Our biggest surprise in Texas

For a place with nothing to do, we were too busy to fit in everything we wanted to do.  Marathon surprised us.

We strolled around town, and that doesn’t take long but offers some memorable scenery to have fun with photography.

There’s a little park, The Post Pond, 5 miles outside town for bird watching and fishing.  Bonanza!  We saw our first covey of scaled quail and a vermilion flycatcher.

Back in town, the Gage Hotel has a lovely heated swimming pool and a nearby garden.  The garden was larger – much larger – than we expected with water features, a vineyard, orchard, and even a 9 hole putting green.

The last evening was the final art lecture sponsored by the Gage Hotel.  J.P. Bryan spoke on “The Life and Art of Frank Reaugh”.  We had never heard of Frank Reaugh before, and Bryan’s poetic account of  his life and art was quite informative.  After Bryan’s interesting lecture, we saw some of Reaugh’s pastels, and we were astounded with his artistry.

We thought we’d have plenty of time to rest in Marathon before heading off to hike in Big Bend National Park.  Not even close. Clearly, Marathon presented us just too many wonderful things to do.   Rest will have to wait…

March 2013