New Mexico / Oklahoma

We left Arizona in a near blizzard.  The snow was blowing sideways across the highway, and only building up on one side of the windshield!  When we descended from the mountains, there were tumbleweeds blowing across the highway.  It was kind of like playing “frogger” to miss the blowing debris . .  .

We did stop at Petroglyph National Monument in New Mexico despite the very high winds. Cathy almost lost the door of the motor home when she opened it and was almost snapped out of the coach.  I had to close it for her as she did not have enough “bulk” to counteract the wind.

The monument was located off of Unser Blvd, named for Albuquerque alumni, the Indianapolis racing family.

There was plenty of art to be seen at the monument.  We spent some time at the visitor center; viewing a history film about the formation of West Mesa, a 17 mile long table of land west of the Rio Grande, emerged about 200,000 years ago when lava flowed from a large crack in the Earth’s crust. Over time, softer sediments on the mesa’s eastern edge eroded, leaving a jagged edge escarpment strewn with basalt boulders that broke away from the lava caprock. These are easels for the artwork.

Most of the images carved in to the basalt date from 700 to 400 years of age, but some may be up to 3,000 years old.  Upon the arrival of the Hispanic heir of the Atrisco Land Grant, they too got into the act, carving crosses and livestock brands into the rock.  They also introduced the colorful Macaw to the natives, whom immediately revered it for its colorful feathers.

After talking with the ranger, we decided to walk into the Boca Negra Canyon, a section of the park that was accessible with motor home parking, and had the art we were seeking. Some things we have learned:

Women are depicted with squared heads:

Men usually have rounded heads:

Can’t explain this one:

Spanish brand:

A Macaw:

A rattlesnake:

The circle of life.  The number of rings have some significance to age:

Misc artwork:

An ancient emoji?

We decided to climb to the top of a hill to see more images, but after the wind literally blew me over, we decided to “call it a day”.  This is Cathy heading back down the hill.  Notice the top to the trash container is blown off to her right:

We have slowed our travel pace (about 375 miles/day) and are usually following the original Route 66 when possible.  So far, we have traveled most of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and now we are in Oklahoma on the original route. This is Santa Rosa, where Spanish explorer Antonio de Espejo passed through this area in 1583 and was followed by Gaspar Castano in 1590.

 

We had to stop at Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo and take a closer look.  The area has been severely vandalized, the graffiti was literally an inch deep on these cars.

Not a much vandalism on the motor home copy at our campsite for the evening:

We saw this nearly complete service station in Shamrock, Texas.

We just arrived near Oklahoma City and will be here for four days.