Last weekend I set out on a much anticipated afternoon trip to a ghost town located on Hwy 285 between Pecos, Texas and Carlsbad, New Mexico. Did I mention that I had been anticipating this little getaway for several MONTHS?! Yes, I was truly looking forward to this adventure.
The ghost town of Orla started out as a way station for a now defunct railroad line, and was located at the crossroads of US Hwy 285 and Farm Road 652. There are possibly one or two permanent residents of Orla, at least one of them being the owner of a "lodge." Other than the new lodge (for petroleum workers mostly, as few tourists would want to stop here) and the Orla "General Store" the town has remained the same since it was abandoned in the 1950's. So for me there was a historical attraction, as I am a confirmed history buff, especially for Texas history.
But Orla held another attraction for me as well, one that may surprise you. You see, Orla lies on one of the ley lines that runs through Texas, and also is rumored to be a vortex for electromagnetic anomalies. So, Orla has a certain metaphysical attraction to me as well. Please feel free to research ley lines and the lore surrounding Orla, Texas. I will not go into a lot of that in this post. Suffice to say that Orla is "Google-worthy" as one of the more mysterious sites in Texas. With this belief I set out on my day trip.
I chose to travel through Odessa then head out Hwy 302 west to Kermit, about a forty-mile drive. This part of the trip was actually one of the high points, because of the travel through the still-living sand dunes that cover much of western Ector County and much of Winkler County in all directions. In fact, the sand dunes stretch south from Kermit all the way to the Monahans Sandhills State Park, about twenty-five miles south of Kermit. The dunes then continue south for miles, nearly to the Mexican border. From Kermit, the dunes also stretch nearly a hundred miles north.
After passing through this area of sand dunes (which was the setting for my book, Bailey Black, by the way) I drove west until reaching that little outpost of extreme independence, Loving, Texas. This is not a ghost town, but it is a town one would only live in because he or she wanted to be in a community, yet OFF the radar. This seeming paradox is possible in Loving. They have no city taxes and very little city anything else, and that is the way they want it. Friendly people there, but if you don't like the way they do things there, they are more than happy to point you back down the road to Kermit. But I digress...
Having passed through Loving, the land became somewhat flat again for several miles, but then I crossed the legendary Pecos River. Almost immediately the land was covered with actual features such as draws and small canyons, before flattening out again as I neared Orla. When I arrived at Orla I met by a shocking and not very welcomed sight.
Before I had even reached the intersection of FM 652 and Hwy 285 I began passing by petroleum production facilities on both sides of the road. By the time I was within a couple of miles of Orla, the company "yards" were crammed up against each other. There was virtually NO "raw" land within a two mile radius of Orla. Not only that, but the traffic generated by each of these company facilities was incredible. Both of these roads are two-lane affairs, but FM 652 has no shoulders. Both "work trucks" (heavy duty crew-cab pickups) and large semi rigs with varying payloads crammed these two roads, making the volume of traffic in this small area similar to passing through Georgetown or Round Rock on Interstate 35 in Central Texas. I am NOT exaggerating. I was completely unprepared for all this traffic, and what the area around Orla had grown into over the past decade or so. I had not been to Orla since around 2003, so I had NO CLUE what this area had turned into!
I stopped at the intersection of FM 652 and Hwy 285, at an abandoned service station. Trucks and other vehicles were passing by on both roadways at such a high volume that the din never ceased. Added to that was the incredibly loud noises made by various pieces of heavy equipment and heavy motors running ceaselessly in the many oil company facilities crammed into this little area. For me, there was absolutely NOTHING "zen" about this place, nor could even the historical aspects of Orla, the ghost town, be appreciated because of the volume of passing heavy trucks, as well as a fairly large number of trucks constantly pulling off the road beside these abandoned buildings and houses. There is actually a real danger of being run over by one of these guys pulling off the road.
I got out of my pickup, and was immediately sorry I did. The noise was nearly unbearable. But I tried to appreciate the history represented in Orla. I gazed at the buildings and homes that no longer belonged to anyone, and I thought about what life must have been like here. I wondered how the people who did live here back in the day were able to make a living, to get food and supplies at reasonable prices, how they might have spent their leisure time, etc. I also tried one experiment that was related to the metaphysical aspect of Orla. I had brought my metal detector with me, and I turned it on so that I could see if the machine was effected by an unusual electromagnetic fields. The detector immediately began a loud "chattering" that I could not control or prevent with any setting of the controls. I went to several different locations around Orla proper, all with the same result. The chattering could not be curtailed. Now the sixty-four thousand dollar question: Was this phenomenon related to the "vortex" believed to exist in Orla, is was it caused by the dense vehicle traffic and the large number of facilities with the corresponding heavy equipment operating around the clock? I am not able to answer that question, mainly because the noise eventually drove me back into my pickup, and my pickup drove me away!
