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Homey Inn in the Desert with Elegant Southwestern Style

Texas’s sweeping Big Bend region near the Mexican border is considered to be one of the country’s last frontiers. Its rugged landscape, dominated by mountains and arid grasslands, has been the backdrop for many western films, including No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood. Situated in the heart of this wilderness in the small town of Alpine, The Maverick Inn also channels Old West spirit with cowboy-inspired decor in a 1930s adobe-walled building.

In a nod to vintage roadside motels, a large, neon sign with a horseshoe and yellow roses rises near The Maverick Inn. The rest of the hotel avoids kitsch and embraces authentic southwestern charm. The adobe-style inn has 20 individually decorated guest rooms, all set on Mexican terra-cotta tile floors. The room is decorated with framed prints depicting scenes from Native American culture, as well as cowhide rugs and tapestries. Prepare home-cooked meals in a one-queen superior room, which has a full kitchen with a refrigerator. In classic and deluxe rooms, you’ll find pine furnishings and flat-panel TVs.

The Maverick Inn calls itself "a roadhouse for wanderers," a testament to its laid-back attitude. During the week, the innkeeper whips up housemade cinnamon rolls and specialty granola for a complimentary continental breakfast. At check-in, guests receive a complimentary drink coupon for The Century Bar and Grill at The Maverick’s sister property, The Holland Hotel. When it’s warm, Maverick's outdoor pool is a popular spot during the day. At night, you’ll often find guests gathering around the fire pits.

Alpine, Texas: Desert Town with Mountain Views in Texas’s Big Bend Region

Situated at the edge of western Texas’s Chihuahuan Desert, Alpine is surrounded by massive mountain ranges and Rio Grande Canyons. At 4.1 square miles, Alpine is a mere pinprick in the larger Big Bend region. But it still nurtures an active music and arts scene, hosting the country’s second-largest cowboy poetry festival, which takes place in late February. The town is a good jumping-off point for many of the area's biggest attractions. A little more than an hour from the hotel, roadrunners, piglike javelina, and mountain lions thrive in the 800,000-acre Big Bend National Park. Visitors can hike through desert mountains colored in shades of red, orange, yellow, white, and brown, or float down the Rio Grande while it winds through towering canyons.

For a different kind of thrill, head to the neighboring town of Marfa and check out the infamous "ghost lights." Decide for yourself whether these small, ethereal lights that float across the sky are UFOs, ghosts, or merely car lights reflecting off the atmosphere.

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