Oh, Marfa. When I was first planning my road trip, I needed a reason to swing through Santa Fe besides making my trip a lot longer and more boring than it had to be.  After a few minutes of research, I found this Texas Borderlands road trip guide and Marfa, TX stood at the center of it all. This quirky little one stoplight town in the middle of west Texas desert is a bizarre mix of art, culture and slow, small town living.

I deliberately planned my drive heading east through Valentine, TX so I’d pass by the famous (read: Instagram gold) Prada, Marfa art installation. The creators originally intended to let the building become decrepit and degrade back into the natural landscape. However, a few weeks after the reveal, the “store” was broken into and shoes and bags were stolen. Now, there are security cameras and the building is starting to show wear and tear. I’m dying to see it again in five or ten years!

Fun fact: The shoes and bags inside are real Prada. (Although post-vandalism the bottoms of the purses were removed and replaced with a security device.) Plus, each one was chosen by Miuccia Prada herself!  (Read more about the installation here and here.)

Only a few miles after gawking at and eventually passing by Prada Marfa, a billboard cheerfully welcomes you to Marfa, TX!  At this point I was so excited I finally turned off my Harry Potter audiobook after an eight hour binge.

As I was on a budget for this trip, I chose to stay at the cheapest and coolest (IMHO) local lodgings – El Cosmico.  All the teepees were taken, even in the middle of December (damn you, hipsters!) so I went for a safari tent.

Funny story.  The beds were equipped with a heated mattress pad, so I wasn’t too worried about sleeping outside in freezing weather. The first night, I turned that thing up to high. I really couldn’t tell a difference but when I rolled over, I felt some warmth on my hand. So, it had to be working, right? That night, I was curled up so tight in the fetal, I might as well have been in the womb! Embarrassingly, the next night I figured out that there were TWO controllers for the mattress pad. The one on my side heated THE OPPOSITE side of the bed. So, I slept on the cold side of the bed the first night but at least I was toasty the second night! Go me.

And of course I had to try and get a little night photography in because the stars were INSANE! Not too bad for my first try, I don’t think. : )

Read more about my Eat, Pray, Love Marfa Trip here. Stay tuned for part 3!