Thanks for all the thoughts.

Typing "Marfa Lights" and googling, I found:

http://www.astronomycafe.net/weird/lights/marfa.htm

which has a pretty thorough examination of the phenomena. Most of the discussion there revolves around Highway 67 from Presidio to Marfa and the possibility that car lights/tailights could be reflected by the highly reflective nature of the desert soils. I wonder about this as the lights we saw were much more southeast than looking towards the southwest towards H67. But reflections could be one answer.

Several attempts have been made to coordinate ground and aerial observations with mixed, inconclusive results. Others have apparently tried to hike towards reported sightings, again with no definitive answers.

There is a bookstore in Marfa that did have a book showing "photos" and eyewitness accounts, but I did not buy it (this was before our trip to the viewing area). I don't think I'd buy it now as it seemed on quick reading to be too anecdotal for my liking. By the way, the town of Marfa is trying to distance itself from the lights, preferring in a much larger way to become the "Sante Fe" of Texas with a fairly active art colony.

One of the reports on the AstronomyCafe.net site has a detailed report where they attempted to cross-reference aerial and ground observations, the conclusion being that the lights were indeed from cars/trucks on Highway 67. But, the last line states something like..."the lights reportedly have been seen in the late 19th century, and if so would mean we'd have to reconsider our conclusion". Reportedly, the first sightings were in 1888 by cowboys who saw the lights while moving cattle through the area. They spent a cold night, worried that the local Apaches might be in the area, but a daytime search showed no trace.

The topos do show many trails/roads, and I suspect that the Border Patrol might be active throughout the area which would account for the sudden appearance and movement of the lights. Abandoned airfields, radio towers, radio astronomy sights are all modern and would still not account for the earlier showings.

I'm still skeptical about the "lights", my first thought was "I wonder how much they pay those kids from Marfa to run around the desert with colored flashlights?" Whatever the cause it's still a wonder.

GeorgieB

Dumber than usual today after trying a first pass of 2005 taxes.