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    Big River

    This breathtaking West Texas road trip wins over out-of-town skeptics

    Stacy Breen
    Aug 8, 2017 | 9:01 am
    Bullock Texas State History Museum presents H-E-B Free First Sunday: Journey Into Big Bend
    Closed Canyon is open for hiking.
    Photo by Sarah Wilson

    Editor's note: Dallas resident Stacy Breen is an intrepid explorer of local culture with an instinct for making nifty discoveries. She's contributing a weekly column on her cool finds.

    I wanted to go on a road trip. I had a 3- to 4-day window right before Thanksgiving where my family was going to be out of town, and a friend from Brooklyn was coming to visit. Marfa was the official destination, but this was about taking a road trip, and about showing my friend the beauty of Texas.

    Like a lot of people outside Texas, he had this impression that Texas is all a red state. But I promised him that Texas is more than what you read about and convinced him to come down.

    Marfa
    Marfa has been dubbed a Brooklyn favorite. It has the art and shops and food. But with its remoteness and captive audience, your options are limited. It's almost like going camping. The restaurant situation is unreliable; some places close on a whim. It can be a two-hour wait to get a pizza, even if you want it to-go. A lot of people end up eating at the Dairy Queen.

    We went to see the famous Prada Marfa exhibit, almost 30 miles outside of Marfa. This was a little doomed. We went in the afternoon, but it turns out that it's better to visit in the morning, because of the way the sun hits it.

    And then as soon as we exited the parking lot, I realized I had a flat tire. In the middle of nowhere.

    I called Subaru roadside and they sent a truck out to get us. It took more than two hours; by then, it was dark. We tried to make the best of it. We got some photos of a train going by. I found a tumbleweed. I still have it; I brought it home with me.

    The tow truck came all way from Rapid Road Service in Van Horn to get us. Luckily, they had a tire that fit my car. The whole theme of this trip was driving, and it would have been stressful to do it on a spare tire. They saved the trip.

    FM-170
    Our goal was to drive FM-170, which follows the border between Mexico and the United States. Gas stations are few and far between. You're driving through mountains with views of the Rio Grande. There's elevation changes, mountains, all these beautiful views all the time, and Mexico on the other side.

    We did two hikes: the Hoodoo Trailhead, named for the large rock formations called hoodoos, and Closed Canyon, a canyon that literally closes off until it's only water and you can't get through. We went right down to the Rio Grande River and tried to imagine how they could erect a wall. It's amazing that you can walk across the river and be in another country.

    On our way back, we stopped at Hotel Settles, a historic Art Deco hotel in downtown Big Spring that reopened after undergoing a beautiful renovation. It's a good halfway point between Marfa and DFW, but it also had some neat historical items. We treated it like a museum stop.

    When we got back, we stopped at Spiral Diner in Fort Worth, and then I took him to DFW Airport in time for his flight. He's done a lot of road trips and he said that Highway 170 was one of the best he's seen in the United States.

    texastours
    news/travel

    Hotel News

    City of McKinney approves funding for new Marriott luxury hotel

    Raven Jordan
    Jun 12, 2025 | 10:56 am
    JW Marriott in McKinney
    City of McKinney
    Rendering of JW Marriott in McKinney

    The McKinney City Council has approved incentives for the development of a JW Marriott resort hotel at Craig Ranch, a master-planned community, where it’s slated to go up at the northeast corner of Collin McKinney Parkway and Van Tuyl Parkway.

    Construction on the eight-acre project is set to begin December 2026.

    The city of McKinney is giving an economic development grant to Craig Ranch Luxury Hotel SPE Owner LP for the project. Under the agreement, the developer will construct and operate a luxury JW Marriott resort hotel featuring 290 guest rooms, more than 51,000 square feet of high-end hotel conference space, and resort-style amenities.

    These amenities include a pool with a lazy river, a full-service fitness center, a three-meal restaurant and specialty restaurant, a lounge with a terrace and poolside service, pickleball courts, structured and valet parking, and other conveniences such as a business center and a retail gift shop.

    Visitors to the hotel will also have access to the TPC Craig Ranch golf course and Life Time Fitness and Spa.

    The project will also include at least 45 for-sale condos, served by a dedicated amenity deck. Funding for the hotel and condos will come from grants and a loan including a $25 million grant and $10.25 million loan from the City of McKinney and a $2 million grant from the McKinney Economic Development Corporation, according to city council documents.

    According to the Mayor of McKinney, the project reflects the city’s commitment to planned growth and economic development.

    "With the airport's upcoming expansion into commercial service, our extended partnership with The CJ CUP Byron Nelson tournament, and major entertainment attractions like the VENU Sunset Amphitheater and Cannon Beach: Surf and Adventure Park, McKinney is quickly becoming a regional and national destination,” says McKinney Mayor George Fuller in a statement. “A luxury resort like JW Marriott is not just welcome, it's needed."

    This development supports the city's continued efforts to promote tourism and attract premier hospitality experiences, and this upcoming $1.3 billion mixed use development is yet another example of how serious the city is about drawing in a new crowd.

    The hotel is expected to be completed by April 2029.

    hotels
    news/travel
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