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 Juddās 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. thereās an emergency number to call if anything goes awry.
Truly no place like West Texas!! And to have such amazing art in the middle of nowhere makes the place even more mesmerizing.
The Chianti foundation sounds life changing, sounds like itās definitely worth a visit
West Texas, on the Mexico border. Super out thereā 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 Iām not a camper š 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 ā nothing like the rest of texas
The southwest is my home and I didnāt 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 youāre the kind of person who loves sunlight youāre 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 hoursā 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 donāt claim Arizona, especially since itās become infested with Californians. Every city I have visited in Arizona has been the worst place Iāve 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 itās an area where everything and everyone must fight to exist; it fosters resilience and self sufficiency like nothing else.
Lol I think itās clear here how obsessed I am with this region. Iām 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, youāll have all the hikes in the world, amazing food, art scenes, and the healing power of the desert!
