Terlingua, Texas — Terlingua is a truly unforgettable place . Like the Eagles‘ Hotel California, “you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.”
The former mining town in Texas’ remote and hauntingly beautiful Big Bend region was established around the turn of the twentieth century. In its early decades, 40% of the nation’s quicksilver — or mercury — came from Terlingua. But the ore petered out around the time of World War II, and Terlingua became a ghost town, its adobe and stone buildings beginning their inevitable decline into the desert.
By the late 60s and early 70s, tourists (mainly wandering hippies, I suspect) rediscovered Terlingua, and an annual chili cook-off was established.
Today Terlingua is no less remote, and its residents are a fiercely independent bunch. You’ll find your fair share of characters and crazies here, but it’s the good kind of crazy, and I guarantee you’ll develop an instant affinity for the place and its people.
Much of Terlingua’s “wild west” vibe remains — you get the feeling that everyone here is either running away from — or looking for — something. But I guarantee it’s a place you’ll never forget.
THE VIDEO:
This video is the first of a series I’m doing for Harley-Davidson to accompany my print articles in HOG magazine. It will be accessible on the HOG member website and iPad edition. If you’re not a HOG member, you can see it here.