Marathon House is a fully equipped private residence with all the amenities and situated for privacy on the southern edge of the Texas cattle town of Marathon pop. 406. Founded in 1882 with the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad, Marathon is home to the historic Gage Hotel and the French Co. grocery and general store. Marathon is the gateway to Big Bend National Park and all its adventures including wilderness hiking, riding and river canoeing. Easy day trips from Marathon include Alpine, Marfa, Fort Davis, Fort Stockton, McDonald Observatory, Terlingua. The Sunset Limited AMTRAK service which links New Orleans and LA divides the north and south sides of town and stops in Alpine 30 minutes east.
The Gage Hotel was built in 1923 and faithfully restored to a high standard by Texas cattleman and philanthropist J.P. Bryan. In addition to rustic and charming 3 star accommodations, the Gage has a restaurant and bar that would get high marks in a big City. There is an adjacent local coffee shop with food called the V6; two galleries, great barbecue place – The Brick Vault; a mom's-food cafe called the Oasis and Big Bend Pizza on the edge of town which gets rave reviews. The French Co general store is the anchor of the community offering all the basics in groceries and fresh products including bakery and on-site prepared sandwiches, tamales, burritos and a variety of health and gourmet foods.
The French Co. also organizes outdoor music events and offer's Sunday brunch and Friday hamburger night both outdoors. Neighboring Alpine is the "big city" 30 minutes away.
Back to the house, it is unusually well equipped with two outdoor eating areas and BBQ's on the South with a desert view and the North side with mountain view. A formal dining room seats 10. Two other indoor eating areas seat 4 each. It's a chef's kitchen with dual ovens and cook tops. The exercise room has a treadmill, exercise bicycle, bench and free weights, a simple universal gym, couch and flat screen TV. The Great Room has a 65 inch screen with DirecTV 200+ DVD's and player and a clear view of a fenced acre for dogs.
