Terlingua Ghost Town
I had trouble getting up in the morning. The tequila from the night before was still running round my brain. I rolled out of the car at 6:30 am. I had about 10 minutes before the full sunrise would begin. Much to my surprise, the moon was beginning to set over the ghost town in the west.
Neither the sunrise or moonset really did much for me. I thought maybe the tequila still had a spell on me.
I walked down the street and took some time photographing the graveyard. I found the gravesites refreshing because they spoke to who the person was. My favorite was covered with alcohol bottles. Ironically, the photo was blurred and I thought, how appropriate. As I was finishing up, I met Wes in the graveyard. He was photographing as well. He had a brand new Fuji mirrorless camera. Fuji is know for the bright vibrant colors it captures. He showed me some photos which were really gorgeous.
I spent a few hours in the car driving around various parts of the Terlingua Ghost Town. Terlingua Ghost Town is a former mining town. It was founded in the early 1900s as a quicksilver (mercury) mining town and reached its peak population in the 1920s with around 2,000 residents. The decline in demand for quicksilver in the mid-1940s forced the mine to close and the town was largely abandoned. Today, it’s a popular tourist destination and a well-known ghost town, with visitors coming to explore the abandoned buildings, mine ruins, and desert scenery. The town has a rich history and is known for its quirky character and unique events, such as the annual Terlingua Chili Cookoff. People talked about the cookoff at the Boathouse last night.
As I toured the town, I tried to image the buildings, were they located and the mining process. In some sense, it isn’t truly a ghost town given that there are many people living in various types of dwellings and access to certainarea is restricted because of it.
One of the curious things that I saw, not just here but in other areas near the ghost town was steel cans that had been dumped. It looked like they had been there for decades. I found completely rusted steel Budweiser cans. Some of the cans had the top missing and others were punctured as in a beer can.
I drove around the outskirts of the ghost town before driving north to El Paso, stopping to take photos periodically.
Marfa
Along the rode was a tribute to the film, “Giant”. As I approached the display, the yellow car seemed to turn and track my passing. This really caught my attention and I turned around to check it out. I noticed the license plate on the car said “Giant” and the figures were of those that starred in the movie.
I later read about the filming of the epic Western drama "Giant" that took place in Marfa, Texas, in 1955. Director George Stevens chose Marfa's rugged desert landscape as the backdrop for his sprawling tale of a wealthy Texas rancher and his family, played by James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, and Rock Hudson. The production was an enormous undertaking, with hundreds of cast and crew members descending upon the small town and transforming it into a bustling movie set. Despite the logistical challenges, the shoot was an unforgettable experience for those involved, with many locals being cast as extras and forming close bonds with the stars. I learned that Marfa remains a pilgrimage site for fans of "Giant," who visit the town to see the locations where the film was shot and soak up its enduring legacy. I didn’t go into town.
I made it to El Paso, TX in the evening and stayed at the Cracker Barrel.