Road Trip: Cuervo

Sadly, we were nearing the end of our road trip. We packed up the car and left Durango, driving back into New Mexico. We drove through Albuquerque (resisting the urge to stop and visit Los Pollos Hermanos), and then started heading east on I-40.

In New Mexico, I-40 runs along the same path that Route 66 used to take. The freeway exits now lead to small towns that were once bustling stops for drivers traversing the Mother Road. One of those small towns is Cuervo, which is now nothing more than a ghost town. The town was established in 1901 as a stop along a railroad route that connected Texas to California. When Route 66 passed through Cuervo, the town grew and added a few gas stations, churches, hotels and schools. The town's population would peak at around 300 people.

Most Route 66 cities began to decline when they were bypassed by I-40. But in Cuervo, the interstate was built right through the middle of town, dissecting it in half. Cuervo's population dwindled, and most of the buildings were abandoned. They still stand, in view of the constant stream of indifferent traffic that speeds by on the freeway.

I've been through Cuervo three times before, on road trips in 2007, 2010 and 2015. I looked back at what I wrote on this blog about those visits, and there was one word that was used to describe Cuervo in each of those posts: creepy. There is a weird vibe in the town, like you're being watched or that something nefarious is lurking around nearby.

Here's a shot of Cuervo from 2007, of the odd collection of junk left behind in an abandoned house.



In 2010, we stopped and went inside the old abandoned school:



And in 2015, I peeked inside this abandoned house: 



There is an old catholic church in Cuervo, which was built during World War I. Somehow it's still in decent shape (the roof looks like it was replaced recently). I quickly got out to take a few pictures:





Right next to the church is an abandoned house (it's the one in the photo from 2007 that had the random hairdresser chair). I've taken lots of pictures of that house in the past, like this one from 2015:



But I didn't take any pictures this time. The old house was completely covered with graffiti and vandalism. It seemed like the entire shell of the old house was covered with spray paint. I got an uneasy feeling about it, and didn't want to linger too long. So I hurried back to the car, and then headed onto the freeway. We quickly put Cuervo in the rearview mirror, joining the rest of the traffic on the freeway that passes apathetically through the remains of this sad old town.