Marfa Mystery Lights

By Leigh Eaton, a local resident of the area

Introduction

No, I have never seen Santa Claus.  I have never seen Peter Rabbit.  I have never seen Winnie the Pooh.  But I have seen the Marfa Mystery Lights.  In all kinds of weather, all times of the year, and all times of the night.  They are always there.  Just waiting for me to sit for too many hours watching them, when I should be at home sleeping. There may two or three, or ten or twelve.  Look quickly; they don't stay in any place very long. 

I do not watch the television shows about the Marfa Lights, because they are not the "real thing, Baby."

Come to West Texas and see for yourself.  They are found nightly on U.S. Highway 90, the southern-most U.S. Highway.  201 miles southeast of El Paso, 65 miles north of Ojinaja, Mexico, at Marfa, Texas, 533 miles southwest of Dallas, Texas with lots of good stuff in between. 

Marfa, Texas, is 26 miles west of Alpine, Texas, which has been my home for 14 years.

The lights are about halfway between the lovely cities, which you would recognize if you ever saw "Giant", Dancer, Texas, or "Dead man's Walk" or many other movies, which were made here.

Forever a Mystery

Having lived in Alpine Texas, for 15 years, I have been a devoted fanatic to the Marfa Mystery Lights for this entire time.  I have heard many legends about them, none of which makes any sense. For instance, there are some resident Hispanics (American-born descendants of Mexican Nationals) who believe that the lights are ghosts of the infamous Mexican outlaw, Pancho Villa, and his band of marauders, because they have been taught that from infancy.  This makes no sense because Pancho Villa was here a hundred years after the first known sightings of the Marfa Lights.  Again, let me say a word for Pancho Villa.  Like all other controversial figures, he is a villain to some and a hero to others. At the risk of sounding unpatriotic, I must say that the Texas Rangers are said to have provoked him and caused a lot of the problems.

Many citizens of the country of Mexico must come across the Rio Grande to visit Marfa and Alpine to shop.  They are not ashamed to admit that they are afraid of the Lights, and always finish their business on this side of the Rio Grande early enough so they can pass by the lights before dark. More later.

Mystery lights part 3

Thanks to the State of Texas and the students of the Marfa, Texas school system, visitors no longer have to stand in the rain or snow to see the Marfa Lights. There are restrooms and picnic tables and a lovely Ramada to stand under if you need to.  If you wish to be comfortable bring your chairs, and don't forget a blanket.  It does get cold at night.

The elevations runs from 4400 feet to 6400 feet here NO matter how hot it may be in the daytime; it cools off in a few minutes after sundown.  Such is the nature of the mountain-desert land.

The weather has no bearing on the activity of the lights.  Sometime we don't have to wait for actual sundown; the lights may show up in the shadow of the mountains.  Not very often, I admit.  Know what you are looking for before you go. The lights are usually close to the horizon, sometime against the horizon, and do occasionally rise above the mountaintops. The lights are usually small, from the size of a house light bulb, a flashlight or can be as big as spotlights. The large ones frequently break into 2 or 3 pieces.  None of them stay in one place very long. The only thing dependable about the lights is that they ARE there; any weather or time of night.  They are clear; they are not fuzzy and white nor do they come in waves like the Great Northern Lights. 

Mystery lights part 4

Some people don't pay attention to anything. The Texas State Highway sign on U.S highway 90 clearly says "Marfa Lights viewing area.  Night time only."  An arrow points to the rest area  (bathrooms and picnic tables) not 40 feet off the highway.

Yet one afternoon on my way home from el Paso, I stopped to use the facilities Much to my surprise, there were 3 people standing on a picnic table with cameras and binoculars, looking straight into the late afternoon sun, looking for the Marfa Lights.  I hope they didn't burn their retinas.

I have had people come into the Alpine chamber of commerce and say they spent the entire night looking for the lights, and all they saw was 3 or 4 freight trains.  The Union Pacific Railroad runs parallel to Highway 90 for about 16 miles in that area, About 50 feet off the highway (northerly direction).

They were looking for wavy lights in the sky; this is not the great north and we are not privileged to have the Northern Lights in this area. We are about 2,000 miles too far south.

For goodness sake, folks, read the signs and follow the arrows.  As Shakespeare said "T'was ever thus."  I guess it always will be.

One more word about people who are superstitious about the lights is that for a hundred years or more they had been called "Ghost Lights."  There is none so stupid as those who will not learn.

Come for a Visit

If anyone wishes to have a place to lay a weary head down in this area, call early.   The most likely places to get accommodations are the Ramada Inns or the Best Western.  That is the only national hotel chains we have here.  There is not much use trying to get space at the historical hotels: the Paisano at Marfa, the Holland at Alpine, and the Gage at Marathon 30 miles east on U.S. 90.  Even so, be sure you have plenty of money to "blow" because that is what it takes at these places. Best stick to the national chains.

Proximity to the McDonald Observatory and Big Bend National Park keeps these places full.

Call ahead for camping places at the Big Bend Park, because people reserve them from year to year.

Moviemakers have found a haven for their crafts here, the scenery mostly.  If you want to be a "movie" star, just walk in to the casting offices when they are filming, and most likely you will get a job.  I did!