View of the Casa Buena Vista and Terlingua Ghost Town.
For the holidays we decided to leave Houston for west Texas, which I must admit is very different from Houston. The area we were in was near the Chisos Mountains, while Houston is very flat. Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and as such has its fair share of noise generated by traffic and ubiquitous construction, while Terlingua Ghost Town was very quiet (well, I guess it is a ghost town). Once we picked up our keys for the Casa Buena Vista and checked in, I realized I could hear the flap of birds' wings as they flew past the house. I could hear animals called javelinas in the brush near the house. The house was left from the early part of the twentieth century when Terlingua was a quicksilver (mercury) mining town. The house has now been converted into lodging for tourists. The interior of the house is rustic and decorated in a blend of southwestern styles, religious iconography, and Oaxacan handicrafts. The house has a full kitchen, two bedrooms, gas log fireplace, air conditioning, and screened-in porch. It was very comfortable. The first three days we were there the temperature was in the 60-80F (15.6-26.7C) range. The fourth day was windy but comfortable, but overnight a rare snowfall blew in and temperatures dropped below freezing. Nevertheless we were very comfortable next to the fireplace and there were space heaters for the rest of the house.
Old car covered in snow in front of the Starlight Theater.
If you want to visit west Texas, particularly Terlingua, don't worry about being too isolated or cut off. There is cellular telephone service and our lodging had wi-fi. For people that don't feel like cooking the Starlight Theater (don't let the name fool you, it's a restaurant with live entertainment in an old theater) is nearby and Espresso ... y Poco Mas serves breakfast and lunch. For us one of the best things about staying at the Casa Buena Vista was walking to the top of the hill behind the house to watch the sun go down and the moon rise (there was a full moon on Christmas in 2015).
