Cuervo, New Mexico, March 2023, Part 1

Cuervo, New Mexico is a small community along interstate I-40 in New Mexico.  It is mostly a ghost town, having been established as a railroad stop in 1901, then drying up when the railroad chose another stop in Tucumcari, NM.

I’ve driven this stretch of I-40 past Cuervo numerous times, first making a mental note of this place, when I spotted an old, picturesque church as I drove by at 75mph, thinking that someday I might want to stop in to photograph that old church.

I had spent the night near Gallup, NM, waking up to a snow covered vehicle and campground with temperature in the low 20s.  I drove through intermittent snow and rain that heavily overcast morning.  I figured the overcast sky would create the perfect environment for photographing in Cuervo, so I determined to take time to stop here today.  Atlas, as I drove along not paying attention to where I was, I drove past the only east bound exit for Cuervo.  I had to drive 7 or 8 miles to the next exit, make a U-turn and backtrack to Cuervo.  By the time I got back to Cuervo, most of the overcast had cleared and it was mostly bright and sunny.  But I was here and decided to walk around the small town, photographing the abandoned homes, anyway.

Cuervo Ghost Town 1
Cuervo Ghost Town 2
Cuervo Ghost Town 3
Cuervo Ghost Town 4
Cuervo Ghost Town 5
Cuervo Ghost Town 6 – Cali-Rose
Cuervo Ghost Town 7
Cuervo Ghost Town 8 – The Church

The old church is still somewhat maintained, at least.  The roof appears to be relatively new.

To be continued,

Ken

Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge -Holy City

As I was scouting the large Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, I saw road signs for “Holy City”.  I had no idea what this was, but I had to find out.

When I arrived at the Holy City, the mystery began to clear.  I learned that this is the site of an Easter Passion Play, which originated in 1926.

I walked around the site, making a few photos of some of the features used in the Passion Play, to document this visit.

Holy City
Holy City
Holy City
Holy City
Holy City
Holy City
Holy City

I had much more exploration and scouting on my menu today, so I did not spend much time in the Holy City.

Scouting continues in the next post,

Ken