Christmas in Marathon

The Gage Hotel
Link here.

The old hotel where we stayed in Marathon.
The hotel was built in 1928.

"Alfred Gage came to Texas from Vermont in 1878, his enthusiasm for Texas fueled by a vast land that offered the opportunity to make his fortune as a rancher, banker and businessman. In 1927, Gage commissioned El Paso architects Trost and Trost to design The Gage as a hotel and ranch headquarters for his 500,000-acre ranch. Sadly, Gage died in 1928, only one year after construction was completed."

Lobby

The rooms are very quaint and well appointed, but small.
Some have attached bathrooms, but for those
that don't there is a central bathroom on each floor.
Kind of fun if you are game for it.
Fifteen years ago I stayed in a room & used the central bath.

One of the great fireplaces in and around the Gage.
Great for sitting & sipping a little vino on a chilly evening.

Great use of the dead ocotillo plant.
It is used to as a visual break
between the patio & the air conditioning unit.

Los Portales

This time, the first night we stayed in the historic hotel with a private bath.
The second and third nights were spent in Los Portales
where everything is must more contemporary & convenient.

This new area has larger rooms that are much
more modern and convenient.

Beautiful pool.

Marathon Coffee

We love to go next door to the coffee shop in the mornings for breakfast.
An older woman who is a native of Marathon owns the establishment.
The hotel offers breakfast but we ate here except on Christmas morning.

The G-man took this sweet photo of Gertie & me on Christmas Eve
at the Marathon Coffee Shop.


Early Morning Walk Around Town

Eve's Garden

A little outdoor peek at a bed and breakfast called Eve's Garden.
It is an unusual place, very colorful.
It is an organic bed & breakfast and ecology resource center.
The architecture is green.
Check out the link here.

Sweet cat at Eve's Garden in early morning light.

Captain Shepard's Inn B & B
Link here

Street scenes.

Wooden walkway into town.
Very quaint.

Mountains in the distance.

Famous Burro

A fun place to have dinner is the Famous Burro.
They also have a nice bar.

Interesting decor in the Famous Burro.
Remains of a century plant wrapped with Christmas lights.

Five miles out of town is the County Park.
Usually it's a nice place to look at birds.
We saw about 20 wild turkeys and
a beautiful doe and buck with lots of antlers.

Reflections

This is a spring fed swimming and fishing area.
Pretty, clear water and resident ducks.

Characters...

Can a Hearse & a Cadillac be characters?
Certainly the owners would be considered characters.
These two vehicles were parked in front of Padre's in Marfa, TX.

Fr. Bill Miller, Episcopal Priest & co-owner of Padre's Marfa

Folks from the nearby town of Alpine arrive for a night on the town!

Lizzy Frizzfrock & the G-Man
We wouldn't drive 5 miles to a bar at home & here we've driven 500 miles to attend the grand opening of Padre's bar in Marfa, TX... but then, I love any opportunity to go West!

Cute couple

The Cowboy (Ty Mitchell, famous Marfa cowboy) & the City Girl

Locals from Alpine dancing to Johnny Bush & his band.
I'm pretty sure the man with the blue cowboy hat owns & painted the funky hearse
& Cadillac at the beginning of this post.

These photos are from Friday night at Padre's. We had lots of fun, saw some people we had not seen in months or years. The bar is going to be well known for its music venue. I think it will be successful and will have people from nearby towns of Alpine, Ft. Davis, & Marathon coming to enjoy the music. The Saturday night performance was a Conjunto music from a great local Mexican band.