In the vast stretches of far west Texas even a coyote can get lost and never find its way home. The tumbleweeds blow relentlessly on the hot summer breezes, with no particular place to go; a place where water is as scarce as palm trees in Alaska, and where the native folks in this far strech of America are as friendly as the people you've known your entire life; the neighbors next door!
With a population density less than most parts of the world, you have to drive many-a-mile to find the next inhabited track of land; vast ranches spread from horizon-to-horizon in never ending array. It's a world all to its own; lonely, yet magnificent in its desolation and desert splendor. What little traffic that does travel down its open highways seldom stops, for there's not really many places one would want to stop, except, perhaps, for roadside relief.
Yet near the town of Marfa, Texas, many a car and truck has come to a dead halt at night, pulling to the side of the road or just stopping in the middle of the highway, to watch the famous eerie Marfa Lights that often dance across the far horizon like fireflys at play.
Just what the lights are and why they can't be scientifically identified is anyone's guess. They can generally be viewed only at great distances, though there have been isolated reports that some have actually encountered tiny fireballs of light just outside their car or truck window.
In trying to describe just what these strange lights look like is difficult, some describing a single round ball of light, greenish or yellow in color. Others have noted multiple and similar lights.
On a lonely stretch of U.S. Highway 67/90, there's an area made for pulling to the side of the road and viewing the often occuring event. Here you'll find a plague erected by the Texas Highway Department commemerating this unexplained phenomena. If you use this roadside area for viewing, chances are good you'll find you aren't alone, so popular and wide known are the Marfa Lights. It has been estimated that the lights can be seen from as far away 30-40 miles. In this arid stretch of land, there are small hills and mountain ranges that dot the horizon in every direction. The lights can best be seen looking southwest across Mitchell Flat, in the direction of a low range known as the Cuesto del Burro mountains. Most often, the light (or lights) are visible just in front of Chinati Mountain.
There are plenty of local legends concerning the lights. Some say they represent the wandering spirit of the exiled Apache Chief Alsate. Some hold to the story that the lights are flickering lanterns of a lost pioneering family who braved the harsh West Texas sun to settle a new homestead. The family reportedly became lost and died of thirst and exposure, destined to forever wave their signal lanterns through the decades in hope of rescue.
The earliest recorded account of the lights appeared in a frontier newspaper in the year 1883, a sighting by a West Texas range hand named Robert Ellison. The cowboy had been tending to his herd near Marfa when apparently the cattle became spooked with the appearance of one of the tiny fire balls. According to published accounts, Ellison chased the light on horseback in a prairie game of cat and mouse, finally giving up after the herd began to stampede. In fact, even several modern sightings seem to support the theory that the lights have a way with "playing" with witnesses. Back in the '80's, a motorist reported to the Texas Highway Patrol that a single fireball of light entered his open window as he sped down U.S. 90 enrouite to El Paso. The motorist claimed the fireball jostled around inside the car for about two miles before exiting the same open window.
More than one scientific study has been conducted and many different theories presented. Perhaps the most comprehensive study was performed by scientists from the University of Texas. A research team spent countless nights (at varying times of the year) at the optimum spot for viewing, using sophisticated equipment including light meters, spectrum analysers, etc. In the end, the only thing they were able to determine for certain is the Marfa lights are indeed a mystery.
There have been theories, ranging from car lights reflecting from mountains in the great West Texas distance, to weather related phenomena. In 1989 a research team from the popular television series, "Unsolved Mysteries", traveled to the remote site in an effort to explain the phenomena. After several nights of research, they listed the eerie Marfa Lights as being in the category of unknown (but not man-made) origin.
We may never know the whys and what-fors of these very strange lights. It seems they enjoy playing with witnesses and, in so doing, add to the overall mystery of just what they are and why they are here in this remote stretch of far West Texas.
But one thing is for certain: this is one mystery that, despite being difficult to explain, is easy to see. Next time you pass through this lonely part of the Lone Star state, schedule a little time to witness this very strange but true phenomena.
