Southwestern Rock Art: Three Rivers Petroglyph Site

[Pearl]

Looks like the other fingers on the 2nd hand were chopped short and a 5th finger was made out of the trimmings, lol. The 1st & 3rd hands look normal, maybe the artist who did the 2nd hand was frying on peyote at the time...

I'll be returning to that site, there's an ancient village which has been excavated and I wanna see that, plus the trail I hiked continues farther along that ridge, where there are more petroglyphs to be seen.

It was kinda fun, wandering around in that warm high desert sunshine and looking for petroglyphs... it beat hanging out in Compton, North Philly and the Lower Bronx, hands down, lol.

P.S. Pics from all future excursions will be posted here in this thread... the site is only about 40 miles from my home, so I'll definitely be returning sometime this winter!

The ancient village would be neat to see!!

 

[Wingnut]

Yes, the gal I met at the 'World Famous Three Rivers Trading Post' said it was really cool, totally worth seeing, I just ran out of time during my visit... but I'll probably go early next time, see the village, then hike up the trail and pick up where I left off at the sun shelter. If anything, the hike will give me some exercise on another fine day, and this is a good time of year to be doing things down in the Tularosa Basin. Gets too hot in summer, you understand, and the mountains are too cold in winter for hiking in shorts & T-shirt, lol. I liked those long views from that old volcanic ridge, they were awesome! There weren't many folks around either, which is always a plus in my book, though to be fair I should add that the folks I met on the trail were all super cool, lol. Like-minded individuals, ya know? Just out having fun in the wilderness...

Dang, the time is flying by here, I gotta log out and get cleaned up to make my store run... "Homie Wing" don't wear friggin' pajamas to Walmart, lol. I also like to be clean-shaven when I go to town, just in case I meet the woman of my dreams in the cat food aisle, 10-4? Maybe she'll be in the Automotive Department, lol...

 

[montanabill]

The hand has an extra finger

The legends mention the 6 fingered ones and the five fingered ones. Also out in private land by chaco there is a petroglyph of the12 original ancestors.....only two of which were human.

 

[Spikedriver]

Great pics! Almost makes me feel like I'm back in Carrizozo or Alamogordo, heading out for work...

 

[Wingnut]

Yeah, Spikedriver, I thought you'd like those, lol... I'm going BACK to that site this winter, it's not that far away and I still have mondo petroglyphs to see! Something like 20,800 of 'em, lol... and I'm looking forward to touring that ancient village! If the "artifacts" include a bunch of McDonald's wrappers & empty beer cans, I'm gonna be sorely disappointed, lol.

 

[Bacpacker]

Round #21 of pics, now we're back at the trading post:

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A couple shots for Pearl, lol...

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Here I am in a past life... or maybe that's Bacpacker, lol.

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Here's a guitar for Peanut!

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Some more tourist cr@p and an old saddle or two... I do like the bobcat painting!

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Nice "crow's feet" on this mountain man, lol...

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I'm not big on trophy heads, but I like the painted skulls in these next shots, even if the skulls are fake, lol!

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Grandpa Indian...on an Indian. Priceless. I have been accused of being part Indian a few times, but have yet to find any evidence. Mostly Scottish, Irish, and English so far.

Wingnut, there are too many pics for me to comment properly. But you got some killer shots on this ride. Some things I saw remind me of a solar galaxy. One looked liked a mason's sign. If I ever get back out west I'm gonna have to check that place out. I think it's way too cool

 

[Wingnut]

Yeah, I'm gonna return to that site and check out the ancient village... I'll be sure to take pics of the digs. I remember seeing old stone huts or "pit homes" (minus the wooden tops or branches used hundreds of years ago) up in the White Mountains of Arizona, they were pretty cool. Similar to Navajo 'hogans' but with stones built up like miniature stadium bowls... back in the day, the branches would be laid in a peak or arch over the top. I always wanted to go camping out there under a full moon, I bet there'd be some paranormal activity around those huts or pit homes. Same goes for those ancient cliff dwellings in other parts of the Southwest, I bet you'd experience some crazy dreams there... maybe take some peyote or magic mushrooms first, lol. Rope up with harness & anchor while tripping & sleeping so ya don't take an unroped midnight fall...

Ya know, the weather forecast is good for tomorrow, maybe I'll run back up there to the Three Rivers Site and check out that village, some gal told me it was pretty interesting. Maybe I'll find some ancient relics & artifacts: a copper booze still, some remnants of dish TV, that sorta thing, lol. Damn, sometimes I slay myself. But it wouldn't be a bad way to spend the day tomorrow, and hiking around would keep me warm, lol... might even drive up in 'The Mighty Camry' so I don't freeze to death on the bike at 75 m.p.h., aye? Plus I could listen to tunes on the way... the drive isn't that exciting on a bike, it's mostly a straight shot up US-54, with a few miles of paved access road once I turn off the highway. That actually sounds like a good plan, take a picnic lunch and a few beers on ice and make a day of it, lol. Got a full tank o' fuel in the car too...

 

[Bacpacker]

Well enjoy the trip. Like you'd do otherwise

 

[Wingnut]

Okay, I returned to the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site today and had a good time, wandering around the "village" (quite small) and then hiking up the basaltic ridge to find more petroglyphs, including a jaguar, lol. Well, that's what the Park Ranger in the HQ office called it, it's definitely some sort of big cat... and jaguar sightings have actually been reported in southeastern Arizona and parts of southwestern New Mexico in recent years. I reckon there were more of them in this area a few hundred years ago. Anyway, I saw the jaguar and a few more critters, and I took plenty of pics... 92, according to my camera.