I headed north toward Carlsbad, but then decided to take the alternative route. I drove back into Orla then turned right, heading west on FM 652. In a few minutes I had left the decidedly UN-ghostly town of Orla behind and I was driving through some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen south of Carlsbad or north of the Davis Mountains. Craggy, purple peaks could be seen in the distance, as well suddenly appearing and disappearing canyons and huge walls of rock. As I drove, very haunting silhouettes of majestic cactus and yucca guided me to points unknown further to the west. After about another hour of this beautiful, haunting scenery I ran into US Hwy 62. Here I turned North and drove into Carlsbad, via the scenic area around Carlsbad Canyon National Park. If you have been there, you know how beautiful this area is, and if you have not, I cannot describe it to you. Please go see it for yourself if you EVER get the chance.
By the time I reached Carlsbad, my evening was drawing to a close. I reluctantly turned east but took a very scenic route back to Eunice. From there I drove cross-country to Andrews, Texas. I topped my day trip off by stopping at Buddy's. If you have never eaten there, please put this on your bucket list. Order the steak-finger basket. I promise you that you will need at least one more mouth eating with you to finish this lovely dish. And the diner itself is a trip back in the 60's, Route 66-type experience. By the time I had eaten ONE THIRD of my plate, my belly was popping. I could only stagger back to the truck and then had to carefully fold myself into the cab so that I would not explode. Then it was a short jaunt back to Midland.
All in all it was a good day trip, but if you are going to Orla to view a "ghost town" my advice to you is to skip Orla and drive on to Carlsbad.
Have a great time on this trip, if you take it...
And may God Bless America
The ghost town of Orla started out as a way station for a now defunct railroad line, and was located at the crossroads of US Hwy 285 and Farm Road 652. There are possibly one or two permanent residents of Orla, at least one of them being the owner of a "lodge." Other than the new lodge (for petroleum workers mostly, as few tourists would want to stop here) and the Orla "General Store" the town has remained the same since it was abandoned in the 1950's. So for me there was a historical attraction, as I am a confirmed history buff, especially for Texas history.
But Orla held another attraction for me as well, one that may surprise you. You see, Orla lies on one of the ley lines that runs through Texas, and also is rumored to be a vortex for electromagnetic anomalies. So, Orla has a certain metaphysical attraction to me as well. Please feel free to research ley lines and the lore surrounding Orla, Texas. I will not go into a lot of that in this post. Suffice to say that Orla is "Google-worthy" as one of the more mysterious sites in Texas. With this belief I set out on my day trip.
I chose to travel through Odessa then head out Hwy 302 west to Kermit, about a forty-mile drive. This part of the trip was actually one of the high points, because of the travel through the still-living sand dunes that cover much of western Ector County and much of Winkler County in all directions. In fact, the sand dunes stretch south from Kermit all the way to the Monahans Sandhills State Park, about twenty-five miles south of Kermit. The dunes then continue south for miles, nearly to the Mexican border. From Kermit, the dunes also stretch nearly a hundred miles north.
After passing through this area of sand dunes (which was the setting for my book, Bailey Black, by the way) I drove west until reaching that little outpost of extreme independence, Loving, Texas. This is not a ghost town, but it is a town one would only live in because he or she wanted to be in a community, yet OFF the radar. This seeming paradox is possible in Loving. They have no city taxes and very little city anything else, and that is the way they want it. Friendly people there, but if you don't like the way they do things there, they are more than happy to point you back down the road to Kermit. But I digress...
Having passed through Loving, the land became somewhat flat again for several miles, but then I crossed the legendary Pecos River. Almost immediately the land was covered with actual features such as draws and small canyons, before flattening out again as I neared Orla. When I arrived at Orla I met by a shocking and not very welcomed sight.
Before I had even reached the intersection of FM 652 and Hwy 285 I began passing by petroleum production facilities on both sides of the road. By the time I was within a couple of miles of Orla, the company "yards" were crammed up against each other. There was virtually NO "raw" land within a two mile radius of Orla. Not only that, but the traffic generated by each of these company facilities was incredible. Both of these roads are two-lane affairs, but FM 652 has no shoulders. Both "work trucks" (heavy duty crew-cab pickups) and large semi rigs with varying payloads crammed these two roads, making the volume of traffic in this small area similar to passing through Georgetown or Round Rock on Interstate 35 in Central Texas. I am NOT exaggerating. I was completely unprepared for all this traffic, and what the area around Orla had grown into over the past decade or so. I had not been to Orla since around 2003, so I had NO CLUE what this area had turned into!
