 |
| Apache Flat |
 |
| Pine Canyon |
Apache Flat is a petroglyph site near the Massacre Peak of the Sierra
de las Uvas, very close to the Dona Ana-Luna county line. There are
actually 4 major groupings (that I know about). The furthest distance between any of them is less than 4 miles. Despite the fact that one is right on a road and another is in close proximity to a large cattle tank these sites were not well known until recently.There is
another site about 5 miles to northeast at some natural cisterns (tinajas, and it occurs to be that Tajanio Pinto Tank nearby may really be Tinaja Pinto, which would make more sense) that I
found by accident while hiking to the back entrance of Pine Canyon. Nearby in a small, parallel arroyo are a few more images. I
was looking for piñon trees, not rock art that day. In addition to the rock art, I also stumbled upon a strange area with many alcoves in the volcanic rock. I have found a few more of these areas over the years since that winter morning. No navigable or open road (that I know of) comes within a couple miles of that site and probably very few people have taken the trouble to visit it. I don't know if I would again. I did find one of
the very few, or perhaps even the last of the piñon pines that are left in the Sierra de las Uvas in Pine Canyon. So in the end it was a happy day despite a long, off trail hike.
At Apache Flat
there is one quite stunning geometric design plus the usual assortment
of Mogollon abstracts, animals and occasional humanoids. More naturalistic
images of horses and men, plus a few crucifixes (Venus?)may have been left by Apaches
and or colonial era Spaniards.Then there is the modern, but still quite old graffiti pecked into the rock near and on some of the
petroglyphs, some sobering, some good for laugh. Happy wandering.UPDATE: It has recently come to my attention that at least one and probably both of the petroglyph sites north of Tajaino Pinto Tank and south of the Pine Canyon Saddle are on private property.Though it is un-posted at this time, there is the risk of being considered a trespasser. NOTE: forgive the image quality here.Some of these photos are from the either the very late 1990's or the very early 2000's Many of these photos were either taken with an old Advantix film camera, or an early digital camera that had less than 1 megapixel of resolution.
 |
| The alcoves |
 |
| abstract image |
 |
| Massacre Peak |
 |
| Grinding hole |
 |
| Petroglyph site is in this small canyon north of Tajaino Pinto tank |
 |
| Only piñon tree I've found in the Sierra de las Uvas |
Apache Flat is a petroglyph site near the Massacre Peak of the Sierra
de las Uvas, very close to the Dona Ana-Luna county line. There are
actually 4 major groupings (that I know about). The furthest distance between any of them is less than 4 miles. Despite the fact that one is right on a road and another is in close proximity to a large cattle tank these sites were not well known until recently.There is
another site about 5 miles to northeast at some natural cisterns (tinajas, and it occurs to be that Tajanio Pinto Tank nearby may really be Tinaja Pinto, which would make more sense) that I
found by accident while hiking to the back entrance of Pine Canyon. Nearby in a small, parallel arroyo are a few more images. I
was looking for piñon trees, not rock art that day. In addition to the rock art, I also stumbled upon a strange area with many alcoves in the volcanic rock. I have found a few more of these areas over the years since that winter morning. No navigable or open road (that I know of) comes within a couple miles of that site and probably very few people have taken the trouble to visit it. I don't know if I would again. I did find one of
the very few, or perhaps even the last of the piñon pines that are left in the Sierra de las Uvas in Pine Canyon. So in the end it was a happy day despite a long, off trail hike.
Bought your book and look forward to doing some hiking in the area after we finish at the Pecos Conference in Cloudcroft. I do have some questions, is there a better way to contact you? Thanks
ReplyDeletesorry, you can get me at cpotter399@gmail.com
ReplyDelete