On my way home, I stopped to try a new Mexican food joint in Alamo, and it was quite good! Made it home before dark, covered the trees (low of 30* F tonight), and took a nice hot shower (again). Now I'm beat tired and I'm gonna lie down and read a good book, my feet are telling me to get horizontal, lol... so I will mess with the pic resizing manana and post those pics for y'all, I just don't feel up to it tonight, my former Infantry feet are TIRED! I did get some good pics, I just gotta go through 'em and cull the doubles, the poor shots, etc. Better to do that in the daytime, when I'm fresh, not at night when I'm beat tired.

Y'ALL BE GOOD, I'LL BE BACK LIKE A BAD RASH TOMORROW TO POST THOSE PICS...

"PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE, GRASSHOPPER..."

 

[Wingnut]

Well, it's shaping up to be a nice day today, might have to go for a bike ride, lol... but I promised that I'd post these pics, and I'm a man of my word, so here they are. We'll start with a pic taken from the cluster mailbox area on US-54, a mile or so from my home... I wanted y'all to see how the clouds can drop down in a thick layer on this western rampart of the Sacramento Mountains, obscuring the taller peaks farther east.

Fast forward to the 'Village Trail' at Three Rivers Petroglyph Site...

I can see that rock house as a $12,000 per month rental unit in Manhattan... not Manhattan, Kansas, but Manhattan, NYC, lol.

 

[Wingnut]

Round #2 of pics, I should mention that the weather, though cloudy, wasn't that bad, a little cool but that made the hiking easier... I wore sturdy hiking boots, shorts & T-shirt, with an additional Henley shirt tied off around my waist in case I needed it (never did). When the sun came out, as it did every so often, it felt wonderfully warm, but when the breeze picked up on the ridge later, the shady areas were a little on the cool side.

Here's the trail the park staff were working on earlier, they did a pretty good job of leveling it...

Some views of the immediate area... one of the 'Three Rivers' (actually small streams) ran through that riparian woodland you see in one pic. The trees were dormant after shedding their leaves, but they must be very pretty in the springtime when they leaf out again...

Now we're sloggin' it up the basaltic ridge again to find more petroglyphs... of course, the cheesed!ck Canon cam makes the ridge look several yards high, but the reality is different, lol. I was feeling the effects of all that rich holiday food I recently ate, sweatin' on the uphill grind and occasionally gasping for breath, lol.

This was a small watercourse or gully carved into the hillside by periodic rains... I took the pic to show y'all how rocky this area is, there's no shortage of rocks here in New Mexico, lol.

 

[Wingnut]

Round #3 of pics, we are now past the Quonset-style shelter which I reached on my last hike, and the trail is a bit rougher... here you can see that it has been hacked out of a layer of what looks like gypsum.

The trail wanders along atop the ridge, occasionally leveling out for a bit before gradually climbing higher...

To the east, roughly 12,000' peak Sierra Blanca is totally hidden by clouds...

 

[Wingnut]

Round #4 of pics, this petroglyph looks like the initials H.H., maybe some cowboy carved it in the late 1800s, lol... it'd be interesting to check a historic "brand book" and see whether there was ever an 'HH' brand.

Some pics were taken looking back upon the trail I just hiked... I do that so y'all can see the views from that point.

Here the sun comes out and makes life wonderful, lol... BTW, you cannot raise an echo from this ridge, there is so much open space all around that sound is simply absorbed. Makes for a nice quiet solitude, lol...

This looked to me like a scorpion...

And this resembled a frog...

Here's our first glimpse of the "jaguar"---we'll get a closer look in a moment.

 

[Wingnut]

Round #5 of pics:

This is a recurring theme, we've already seen similar petroglyphs on my earlier hike...

Here's the jaguar again, though in truth and fairness, I reckon it could also be a regular mountain lion...

Looks like a '1925' carved below at lower left...

 

[Wingnut]

Round #6 of pics:

The clouds to the east were very dramatic, and their shadows were constantly moving across the terrain...

The hilltop seen below was the farthest point reached on yesterday's hike...

Now we're heading back toward the campground...

Here's that hacked trail section again, looking back up it...

Nice scenic shots here...

Some of these petroglyphs may have been posted earlier, I took the pics in case I had missed them on my last hike.

 

[Wingnut]

Round #7 of pics:

I liked this section where the trail wound through these boulders...

All done with the hike, now I'm heading home... this red building seen in an earlier pic is actually the old schoolhouse, circa 1904, I missed that sign the last time I drove past, lol.

Here I was trying to catch the dramatic erosional sculpting of that ridge seen in the middle distance...

Boot Hill RV Park... I'm not sure I ever wanna camp there, lol.

Late afternoon sun on the Sacramento Mountains as I tool homeward on US-54 south of Alamogordo...

Damned SUV got into that last picture, lol... meh, no worries. Thus endeth the presentation for yesterday's hike, hope y'all enjoyed it as much as I did! I'm off to post a few cat pics for Pearl, then I may see about going for a ride...

 

[Bacpacker]

Bud you get some great scenery shots. Really nice. The last couple with the sunset hitting the mountains are very cool. But the historical stuff is even better

 

[Wingnut]

These shots let folks know what kind of diverse terrain we have here, mainly due to significant elevation change. My home may be in the high desert, but I have tall mountains towering above me in multiple directions, and all the wildlife that goes with such ranges. It's an interesting place, this Tularosa Basin with all of its surrounding ranges... the historical stuff is just an added bonus, I like history and I'm willing to explore old dwelling sites, Franciscan missions, Western ranch homes, etc. Each of those sites reveals a different approach to long-term survival in the high desert. I like seeing how folks from different cultures and eras met the challenges of living here in the Southwest. And the open spaces to be found in the desert are restful to my soul... in some locations, the open areas are so vast that no echo can be heard, the sound of one's raised voice is simply absorbed into the silence. Beats livin' in the Big City, that's for darned sure, lol.