A little West Texas for ya
Some big Texas sky in here
Howdy! I’m Rachel and I write a short weekly email about the small delights I find in my hometown of Austin, TX. Join us, if you’d like!
How are you doing this week?! The day after school got out we left for a little trip to West Texas with friends and it was really great. Oddly enough, the weather there is better than in Austin—the mornings and evenings were in the 60s and 70s and even the hottest times of day were just fine because they weren’t humid! I’m feeling very rejuvenated.
We did some hiking in Fort Davis, swimming in Balmorhea and eating in Marfa. Here’s some West Texas tidbits for ya, if you’d like to see!
We went to West Texas with three other families and Davis Mountains State Park was our home base. Our friend Mat organized this hike for us. We began at the top of a little mountain and hiked down. The views were incredible!
Then, of course, we spent the day at Balmorhea State park, where we jumped off diving boards, snorkeled, ate snacks, chatted and napped. It was maybe the best day of my life?!
West Texas is full of treasures. Exhibit A: this truck painted with hummingbirds that I wish were mine.
We stopped into Marfa for food because I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Bordo since the last time we ate there.
Bordo is an old gas station turned Italian restaurant (I’m oversimplifying it) and everything there is…astounding?!
We once again communed with this sandwich.
The bread is made in a wood fire stove nearby and each of the other sandwich components was SO tasty. Idk how they do it.
This salad delighted and bewitched me.
Everything in Bordo is very cute and like everyone in Marfa, the proprietors are so kind.
After Bordo, we stopped at Bitter Sugar, which is a great little coffee shop with excellent pastries. We had a matcha white chocolate chip cookie and some strawberry shortcake.
Also—why aren’t more coffee shops like this? Bitter Sugar is SO cozy and laid back. They had this excellent VHS/DVD setup in the corner and a big stack of board games. My son grabbed a game from the shelf and we just hung out and chatted and played.
Not pictured, but after we stopped by The Get Go, which is one of my favorite little grocery stores in the world. We got some candles and soaps and snacks.
For our last evening, we went out to see the mystery lights in Marfa! The viewing area is really dreamy, and it mostly just feels great to stare out into a desert expanse as the sun is setting. The mystery lights are less northern lights and more….tiny and sparkly?! If you’re a boring person you might find them underwhelming, but if you’re cool and normal you’ll find them fun, I bet!
(My seven year old daughter read this over my shoulder and said “I guess I’m boring then.” LOL)
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Hope your week is rootin’ tootin’!
xo
Rachel
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