Still in Texas: Border Patrol, Prada Marfa, and Dusty Days

Ah, Texas. The state that never ends. Seriously, I’m convinced you can drive for weeks and still be in Texas. Our journey westward continued with—you guessed it—more Border Patrol checkpoints. By this point, we were starting to feel like regulars. Smile, nod, answer the questions, try not to look suspicious (because apparently just existing while towing a fifth wheel makes me feel guilty of something).

Along the way, we rolled through Marfa, that quirky little desert town known for two things: a high-fashion art installation and mysterious lights. Yep, we passed the infamous Prada Marfa—a tiny fake Prada store sitting out in the middle of nowhere like some kind of surreal desert mirage. Of course, we couldn’t stop because, well, maneuvering a fifth wheel into an “influencer photo op” isn’t exactly easy. If we were true Instagram stars, we’d have unhitched, struck a pose with sunglasses and coffee in hand, and captioned it with something deep like “fashion has no boundaries.” Instead, we just drove on and laughed about it.

Not long after, we spotted the Marfa Lights viewing area. For those who don’t know, the Marfa Lights are mysterious glowing orbs that appear in the desert sky and have baffled people for years. Personally? I’m glad we didn’t stick around. Random unexplained lights floating in the desert? That’s the start of a horror movie, and I’d prefer not to be the opening scene.

As if Texas hadn’t already thrown enough at us, we got our first taste of a dust storm in Davis. Thankfully, it rolled in after we had finished setting up camp. We sat inside watching the desert winds whip dust across everything, patting ourselves on the back for not being the people outside chasing camp chairs or eating grit with their dinner. It was wild, though—like the desert reminding us that it always has the final say.

So yes, the drive continued. Texas kept being Texas: big, bold, dusty, and just a little strange. And we still had plenty more of it ahead.

This made us laugh along the road.