Dia de Los Muertos Terlingua, TX

My recent trip to Terlingua far exceeded my expectations. If you read about my first trip to this interesting destination, you already know there is so much to see and do there. It is NOT just another dusty West Texas town.

If you haven’t read about it or aren’t already familiar, I hope you are intrigued!

First, the trip was planned around the Dia de Los Muertos festival held on November 2nd. My husband and I fell in love with the area during our first trip in 2021 and we couldn’t wait to go back. The festival and cooler temperatures made the timing of the trip quite attractive.

Big Bend National Park

Santa Elena Canyon

Big Bend National Park

Dia de Los Muertos

Dia de Los Muertos is a Mexican tradition typically celebrated November 2nd but you may know it as All Souls Day. It is a time to celebrate loved ones that have passed away, and some even believe they can reunite with the spirits of their loved ones during this time. You can find more info about Dia de Los Muertos HERE.

In Terlingua, the celebration is held in the Terlingua Cemetery and is attended by a few hundred people (my best estimate) made up of both locals and visitors. Now you might think it would be creepy having the celebration in the cemetery but it really isn’t. It truly had a celebratory feel to it.

A bonfire is started early evening.

Costumes and makeup are common.

A bonfire is started late afternoon/early evening and it burns late into the night. A lot of people bring chairs and sit around the fire chatting, listening to music, watching the dancers, and basically hanging out with other locals and visitors. Eating, drinking, and meeting new people from all over the country is what you can expect. Everyone is so warm and friendly….you will feel very welcomed.

Food was available potluck.

Molly Finnerty did my makeup which I absolutely LOVED! You can find her on Instagram under the name desert_chic. This year she set up on the Starlight Lounge Porch at noon but you will want to get in line early. There is a recommended donation and you can expect to be in the chair for at least 30 minutes. My friend Jennifer and I were fortunate to be the first ones but there were several others waiting by the time we were finished.

Molly took the time to get to know me which seemed to influence how she did my makeup. She asked if I had any requests but, this being my first time, I didn’t really know what I wanted so I left it up to her. The time and effort she put into the makeup was well worth the time and money.

Me at the cemetery the night before.

“La Catrina” makeup

As night fell on the ghost town, people began going around placing and lighting candles on every single grave. Some of the graves no longer have legible name and dates so there’s no telling how old the oldest grave is. My guess is early 1900s since the Chisos Mining Company was established in 1903 however it is possible there are some even earlier than that.

The glow of the candles gives the cemetery a beautiful glow but not at all spooky as you might think. People mill about all over the cemetery looking at graves and chatting with each other. There were also a couple of locals “camped out” on the graves of their loved ones.

There are three white altars that are available for locals and visitors to put candles and photos of their loved ones. Candles are set up on the ground guiding those who walk up.

This trip was bittersweet for me. You see…..my husband passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. We planned this trip together and were looking forward to it. He was supposed to be there observing the celebration with me. I never dreamed he would actually be included in it. The celebratory mood of the event soothed my aching heart and I left there feeling better emotionally. I like to think my husband was looking down and loved that I included him in it.

One of three altars

I placed my husband’s photo on the first altar.

Accommodations

If you need a recommendation for a place to stay, I can tell you about three places. During the 2021 visit, my family and I stayed at Basecamp Terlingua and at Perry Mansion. We rented a 2-room bubble at Basecamp Terlingua for one night and then spent the rest of our time at the mansion in the La Fonda Suite. You can read more about those places in an article I wrote after the 2021 trip: Ghosts in a Texas Mining Town.

This time I stayed at Casa de Amigos which is conveniently located within the ghosts town. It has two bedrooms (one is a loft), living room, kitchen, and plenty of space for four people.

The kitchen was nicely furnished with anything you might need. I booked this place with my husband and daughter in mind but it was just me this time (kiddo went to camp instead). I loved this space!

Day time view from the front.

View at night.

The courtyard is very spacious!

Downstairs bedroom

Now for the kicker………..

I say kicker because, when I sent photos to my family (parents, aunt, and uncle) they all flipped out over the bathroom. You see, my family is NOT AT ALL adventurous so an outdoor bathroom was not even in the realm of possibility.

And trust me…..you don’t need to be adventurous to appreciate the bathroom. It was quite comfortable and a view of the starry sky while “taking care of business” is always welcomed by me.

The outdoor bath house

Bathroom at night

The rock wall is high enough that you have total privacy and the bathhouse was my favorite part. It has light and heat so you don’t have to worry about it being cold in there. If you are looking at my photo above of the toilet, the bath house is off screen to the left.

One last tidbit about this place: I thought this place had been built on the foundation of the original structure. As it turns out, this place was built using the ruins that existed on the property. The kitchen and downstairs bedroom are original and the rest was built up around it.

Well equipped kitchen

View from the bath house

This place is so GREAT and I cannot recommend it enough. Owners Jared and LaNetta reached out to make sure I had everything I needed and were super helpful with recommendations around town. I LOVE THIS PLACE!

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Well I hope this wasn’t too long winded for you but I have so much I can say about Terlingua. My friend Jennifer met me in Terlingua and we talked about maybe making this an annual thing. Yes, we loved it that much!

Now, as 2022 is winding down, I hope you have some great trips planned for the remainder of the year! If you haven’t begun planning for 2023, I encourage you to check out a group trip I have scheduled for September 2023: ROMANIA!!! You can find more info about that HERE.

Make this beautiful day count!

Annette