A lot of people ask us where the name Dry Heat Photography came from. For those of you who don’t know the whole story; once upon a time Rick and I managed a different studio here in Albuquerque and we had a side project that was our collective works from all the ghost towns and old cemeteries that we would shoot, usually on the way to somewhere else, like a wedding. Eventually, we amassed a large body of this work and began to seek gallery representation for it. In order to this we needed a name and a website and, after much deliberation, Dry Heat Photography was born. Later on, when we decided to open our wedding studio, the name was already in place and people knew Dry Heat Photography meant Rick and DeAnna so we just decided to keep it.
Anyway, we don’t get out to these places as often as we used to but last fall we went camping with our friends Jessica and Kemp. They have a boat and like to hang out at Ute Lake near Tucumcari. There are several ghost towns along this stretch of I-40 (between Albuquerque and Tucumcari) that once thrived on the motorists traveling Route 66. Unfortunately, when I-40 was built most of these towns declined and fell into ruin. Cuervo was never really a booming metropolis. At it’s height it boasted a population of about 300. Today, the population is less than 50 but what Cuervo does have is an abundance on semi intact, creepy looking structures that are a ghost town photographer’s ideal playground.
These first 14 shots are from another little ghost town that is just west of Cuervo. I believe the name of it is Montoya. Montoya boasts a tiny gas station that just might have the most repugnant bathroom this side of the Mississippi. The remainder of the town is comprised mostly of abandoned buildings.
If you want to visit Cuervo I strongly suggest not going alone. There ARE people around who ARE watching you and sometimes it feels a little uncomfortable in a The Hills Have Eyes kind of way. In addition there are partially covered wells and most of the structures are not sound. All I’m saying is – pay attention to your surroundings and make sure you tell someone where you’re going. If you disappeared it would be a long time before anyone figured out what happened.
-DeAnna Dimmitt
Dry Heat Photography
P.S. Here are a couple links to some past trips down the Mother Road
Seligman, Arizona
Ashfork, Arizona
Cuervo starts here
