Jal, New Mexico: Jal Lake, Metal Cattle Drive Sculpture
Small town boasts a man-made lake that spells its name, and a giant-size Old West cattle drive recreated in plate steel. There are 17 silhouettes; one cowboy on horseback is 20 feet tall.
- Address:
- Hwy 18, Jal, NM
- Directions:
- Lake is south of town. From Hwy 18 turn on to Missouri Ave. Lake is immediately on your left. the sculpture is 2.5 miles north of town, on the west side of Hwy 18, along a ridge paralleling the road.
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As I drove south along highway 18 I saw, on the brow of a hill to the west, a neat, small display of cowboys herding some cattle. I drove a dirt road, maybe a quarter of a mile, to where they were -- and was shocked by their sizes. One is almost 20 feet tall! Distance can sure fool a person. There is a marker telling of the display down by the highway.
[Gerald D Massey, 07/06/2012]The sculpture is worth the visit if you're in the neighborhood. There are a whole line of 10-ft. tall cows and 20-ft. tall cowboys.
[Paul, 05/29/2011]
This lake spells "JAL" from the air. There is a small park next to it and also some iron sculptures.
[Jonathan Griffin, 02/26/2005]Nearby Offbeat Places
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Next time we're barnstorming over New Mexico we'll look for it. Via Terraserver, we notice it's upside-down, since most maps use a north-top orientation -- so it looks more like a giant jockstrap. For the ground-bound, Jal displays "The Trail Ahead" by artist Brian Norwood -- 17 large silhouettes cut from steel of cowboys on horses driving cattle, 400 feet long.