Planes , Trains , and Automobiles in Marfa
by Jim Wolper
The rental car had no oil . I didn ’ t realize at first . It was late on a West Texas night , the moon hidden by clouds , the ramp at the Marfa airport still wet from the rain I ’ d flown through . Besides , who checks the oil in a rental car ?
The ranch where my passengers would be hunting had sent a pickup truck , and they waited until I got the car started before driving off . Typical for airport cars , the Check Engine light was on , the paint was oxidized , and the seats were cracked . I headed for my hotel .
The oil pressure light came on halfway between the airport and the hotel . If you ’ re in a big city , halfway from the airport to the hotel might be as little as half a mile . But this was Far West Texas , and my company had booked me in a hotel in Alpine .
If you live in West Texas , or visit , you know what I saw : nothing . And you know what I had seen : nothing . No cars moving my direction , none coming the other way . It was ten miles back to Marfa , ten miles forward to Alpine . I had lots of warm clothes but no food or water . If I stop here , I thought , I ’ m dead , or maybe subject to alien abduction . Desperate , I punched the accelerator . Maybe that would work the pump harder ? I was right : the light went out . I thought about what might be wrong , maybe a failing pump , a clogged filter , an empty oil pan ? Stopping to check things out was a big risk .
The light came on again a few minutes later . It went out when I punched the accelerator . Pumping away , I lurched into Alpine like a bucking bronco . In the morning I checked the oil . Nothing appeared on the dipstick . The registration was expired , too . I called the rental agency . No answer .
The agency was one guy , and when he called me back , he suggested a slow leak . I started to protest that there was no oil stain under the car , but an empty sump leaves no stain , so I held my tongue . He told me what grade of oil to buy and said he would reimburse me . One quart brought the level up to the dipstick and I relaxed a little .
And the registration ? He thought it was registered but he was in Austin and hadn ’ t verified the sticker . I like Austin a lot but you and I both know that there are people there who aren ’ t from Texas and don ’ t want to be from Texas . He didn ’ t sound like he was from Texas . He suggested that I go back to Marfa and swap it for the other car he had there at the airport .
Driving back to Marfa , I got to see what I hadn ’ t seen the night before . Not in a hurry , I stopped at the historical markers . I ’ ve done lots of drives like this in Nevada and Idaho and enjoy the desert scenery , especially features like the Paisano Volcano Caldera . Back home in Idaho I often drive across a similar caldera on the way to Yellowstone , and I was comparing the two . And there were other cars . I was not alone . I was even glad to see a speed trap .
The other car in Marfa had no registration at all , let alone an expired one . It did have a flat tire . I called the guy in Austin again , but he offered no help other than to tell me how difficult the business was .
20 Cenizo Spring 2021