5.00 donation bowl purchase.

The crowd and my choosing to sit offered me a limited perspective on this gathering.

Once again, Terlingua offers up all sorts and all sorts are accepted and appreciated.

“Nobody turns their nose up at a ‘Big Red’.”

‘Minnesota Pat’

Viva Terlingua!