Art Where You'd Never, Ever Expect It--South Eastern New Mexico! Yahoo!

If you are ever at or near Hobbs or Jal, New Mexico, look sharp. There is a lot to see that will wow you! South of Hobbs, maybe 35 or 47 miles, look carefully to your right as you travel to Jal. There, there on that ridge line, you will see a couple of cowboys herding some cattle. They look real.
Then go north of Hobbs, just north of the hospital and what is now the public golf course, and there, there on you left you will see a large airplane. Look closer and you might recognize a B-17 bomber of the World War II era and some of the plane's crew members standing under one of its wings. Look closely, and you will see an American flag to the right of the plane and a wind sock just off it's nose.
Then, if you get a chance, get to down town Hobbs and ask where the bar with the mural on the outside walls is. Find it, and you will certainly smile, maybe even laugh right out loud as I did. It almost like a small western town painted on the side of the bar, to include a saloon and whatever. Wow!
Oh, and, by the way, on your way out to see that B-17 bomber, look carefully, also to your right as you drive north. There on your left is a cowboy riding a horse and twirling a lariat over his head!
Well, the murals, as you can imagine, are just that the imagination of a remarkable artist who has long since gone no telling where. I lucked out and met her and her helper when they were painting the saloon and so forth on the walls of that bar. But, I haven't seen her since, and the fellow who owns the bar said he hadn't either.
"The Trail Ahead"
Oh, the cattle you see on that ridge line just north of Jal and south of Hobbs are not real cattle. They are metal sculptures called, "The Trail Ahead," by Brian Norwood of Jal. And, wow! How beautiful it is to see. And, if you stay long enough you will be aware of how though the sculptures do not actually move--the sky seems to change constantly to give the whole scene--400 feet long--a sometimes dramatic background.
That plane north of Hobbs is a metal sculpture, too. There is meaning to where it is, too. You see it stands on ground once used as an air base to train crews to fly the B-17. So, it is not only wonderful too look at now, but there is meaning for it.
That cowboy getting ready to throw his lariat rides his horse right next to the county museum and New Mexico Junior College. How nice to see, how nice all of it is to see!
So, if you ever get to Hobbs, look for these pieces of art that are right out there in the open for the whole world to enjoy.