Unique West Texas hotel offers a glamping experience that feels out of this world
Staying in a bubble tent in Terlingua, Texas, truly felt like a trip to outer space. Each of Bubble Terlingua’s 10 bubbles stay inflated by a small turbine that blows in the air, so in order to keep air in the bubbles, visitors must enter via an airlock. The outer door must then be closed before opening the interior door, which is how it must feel to an astronaut returning home from a space walk.
Space-faring comparisons don’t stop there. Take the landscape, for example, which strongly resembles a certain desert planet in a galaxy far, far away. Or Mars, if you want something closer to home. Terlingua strongly resembles Mars. Either way, staying at Bubble Terlingua feels like departing from the normal world and entering something extraordinary.
Each two-room bubble sits divided from the rest of the property by concrete walls. This not only heightens the sci-fi feel of the experience, but it also provides privacy since the vinyl bubbles are completely see-through. While the bedroom bubble does have a shade pulled over it during the day — it is the desert, after all; the winter sun heats up quickly —each bubble has been designed to be out of sight of its neighbor.
For all its remoteness, Bubble Terlingua endeavors to provide the comforts of home. Each bubble has a private outdoor area with a propane barbecue grill, an outdoor dining table and a fire pit with seating. Six of the 10 bubble units have a dedicated hot tub and outdoor shower. Inside, the decor gives a minimalist boho vibe with crisp sheets, persian rugs, plus gray blankets and elegant fixtures. There’s also a rainfall shower, a coffee maker, a plush queen bed and a mini-fridge.
But the best feature, hands down, is the bedroom bubble’s view of the night sky. Home to the McDonald Observatory in nearby Ft. Davis, West Texas offers some of the clearest dark skies in the United States. After sunset, campers can scroll back the shade on the main bubble to reveal a sprawling sweep of the Milky Way. The breathtaking panorama makes it easy to pretend like you’re an intrepid stargazer traveling through space.
Bubble Terlingua makes an ideal destination for stargazers hoping to catch a meteor shower as well. For our three-day adventure Jan. 3 - 5, we booked with the intent of viewing the Quatranid meteor shower. The conditions were ideal — clear winter weather plus a waxing crescent moon — which rewarded us with a multitude of shooting stars. The bubbles fill up quickly around these astronomical events, so it’s best to book well ahead of time.
In addition, keep a moon phase calendar handy because it will affect night sky visibility. Though I had originally hoped to book Bubble Terlingua for my husband’s birthday, which happens to coincide with the Leonid meteor shower in November, the moon phase at that time would not have made for optimal stargazing, so we opted for January instead. Because these bubbles are highly popular, they are often booked months in advance, but with some planning and foresight, your stay there will be truly out of this world.
For more information about Bubble Terlingua, visit their website at basecampterlingua. com.
