Petroglyphs and Pistachios

Saturday, April 6 (continued)

Three Rivers Petroglyph Site

Next stop for the day was the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site.  This interesting location of over 21,400 petroglyphs is managed by the Bureau of Land Management.  I am not sure the difference between all of the different types of ancient drawings, but here a petroglyph is a drawing created by scratching off the dark patina on the rocks such that the lighter colored main portion of the rock shows through.  We ate our lunch (hotdogs from the Trinity Site) at the very nice picnic tables in the parking lot, then headed up the trail. 

Map of Three Rivers Petroglyph Site

It was an easy to follow but steep trail, made more challenging by the gusty winds that were especially strong on top of the ridge.

Once we made it to the top of the hill, there were petroglyphs literally everywhere. 

 

Eagle head in the center

 

The bighorn sheep (upper left) is #4 on the self-guided tour.  The broken rock to the right of the sheep shows the dark oxidation layer or patina on the outside and the lighter interior rock.

Close-up of another rock showing the outer, dark colored patina

The four-legged creature in the background is #11 on the self-guided tour. 

Not all petroglyphs were animals or people.  Some were elaborate designs.

The circle and dot motif was very common.  According to the trail guide, it accounts for more than 10% of the 21,400 petroglyphs at this site, although it is not common at other rock art sites.  Researchers think the circle and dots may represent corn or population count. Well...maybe.

I am glad we were not here in the middle of the summer.  The heat would have been brutal with no shade.  Even with the lower temperatures of spring, I was very thirsty from the altitude and the wind, so I gave out at the rest area marked on the map.  We did not see all 21,400 petroglyphs, but I am very glad we stopped.  It was a very interesting place to visit.

World's Largest Pistachio Nut

We were quickly back on US 54 heading south towards Alamogordo.  Near Tularosa, New Mexico, we saw numerous tree farms with lots of trees in neat rows which we assumed were pecans.  Indeed, the region is known for their pecan trees.  However, it soon became clear that pecans were not the only nuts grown here.  On the west side of the road (just south of Dingo Road), is McGinn's Pistachio Tree Ranch.  We might have missed the sign, but there was no missing the 30 foot tall pistachio in the parking lot, the world's largest pistachio nut.  We did not stop to take a picture, (I know, what were we thinking!?) but here is a pic I stole from the web.

World's largest pistachio, McGinn's Pistachio Tree Ranch

According to this YouTube video showing the mechanized harvesting and processing of the nuts, McGinn's has over 12,000 pistachio trees. New Mexico is in the midst of a record drought.  I hope they will have enough water to keep the trees alive.

We continued southward to Alamogordo and eventually to the next major stop of the day, White Sands National Monument.  That is the subject of the next post.