OW L ROC K oute 66 attractions tend to fall into two different categories: the manmade ones, such as charming diners, kitschy shops, and funky giant structures, and the geological ones, such as the Grand Canyon, the Painted Desert, or Owl Rock. When traveling between Mesita and Laguna in New Mexico on Old Route 66, you are certain to pass an ancient rock formation that is vaguely shaped like, well, an owl. Located about two miles east of Laguna and jutting skyward against a bend in the east side of this narrow, winding stretch of the Mother Road, this mudstone sentinel stands silent watch, surrounded only by dry desert grasses and shrubs, and an occasional mule deer or passing elk. Its only close neighbors are mile markers and telephone poles, though sandstone cliffs loom on the horizon, and not far away to the west is the McCarty’s lava flow—one of the youngest preserved lava flows in the lower 48 states (at between 3,000 and 4,000 years old). A geological site familiar to collectors of Route 66 postcards, Owl Rock was somehow spared the dynamite blasts of the builders of the fourlane Interstate 40. But what makes it so iconic, and why do so many thrill-seekers photograph Owl Rock along such a dangerous stretch of the Route? Throughout its long existence, Owl Rock has seen much history transpire. It is believed by some that it dates to the Jurassic Period, when it was formed over the course of millions of years, as sediments flowed very slowly through a shallow, ancient river, and eventually cemented together to form mudstone. One of Owl Rock’s official locations is Laguna, which Spain had founded in 1697 on land they had claimed from Pueblo people. The Native Americans had expelled the Spaniards during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 but were reconquered in 1692, and the Spanish Empire regained control. Mexico took possession of this land after gaining its independence from Spain in 1821, but then ceded the territory to the United States in 1848 following defeat in the Mexican American War. New Mexico became the 47th state in 1912. Nearby Mesita (Spanish for “small mesa”) was founded in the 1870s on the San Jose River’s south bank by a faction of the Laguna Pueblo people that split off as a result of Protestant Christianity’s growth in the area (following the arrival of Baptists in 1850 and Presbyterians in the 1870s). Today, Owl Rock mostly just sees curious tourists. Aside from its unique shape and the colorful red sandstone cliffs that 38 ROUTE Magazine
loom nearby, these travelers are drawn to the rock because of its unique location on Route 66. “It’s the old, original, two-lane highway,” explained Austin Whittall, Editor of TheRoute-66.com. “It was never enlarged to a four-lane highway, like in other parts of Route 66, so you get the real feel of what the people experienced when they drove down it in the golden days.” Thus untouched, right after you pass Owl Rock, you will approach Dead Man’s Curve, a 180-degree bend to the left. There used to be several Dead Man’s Curves on Route 66, which caused many accidents, but most of them were eliminated during the Mother Road’s many realignments over the years. However, this curve remains to challenge the thrillseekers among the Route’s many devotees. Of course, it is not nearly so dangerous to enjoy Owl Rock itself. Not much traffic passes along this stretch of Route 66 anymore, so you should be able to safely park on the shoulder, get out of the car, and take a beautiful picture. There are no written records of its height, but Whittall estimates that it is around 20 feet tall. Naturally then, you shouldn’t climb the rock, because of the risk of falling off. You may even see a roadrunner dart past, as Whittall did on his visit. And although Owl Rock remains as something of an anomaly in this part of New Mexico, that wasn’t always the case. “There were only two of these rock formations in the whole of Route 66,” noted Whittall. “Both are in New Mexico. One of them was Elephant Rock, and [that] was in the Tijeras Canyon, close to Carnuel, just east of Albuquerque, and that’s gone; it was knocked out when the highway was widened. It was also very close to the edge of the highway, probably four feet from the edge of the tarmac. But Owl Rock survived.” New Mexico is blessed with tremendous beauty and some of the very best Mother Road experiences available. America’s Main Street is packed with manmade destinations that deserve to be visited, but perhaps less grandiose in nature, natural stops are no less fun. So, although there is another Owl Rock, a mountainous spire of sandstone near Kayenta, Arizona, close to the Arizona-Utah border, New Mexico’s Owl Rock has withstood the tests of time and fate that befell others, to become the last geological attraction of its kind along Route 66. And it is likely to stand sentinel for more millennia, watching silently as tourists gawk and wildlife indifferently pass by.
Image by John Smith.
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