You can travel to the Terlingua Ghost Town if you exit Big Bend on the west side of the park. This is a ghost town but people actually live here. It almost gives the impression as though it’s become something of a commune. It appeared to me that people have worked on parts of old buildings and turned them into shelters suitable for living. There’s an old building that’s a coffee shop with a big wooden sign on the roof that’s roughly painted with the word Internet on it. I saw a guy sitting on the porch of another meager looking structure that identified it as an art gallery with a neon sign in the window that was flashing “Open”. It was all kinda surreal.

The cemetery of Turlingua is on the National Historic Registry. You can’t make this stuff up. This wasn’t at the end of my day’s journey but it sure left a lasting impression on me. I smile every time I start to think about it. Writing about it makes me want to go back but it’s just too far away.