Rec | MARFA, BIG BEND, ALPINE, ETC

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Rec'd on 🛣️ a place you’ve been to that you didn’t expect to ever go to

theres something so alien, otherworldly, and charming about West Texas the Chinati Foundation was the highlight - on a flat desert plain you can see 15 of Donald Judd’s impressive slabs of minimalist concrete art. something about this place is semi religious or ritually tinged, walking up to the site and being greeted at the gates and being driven down to the site of the gallery in a golf cart. immersive is an understatement here, you literally are in a gallery surrounded by elk, rattlesnakes, scorpions, and wild boar. there’s an emergency number to call if anything goes awry.

@aidanaguirre

Mar 19, 2024

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Big bend

West Texas, on the Mexico border. Super out there– rented a wrangler in El Paso and made a road trip out of it through marfa. Stayed in a boutique hotel 10 min outside the park (willow house) bc I’m not a camper 👑 did a couple hikes, drove around listening to ldr and drinking lone stars. Saw a lot of roadrunners. Truly looks like Jurassic park in there – nothing like the rest of texas

@caledonia

Apr 23, 2024

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The rugged determination (and the sunsets)

The southwest is my home and I didn’t learn to fully appreciate its unique beauty and culture for what it is until I left. The wide open skies and horizons that seem to go on forever and the sunsets that come with that are breathtaking. The sparseness of the landscape is soothing to the spirit; the lack of humidity is wonderful for the lungs. The rock formations are insane. If you’re the kind of person who loves sunlight you’re in luck. And few things are better than the smell and splendor of desert rain. Some areas like where I grew up can be incredibly isolated geographically and culturally from other parts of the US, where the nearest large (American) city is three to eight hours‘ driving distance away, surrounded with nothing but empty desert. I would say the southwest starts in Marfa, Texas (highly recommend) and extends into SoCal, with the furthest north parts being in lower Utah and Colorado. New Mexico and El Paso have some of the best Mexican food in the country. The national and state parks are gorgeous. I don’t claim Arizona, especially since it’s become infested with Californians. Every city I have visited in Arizona has been the worst place I’ve ever been. The environment and climate are hostile to human plant and animal life in a lot of ways (including urban planning in most major cities in the area) and the people can be suspicious of strangers and outsiders, brusque and unfriendly. The legacy of centuries of colonization, occupation, gunslinging outlaws, and war casts an inescapably dark feeling over the land. I admire the southwest because it’s an area where everything and everyone must fight to exist; it fosters resilience and self sufficiency like nothing else.

@taterhole

Sep 20, 2024

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American southwest

Lol I think it’s clear here how obsessed I am with this region. I’m particularly a fan of Flagstaff, AZ and northern New Mexico, but I also really like Tucson. Seems like the perfect place to spend this length of time in since I could imagine the isolation, distance from international airports, and politics of the surrounding areas would get trying longterm. But for this length of time, you’ll have all the hikes in the world, amazing food, art scenes, and the healing power of the desert!