Day 7: Park The Pony

About 2am we discovered why the Gage Hotel provides complimentary ear plugs in the room. The hotel is literally across the street from the mainline of the Union Pacific RR. On an intellectual basis it’s easy to understand that the town and the hotel exist because of the railroad; however, the first time you hear the freight train whistling its way past your room, you wonder why they built the hotel so darn close to the tracks!

Our room #39 was located in the Portales annex of the hotel. It provided a beautiful and peaceful sanctuary when a train wasn’t around—quite unique. The room itself had a stocked fireplace and thick adobe walls with wood shutters that darkened the room very effectively.

This was our designated day to “veg.” We decided that the Mustang needed a rest too so it stayed parked all day while we explored Marathon on foot (which didn’t take all that long). The town is laid out very logically, if somewhat un-creatively. North-South roads are Avenues A, B, C, D, etc. while East-West roads are First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Streets. The Elementary and High Schools are way up around Fifth and Sixth Streets (go a block further to get to the six-man football field). Our waitress for dinner this day was a sophomore here. Her class totaled three people. Her goal was to graduate valedictorian and get the hell out of Marathon (to attend UConn). But I get ahead of myself.

Our first breakfast attempt was at Shirley’s Burnt Biscuit Bakery, two blocks from the hotel. Isn’t that a great name for a restaurant? Unfortunately, their breakfast sandwiches consisted of pre-made Saran wrapped things that you could warm up in their microwave. Reminded me of the breakfast offering at a 7-11. We backtracked to Johnny B’s, an establishment only open from 7-11am. Had some great blueberry pancakes and managed to stay under their limit of three refills on the coffee.

Next stop was the bookstore back down the block. The owner is also the custodian of the town museum and library, which seems perfectly rational. We bought a book on CD and , in turn, were offered the key for a personal visit, but we declined as we had a much too busy schedule to dawdle in a museum/library. Back we went to relax in the Portales area outside our room. Got acquainted with the Gage’s no-name cat who insisted upon being paid some attention. Then we walked all the way over to The French Market (French refers to a surname, not a nation) where we split a deli sandwich while I made my BBL’s day by letting her slaughter me at Scrabble. Then I required a nap to help me recover from such a hectic pace.

Before you knew it, it was time to relax again, then walk all the way to the Courtyard Café, an annex of the Marathon Motel & RV Park, which is the Gage’s competition. Along the way we passed a most remarkably painted garage door—a perfect five-pointed star in a circle. It must have taken longer to paint this than it did to build the garage! At the Café we met the aforementioned student and had our last supper in Brewster County – a very Texan sliced brisket and baked potato. Also took my last sunset pictures as the sun set behind the Glass Mountains.

Friday pictures