I stopped at the intersection of FM 652 and Hwy 285, at an abandoned service station. Trucks and other vehicles were passing by on both roadways at such a high volume that the din never ceased. Added to that was the incredibly loud noises made by various pieces of heavy equipment and heavy motors running ceaselessly in the many oil company facilities crammed into this little area. For me, there was absolutely NOTHING "zen" about this place, nor could even the historical aspects of Orla, the ghost town, be appreciated because of the volume of passing heavy trucks, as well as a fairly large number of trucks constantly pulling off the road beside these abandoned buildings and houses. There is actually a real danger of being run over by one of these guys pulling off the road.
I got out of my pickup, and was immediately sorry I did. The noise was nearly unbearable. But I tried to appreciate the history represented in Orla. I gazed at the buildings and homes that no longer belonged to anyone, and I thought about what life must have been like here. I wondered how the people who did live here back in the day were able to make a living, to get food and supplies at reasonable prices, how they might have spent their leisure time, etc. I also tried one experiment that was related to the metaphysical aspect of Orla. I had brought my metal detector with me, and I turned it on so that I could see if the machine was effected by an unusual electromagnetic fields. The detector immediately began a loud "chattering" that I could not control or prevent with any setting of the controls. I went to several different locations around Orla proper, all with the same result. The chattering could not be curtailed. Now the sixty-four thousand dollar question: Was this phenomenon related to the "vortex" believed to exist in Orla, is was it caused by the dense vehicle traffic and the large number of facilities with the corresponding heavy equipment operating around the clock? I am not able to answer that question, mainly because the noise eventually drove me back into my pickup, and my pickup drove me away!
I headed north toward Carlsbad, but then decided to take the alternative route. I drove back into Orla then turned right, heading west on FM 652. In a few minutes I had left the decidedly UN-ghostly town of Orla behind and I was driving through some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen south of Carlsbad or north of the Davis Mountains. Craggy, purple peaks could be seen in the distance, as well suddenly appearing and disappearing canyons and huge walls of rock. As I drove, very haunting silhouettes of majestic cactus and yucca guided me to points unknown further to the west. After about another hour of this beautiful, haunting scenery I ran into US Hwy 62. Here I turned North and drove into Carlsbad, via the scenic area around Carlsbad Canyon National Park. If you have been there, you know how beautiful this area is, and if you have not, I cannot describe it to you. Please go see it for yourself if you EVER get the chance.
By the time I reached Carlsbad, my evening was drawing to a close. I reluctantly turned east but took a very scenic route back to Eunice. From there I drove cross-country to Andrews, Texas. I topped my day trip off by stopping at Buddy's. If you have never eaten there, please put this on your bucket list. Order the steak-finger basket. I promise you that you will need at least one more mouth eating with you to finish this lovely dish. And the diner itself is a trip back in the 60's, Route 66-type experience. By the time I had eaten ONE THIRD of my plate, my belly was popping. I could only stagger back to the truck and then had to carefully fold myself into the cab so that I would not explode. Then it was a short jaunt back to Midland.
All in all it was a good day trip, but if you are going to Orla to view a "ghost town" my advice to you is to skip Orla and drive on to Carlsbad.
Have a great time on this trip, if you take it...
And may God Bless America
Hey, I’m from Eunice. And you’re right, the traffic is aweful. Orla is the BIGGEST oil deposit in the United States that is being actively drilled. And the roads were NEVER intended to host the nonstop, NONSTOP, and NEVERENDING traffic. People die all the time on the Orla hwy and NM 128 from Jal, NM to Loving, NM. Which is the road that the orla highway perpendicts. This is still the Wild West. The potholes are as big as the trucks. And half the trucks are driven by illegal aliens that got their CDL in the package with the rest of their new ID. That are worked 24 a day some of them. All in all though, beautiful land, beautiful people, and a very intense “metaphysiology” surrounding the area from Carlsbad to Pecks to Eunice and possibly even Andrews. My advice would be not to look for it as the negative energy might overwhelm you, but to just relax and let the good vibes find you, and they will, in the most unassuming places and situations. Try to stick to the state roads though most others have no shoulders to speak of and if you have a blowout and pull off in the sand, you’ll rolling over. Most people don’t survive that.
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