From Out West #24, October, 1993
Click here for a pic of Hole 'N the Rock
MOAB, Utah -- Ever get the urge to live in a cave? Me, either. But Albert Christensen did. The result is Hole'N The Rock, one of the greatest blasting projects every undertaken by a man obsessed with living in a hole.
Hole N' The Rock is a big, artificial cavern in the side of a red rock cliff 15 miles south of Moab along U.S. Highway 191. It's a 5,000 square foot home with 14 rooms supported by three rock pillars. Admission to the home's gift shop is free, where you can buy Hole N' The Rock bumper stickers, postcards and pennants, or, if you like, a rubber tomahawk. But to see the best part of Hole N' The Rock -- the home itself, you have to pay $2.12, a bargain, really, considering this one of the few caves in the world besides Carlsbad Caverns with bathroom, and the only one with a stuffed donkey named Harry..
Albert Christensen started blasting the hole for Hole N' The Rock in 1945. While the rest of the world celebrated the end of war, Albert celebrated the displacement of sandstone. By the time he was done, he blasted away 50,000 cubic feet of the stuff. In 1952, he and his wife Gladys moved in. It was a dark yet cozy place, and in those nuclear times, perhaps the best bomb shelter in all of Utah. Albert couldn't bear to part with his dearly departed donkey Harry, so, amateur taxidermist he was, he stuffed the animal. Today, Harry stands stiffly next to Albert's painting of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The painting is impressive; Harry is not; the huge stitch up his front makes him look like he died during donkey bypass surgery.
And check out the flower pot in today's kitchen. It's one of Hole N' The Rock's attractions -- the former deep fry cooker. Another neat attraction is the bathroom, fit for the Flintstones with a tub built right into the rock.
In 1957 Albert died. Gladys spent the next eight years putting the finishing touches on the couples' dream cave. She turned part of it into a diner which she operated for 17 years. Then she died. Today, she and Albert are buried in nearby graves.
Thousands of folks show up each year to see Hole N' The Rock. They take a tour, or just browse around the cactus gardens outside. A few enjoy lunch at a picnic table while they ponder why a guy would go to so much trouble to live in a solid rock house.
Hole N' The Rock is operated by Christensen's stepson, Hub Davis. I once asked him what motivated Albert, an ex-miner, to build his cave home. "He had the property, and I guess he just got the idea," he told me. So now you know.
To reach the Hole N' The Rock, drive U.S. route 191 about 20 minutes south of Moab. You can't miss the place. You might want to call first to make sure it's open. The number is 435-686-2250.
©1998 by Out West Newspaper
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