I went down to Las Cruces (NM) last week in an attempt to find and photograph a butterfly I’d never seen before, a desert orangetip. Alas, it was cold, cloudy, and windy most of the time I was there. Butterflies, being cold-blooded, don’t even consider venturing out in such conditions.
I instead spent an inordinate amount of time photographing the giant roadrunner at the I-10 rest area west of Las Cruces.1 It’s made entirely from recycled materials and is so large it essentially looms over the city. Even its rock base is taller than I am.
Much of the roadrunner was created with recycled soles of athletic shoes.
My motto: If it’s tacky, I will find it.2 Aside from the fact that the roadrunner a) is ginormous and b) lives at a rest area, there’s an argument to be made that it’s actually not tacky at all: It’s a completely convincing roadrunner.
The late afternoon clouds and setting sun were so pretty one day that I took a bit of time away from the roadrunner for a few not-so-tacky photos.
I zoomed in for a better look at some of the details on the roadrunner’s head. I believe part of the eye is a headlight embedded in a small tire. You can probably see a few of the many shoe soles that make up this sculpture and, if you look really closely, no fewer than four human figurines, one with wings. You might also be able to see a spatula and a fork.
Perhaps you were wondering about my other motto? Easy: Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.
To be fair, I might have spent just as much time with the roadrunner regardless. It totally fascinates me.
Actually, one of my friends claims that, if it’s tacky, it will find me. Either way….
Thanks for making the roadrunner interesting!
We were in that area recently too in the van. Spent a nite at Rockhound & wow to those nite skies!
Wow! So cool!