Terlingua, TX — Terlingua was the biggest surprise on my recent trip to the Big Bend region of Texas.
I booked 2 night’s lodging at a hotel there, mainly because it’s only a few miles from Big Bend National Park. What I found was a delightfully quirky place, filled with ghost town ruins and offbeat characters, such as the banjo-playing musician who told me he used to smuggle weed across the nearby border with Mexico (he was never caught), and “Dr.” Doug, who prescribes “liquid therapy” (i.e. cold beer) for all that ails ya. And the manager, cook, and bartender at my hotel who’s a PhD epidemiologist (retired), and used to manage a lab at NIH in Bethesda, MD.
You never know what you’ll find in Terlingua, but it’s sure to be a surprise.