The portrait of a Texan cowboy or cattleman has been romanticized for nearly two centuries now. That archetypical lonesome Marlboro man staring off into the sunset on his steed, stoic and mysterious. And sure, there’s probably a few left like that, but a modern ranch hand—like, Mike Davis for example—is probably a bit more contemporary than his predecessors. As a ranch hand, Mike works with cattle, loves animals, but also labors hard in all the other areas that go into managing a ranch. But for Mike, Marfa’s always been the true draw to this lifestyle, ever since he first came some years ago, staying on his friend’s ranch and watched the sunrise and sunset for 8 days straight. It was an experience that felt more home than home…
“Mostly, I do a lot of the more day-to-day type work,” says Mike. “It ends up being a lot of, like, mechanic-ing and plumbing and digging dirt, and driving around. More mundane stuff. But the landscape, that’s what really does it for me. I grew up in the suburbs, you know? It was boring, but this is more exciting to me because it feels like I'm actually a part of something bigger than myself. I mean, this is just always the kind of stuff that I wanted to be doing: Staying dirty and working hard in a beautiful place. It's a pretty simple equation. It works for me.”
Beau to chef Luci Bockelie over at Marfa’s Water Stop restaurant, Mike is a true eyeconoclast that sees life through a different lens. “I don't think it's an accident or a coincidence that when you talk about Marfa, you mention ‘magic’ a bunch. There really is something about this place and every single day feels like a life-changing moment to me. I really appreciate this place and my life here. It's both comfortable and challenging and beautiful. It sort of feels like at this point, I've always been here. In a weird way, I just sort of I don't remember what it's like to live anywhere else. I don't want to know.”
