October, 2025

The stretch of US Route 90 between Langtry and Van Horn has some quirky attractions, some of which pop up so suddenly that you can easily miss them.

The tiny community of Langtry, with a population of fewer than 20, hosts a visitor’s center, much needed after some time on the open road. These roads are long, with few amenities for the thirsty, hungry traveler. The Visitor’s Center is probably the biggest structure in the town, and it includes a “free” Judge Roy Bean museum, which we explored. The site includes the Jersey Lily Saloon where Judge Bean held court between 1882-1903, dispensing “hard liquor and harsh justice.” The saloon was named for the English actress Lillie Langtry, for whom Bean held a passion.

Bean was immortalized in the 1972 movie, “The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean,” starring Paul Newman.

Somewhere between Sanderson and Marathon, we spied the world’s smallest Buc-ee’s, actually an art installation along the road, with no toilets, no fuel, no food, no souvenirs. It’s a 100 square foot block with the Buc-ee’s logo on the front. It was originally placed there in April, 2022, then removed some months later. It reappeared a year later, but who knows for how long it will remain this time?

Farther west, on the edge of Marfa was an art exhibit of stacked shipping containers, like those you usually see on trains. It’s named “Sleeping Figure (2023),” and was originally installed in the Coachella Valley as part of Desert X 2023. The artist’s name is Matt Johnson.

The 1956 movie, “Giant,” starring James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson was filmed in part in Marfa, Texas, on a ranch just west of town. When you drive by that ranch, you will see yet more artwork. It is a mural of sorts, consisting of several plywood images from the movie. Country music plays in the foreground, speakers powered by solar panels. Rock Hudson sits in the convertible, James Dean holds a rifle, and Liz Taylor looks sultry. Also on display are the house, some cattle and an oil derrick.

Keep going past Marfa, through the tiny town of Valentine, and you come to the Prada Marfa, by artists Elmgreen & Dragset. This freestanding building was installed in 2005, as a “pop architectural land art” project. The building has two large windows displaying Prada shoes and purses from their 2005 fall/winter collection. Many people have left padlocks or stickers on the chain link fence around the building. Sadly, I had nothing to leave that day.

We drove back to Marfa as the sun was setting, just in time to search for the “Marfa Lights,” which people have claimed to see as far back as 1883. These lights appear near the horizon as you look toward Big Bend. They have been described as orbs of light which change in color and intensity, can move or remain stationary. No one knows what they are – passing car lights, UFOs, tower lights, ranch lights?

There is a very nice viewing area just west of Marfa, and there were about a dozen people sitting and watching that night. One man commented that the lights were very active tonight. I saw some lights, but they looked like tower or car lights to me. The photos below are of the viewing site during the day.

Really, the only light that impressed me that night was the full moon across the highway.