Post Cards from the Basin 2010

Scratching that Big Bend itch

Day 1 Jess the bartender(Pecos)

My husband, assistant sports editor Craig Craker, and I headed out on our three-day, two-night trip running 45 minutes late. We had a lot of places to hit on our way to Marfa on the first day, so being behind was not a good way to start the morning....... Full story

Scratching that Big Bend itch

Day 1 Saragosa

After leaving Pecos, Veronica wanted to get something to eat — but we had a date with destiny, err ... bean and cheese burritos, to be exact. Driving south on Highway 18, I got to experience one of my favorite roads.On Highway 18, about 10...... Full story

Scratching that Big Bend itch

Day 1 Balmorhea

After getting back on the highway, you are getting oh so close to Balmorhea, my favorite place to stay the night in Texas.As you wind into this tiny town, you get to enjoy the only flowing water — the Pecos River, or as I like to call it, the...... Full story

Scratching that Big Bend itch

Day 1 Fort Davis

Our trip to Fort Davis was not all fun and games. In fact, there was real newspaper business to attend to. We had to make a pit stop at the Jefferson Davis courthouse to pick up some legal papers for the cops reporter. This meant we got to go inside...... Full story

Scratching that Big Bend itch

Day 1 Marfa

The land of Shorthorns (whatever those are), crazy lights — I don’t believe in them since I’ve never seen them in three visits — lots of art galleries (none of which seemed to be open on a Thursday afternoon), a beautiful...... Full story

Scratching that Big Bend itch

Day 2 Big Bend National Park

We were up early and fast saying goodbye to the Hotel Paisano as we made our way to Big Bend National Park. Before we left the small town of Marfa, we swung by Squeeze Marfa for some breakfast.The juice bar and sandwich shop has been featured in the...... Full story

Scratching that Big Bend itch

Day 2 Somewhere between Marathon and Big Bend National Park

A detour I wasn’t expecting to take involved a Border Patrol checkpoint.As I pulled in and came to a stop, the guard asked all the standard questions but then became suspicious when we said we went to the park on a day trip.When he found out...... Full story

Scratching that Big Bend itch

Day 2 Books, Blueberries and Blues

We left the Big Bend National Park and headed toward Alpine, my favorite small town in Texas.On our way we made a quick stop in Marathon. I had never heard of the Gage Hotel before, but it’s fairly famous. According to the Gage Hotel website,...... Full story

Scratching that Big Bend itch

Day 3 Fort Stockton

After the good breakfast grub, we headed down the mountain on Highway 67 to Fort Stockton.I’ve been to Fort Stockton a few times, but I’ve never actually been to the fort.We started by driving around the original downtown, stopping at...... Full story

Andrews and Hobbs offer tasty trip

I thought becoming a fanny-pack toting, camera-around-the-neck, sunscreen-wearing tourist in three towns I often gallop through on my way to bigger cities was going to be tough. So I left the fanny pack and sunscreen at home and decided to do my...... Full story

Bush’s bed and a view from above

For someone as new to West Texas as I am, spending a day in Midland as a curious, unbiased tourist comes rather naturally. But I never would have guessed several hours of exploring the Tall City could be so eventful. Before returning to Odessa, I...... Full story

Orbison still has friends ... and a legacy

We left Odessa at about 8:30 a.m. on a foggy February morning, unsure of what we would find along the way to our initial stops and our destination city, Monahans.The fog thinned just a bit as we headed west out of town and the landscape became more...... Full story

Southern part of Basin serves up fun

I show up at OA photographer Kevin Buehler’s house at 11:15 a.m. We hit the road a few minutes later, bound for McCamey, Iraan, Rankin and Crane.As we cross the Caprock, the horizon explodes, dotted with wind turbines and Debra Medina signs....... Full story

Crane Theatre may soon have new life

It was my haunt in the ’50s, my home away from home. The Crane Theatre, a place to wait patiently on the front row, watching the round neon-blue clock til show time, while “Tales from the Vienna Woods” roared over the speakers.When...... Full story

Odessa has hidden treasures

Across the state and across the nation, Odessa frequently evokes images of oil and gas. Shortly after moving here last year, I told a colleague of mine that I found the ubiquitous black pump jacks to be eerie, rising methodically in vacant swaths of...... Full story