February 4-6, 2016
As we slowly make our way West, we are now at the edges of canyon and desert country. Seminole State park was our introduction to the vast desert landscapes of the western US. It is almost reminiscent of the ocean in its 360 degree uninterrupted horizons.
Seminole and nearby Pecos River canyons are the sites of prehistoric cave paintings dating back 2000 to 4000 years! We went on two guided hikes, the first led by a State park ranger on the grounds of the state park down into Seminole canyon to Fate Bell Cave where the cave paintings are approximately 4000 years old! .
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| Holes made into the limestone by people while preparing food, akin to a mortar and pestle, 4000 years ago |
The second hike into caves on private land down the Pecos River was led by a pair of young archaeologists who work for the Rock Art Foundation and it was truly awe-inspiring. The figures illustrated in the 2000 year old paintings and, more importantly, the story they tell about this earth, are thought to be almost identical to those of a present day Mexican tribe. Members of this tribe visited the site a few years ago and broke down at the sight of the paintings which so vividly illustrate their beliefs! The site is known as The White Shaman, named after one of the prominent figures in the paintings, who, it turn out, is not a shaman at all....For more information, go to
http://www.rockart.org/
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| The so-called white shaman |
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| There were fossils too! |
The desert is also home to my new favourite bird, the greater road runner..Beep Beep!
Those pictographs were quite something else weren't they? I just started processing my photos as I shoot RAW, so it will be a while before I write about our Seminole stay.
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