‘Rocky the Rock’ snake continues to grown along Shepard Lane
Apr 04, 2024 11:31AM ● By Shania Emmett
Rocks of varying sizes, designs and colors lines the path by Shepard Lane. Each week the snake becomes longer and longer as people add to “Rocky” the snake. Photo by Shania Emmett
When people walk down the trail by North Shepard Lane in Farmington, a couple of houses behind the Maverik gas station they are bound to come across a rather long line of rocks of varying sizes designs and colors. It’s a hard to miss.
At the end of this line of rocks there is a large oval shaped rock that is painted like a snake head. It is incredibly detailed and upon further inspection it is shiny and very life like. Locals said “Rocky,” as the neighborhood has dubbed him, has been around since the middle of last year in 2023. Ever since his creation he has been growing longer and longer.
Although, no one seems to know who exactly started Rocky. It seems that a lot of people have their guesses, but no answer has been found so far. And no one has come forward claiming the rock snake as their idea just yet.
Trails around Utah when they are near suburbs or homes in general often have these “rock snakes” pop up and it becomes a fun little thing for those who get to walk past it. Sometimes people will even paint a rock of their own and leave it at the end of the snake to continue make it grow longer. It becomes almost like a game to a lot of people. Or a challenge just to see how long they can make these “rock snakes” grow. The varying rocks showcase the different personalities of people who have walked by and leave their mark. Rocky tends to cheer up everyone when they see him. It is like a small patch of positivity leaving its mark on the road.
At least once per week if people walk by the rock snake they can see it grow longer and longer. When it first began it was only about three rocks long, including the well designed snake head. Now, it has about 20 or more rocks in the snake. Ranging from all kinds of designs. From empowering sayings, a couple of differently designed Poke balls, flowers and much more has been put on these rocks and set out to make Rocky longer.
Through the different storms that Farmington has gone through from severe snow storms, tumultuous wind and the various rainstorms the rocks have all stayed in one place. Although the same cannot be said for the sign that was there at the beginning. It was a big white sign that told people what Rocky was about and encouraged people to contribute. In one of the storms it was blown away into a nearby creek. But even without the sign, people still contribute to make Rocky grow.
No one knows how long Rocky will be or if he will ever stop growing, but that rock snake has brought a lot of smiles to the people who walk that path.