Lauren Drewes Daniels
Audio By Carbonatix
Far West Texas is a strange and captivating land: a mix of beauty and desolation, so much space for so much nothing.
A tiny new Buc-ee’s fits right in with this crosscurrent of everything and nothing.
A small cinderblock building along Highway 90 between the towns of Marathon and Sanderson north of Big Bend is decorated with the famous bucked-tooth semi-aquatic mammal and logo. Instead of a ring of gas pumps and parking spaces, there are a couple of cedar trees and an old barbed-wire fence surrounding the place.
Signage that appeared on the building in 2022 was, unfortunately, removed just three days later. It’s back now.
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If you’re planning a trip to Big Bend soon (But why? It’s too hot.) there’s nothing to stop and grab other than a photo. Neither Beaver Nuggets, nor brisket sandwiches, nor the aroma of the cinnamon-sugar roasted pecans wafts through the air. This is Buc-ee’s for people who get anxious just seeing the parking lot from the highway.
The Desert Air Motel, which this writer visited just a couple of years ago – and is a fantastic roadside motel – posted an Instagram update.
The Midland-Reporter Telegraph also reports that this time around, the tiny Buc-ee’s comes with a historical marker:
“Originally established April 1st, 2022, This Bucees location served the area [faithfully] despite its lack of operating hours, bathrooms, employees or a home decor section. It was an important content stop for weary Instagram Influencers and other travelers on the famous Marfa trail. A shift to e-commerce, rising gas prices, and a worldwide Beaver Nugget shortage forced the location to close on April 4, 2022. In 2023, a replica of the original Tiny Bucees was built on the site. To this day it continues to draw crowds and litigation.”
Crowds and litigation. But no Beaver Nuggets or spotless restrooms by the dozens.
Back in 2022, the artist responsible for the signage, who has chosen to remain anonymous, told Texas Monthly the artwork was a light-hearted jab at “America’s propensity for ever-expanding excess.”
