I recently returned from a two-week trip to Santa Fe where I reconnected with old friends and had the chance to see some of the changes that have taken place there since I left for Marfa almost 6 years ago (or maybe it’s been longer or shorter – time has no meaning in Marfa, many of us forget the day of the week, not the mention the month or year).
The visit came after a kind of perfect storm of circumstances in my life led me to recognize just how isolated is this small town in the middle of the grass plains of West Texas, high on the Marfa Plateau, dry and dusty and more often than not wind-blown – and I’m talking real wind, not breeze.
The nearest town of any size is at least three hours away by car, and that being pretty much your only option as without a car (as I was) you need to somehow get to Alpine, 30 minutes to the East, get on Amtrak to El Paso, and then what? You’re stuck in El Paso which is not the greatest place to be stuck.