Yeah, I know FT is for flying, not for driving.

One of Anthony Bourdain's shows covered west Texas and it has been on my list for a while. I had a UA flight credit that I needed to use, so booked an October trip, in at MAF and out at ELP, driving in between over six days. Avoiding I-10 to the extent possible.

Thinking of Midland to Big Bend to Marfa to El Paso and stuff in between. Any can't miss stops along the way?

Thanks!

https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/monahans-sandhills

If you are in the area, I'd be interested to hear about Balmorhea State Park. There's supposed to be a big natural pool there (similar to Barton Springs, but bigger), where the water is about the same temp year-round. They have cabins if you want to stay there too.
It is kind of close to where the I-10 and I-20 meet.

Let me know if you make it further east. I'll be doing a swim event in the Highland Lakes, just west of the Austin area, in a few weeks. One day at Lake LBJ, the next at Inks, and the last at Lake Buchanan.

Not sure if UA still flies to SJT? I think AA does, and I' flew there on CO (IAH-SJT) ages ago. Might be worth comparing costs, but the town isn't anything more than MAF. If you're into steak, there are some good steakhouses in San Angelo.

Otherwise, I've only driven through this area, but have been wanting to visit Big Bend and Marfa for some time... Definitely post a trip report and a link to it from here.

Terlingua Chili Cook-off is Nov 2nd - 5th which is near Big National and the nearby Big Bend State Park. Guadalupe Peak is the top of Texas at 8,751 which is near the New Mexico border and Carlsbad Caverns.

I went to Big Bend National Park earlier this year in June & stopped at Balmorhea State Park on the way home to San Antonio. Big Bend was absolutely beautiful and desolate, amazing to view. Here I am driving in Big Bend, as an example of what to expect. (I think my friend cursed at one point or another, apologies & be wary if you don't like curses).


Balmorhea on the way home, we stopped kind of really late so we didn't get much time to enjoy it, but it's absolutely amazing. Really cold water with a noticeable flow & plenty of fish and I even came face-to-face with a turtle underwater! It scared the crap outta me & I scared the crap outta it! I hope you have fun at both places!

Ft. Davis State Park
Attractive motel, great restaurant with stunning views down the valley
https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/indian-lodge
Look at the list of attractions down that page. If there is a evening show at the McDonald Observatory go to it!

The town of Ft. Davis is fun to tour; pick up some pecans at the Davis Mountain Nut Co.
https://allpecans.com/

6 full days or just 4?

assuming 4 full days

day 2 fly in
day 2 to big bend np
day 3 big bend
day 4 to marfa
day 5 to El paso
day6 fly home
or
day 1 fly in
day 2 to marfa
day 3 head north to Carlsbad
day4 Guadeloupe/ Carlsbad NPs
day 5 to white sands np then to El paso
day 6 fly out

full 6 days+ 2 flying

day 1 fly in
day2 to big bend
day 3 big bend
day 4 to marfa
day 5 to carlsbad
day 6 Carlsbad/ Guadeloupe np
day 7 white sands np then to El paso
day 8 fly home

Thanks to everyone who contributed. At the end, the route looked like this (see the link below). I intend to do a more detailed report, but if I don't get this part finished now, I'll get sidetracked with other priorities.

West Texas Road Trip

Air travel was UA IAD-DEN-MAF/ELP-IAH-IAD. No highlights except for the DEN-MAF flight where there was a new FA completing her last evaluation flight. We all cheered her on. The UA D club was ridiculously crowded, the DEN club had really a really good green chili, but was served in paper cups as was the G&T. I'll post some notes about the Midland DoubleTree and the El Paso Indigo in the appropriate threads. I stayed in Choice Quality Inns in Ft. Stockton and Alpine. These rooms were considerably less expensive than programs I chase status and the rooms were like new in both cases. Makes me wonder why I continue to maintain status in hotel programs. Car rental was Hertz, found via AutoSlash via Priceline. I've gotten some great rates over the past six months with AutoSlash.

All road travel was non-interstate except the short stretch between Midland and TX-18 and Van Horn and El Paso. The 70/75/80 MPH speed limits were great!

I got a lot of pictures that I'll post in a more detailed report, but here are some highlights (in text):

Midland - Permian Basin Petroleum Museum.

Ft. Stockton - Ft. Stockton Panthers vs. Monahans Lobos. Ft. Stockton was 6-0, but since I attended, it lost (29-38), but a great game and a great 1/2 time performance by both school bands.

Big Bend National Park - choice of the river, the mountains, and/or the desert. I did the Window Trail (about 6 miles round trip), not too strenuous and watched for black bears (for real).

Terlingua - a very eclectic locale; walked or drove much of it.

Lajitas - I simply wanted to see the Rio Grande River and this was as close as I was going to get (although there is a golf resort there). Leaving politics out of it, given the heat of the day and the terrain 100-feet from me in Mexico, it certainly provides a very minor perspective of what is involved in crossing into the US at non-controlled areas.

Alpine - I think a true western town. I really enjoyed walking around it. And it should be noted (Terlingua as well) is very popular with motorcyclists.

Fort Davis - both the town and the historic site. The few older buildings in town contained current businesses. I had a cup of coffee while sitting on the porch of one of the businesses. Fort Davis National Historic Site is very well done.

Marfa - I know this is heresy to many, but 'meh'. (The idea for this trip was from an Anthony Bourdain special where Marfa was a highlight.) First, it was Sunday, and really nothing was open. Second, the things I did see for sale, were, well, expensive. Third, a Starbucks is being built out and for me that ruins the locale.

El Paso - I stayed downtown and what a nice compact downtown. Unfortunately, being Sunday (and having Monday) the two things I wanted to do were closed - the National Border Patrol Museum and Cattleman's Steakhouse. I did drive to Scenic Drive to see great views of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez.

While it is not on the map, I wasn't going to waste Monday, so I drove out US-62 to Guadalupe National Park and did a 4-mile hike in 45-degree rain (Smith Spring Trail Loop). I found the hike very refreshing. (I considered going as far as Carlsbad National Park, but I collect university/college coffee mugs as travel souvenirs and had to get to the UTEP bookstore before closing time.

(I also considered going to Ciudad Juarez from El Paso, and in fact I took my passport. There are a few 'safe' sites to visit during the day, but the logistics of getting there and back seemed to be time consuming for a short day trip.)

The open space and the landscapes were amazing. There were so many seemingly abandoned structures that I would have loved to explore, but many reasons why I would not do that. The CBP 'Inspection Station' on US-62 was an interesting, but uneventful experience. And don't drop below 1/2 tank of gas (I noticed a sign on US-62 stating '128 miles until the next gas station').

Again, thanks for the input from everyone!