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| Original painting by Carol L. Adamec: Escape from the Den of Death, 2016, oil on gessoed panel, 8"x12" |
I've had a lot of fun doing this exhibit—and today's post of an old abandoned snake pit in Moriarty, New Mexico, discovered while just driving around, is an example.
Of course, there wasn't just a snake pit out in the middle of nowhere. There had been an trading post on that site too, called The Hitching Post, that offered gas, refreshment, and curios to Route 66 travelers.
While enjoying a cool beverage visitors could experience a roadside thrill—a concrete box covered with wire grating, filled with diamondback rattlesnakes, called "The Den of Death." At the bottom of the pit was a sign encouraging lookers to toss a few coins in and make a wish to come true...and adding a little more income to the trading post proprietor's operation.
Over the winter the snakes were allowed to freeze to death. In the spring, a new batch of rattlers was captured and put in the snake pit—except for the ones shown in this painting—the ones that got away.
While enjoying a cool beverage visitors could experience a roadside thrill—a concrete box covered with wire grating, filled with diamondback rattlesnakes, called "The Den of Death." At the bottom of the pit was a sign encouraging lookers to toss a few coins in and make a wish to come true...and adding a little more income to the trading post proprietor's operation.
Over the winter the snakes were allowed to freeze to death. In the spring, a new batch of rattlers was captured and put in the snake pit—except for the ones shown in this painting—the ones that got away.
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Text and image ©2017 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.
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