Organ Mountains - Desert Peaks National Monument, Three Hikes - Sleeping Lady Hills, Sierra de las Uvas, Faulkner Canyon
Three outings in the winter sun and wind. Wandering in the fading light for a couple of miles on the north side of Faulkner Canyon. Straight ridges of dark rock caught my eye so I went to have a look. They are andesite dikes that cut through the light colored rhyolitic tuffs and conglomerates.
Another afternoon I walked out into the lower elevation, northern section of the Sleeping Lady Hills. Following a deeply cut arroyo back to its start and then ascending a ridge, I had thoughts of climbing the small rocky peak, but the wind, which was barely a factor in the valley, was wicked up there.
Found the wreckage of some sort of old rocket/missile/ bomb in the flats, maybe ten minutes of walking from where I parked my truck on the pipeline road south of Rough and Ready Gap. If anybody out there has a good clue as to what it really is, let me know.
A morning hike was in the north end of Sierra de las Uvas. Initially we ( David and Nancy Soules and myself ) were searching and finding a very random petroglyph on a very random boulder. Then Seamus and I went and explored the upper branches of Spring Canyon. While my friends explored a parallel canyon. Although the environs, with cliffs, alcoves, bedrock, and sandy flats seemed ripe for finding some rock art, grinding mortars or artifacts, none were forthcoming.
After hiking, I did a little scenic driving on the very remote, but decently maintained County Roads BO-5A and BO-5B which can be used to access peak hikes to Sierra Alta and Piña Peak respectively. At the very end of 5B is Alamo Tank. The pump once powered by ever present wind, now uses electricity thanks to a small solar panel and equally abundant sunshine. Only a few scraggly mesquites are there now, but in their branches and in the mud puddle that has formed from spill over of the plastic tub, was a flock of mountain bluebirds. A tiny of moment of pure joy, not marred in the least, by the fact that I would not be able to get a picture of them (though I tried). NOTE: Alamo Tank is on private property, so it may be advisable park further back on the county road if you are planning on accessing the Uvas Mountains Wilderness and Piña Peak.
Labels: geology, hiking, Organ Mountains/Desert Peaks National Monument
posted by Devon Fletcher at
8:01 AM
2 Comments:
Could the bomb/missile be related to any of the Deming Army Air Corps practice bombs that were dropped on the various targets scattered throughout that area of the desert? I have found plenty of the hulls/shrapnel of practice bombs out at the bombing target west of Rough and Ready Gap (bomb target #22).That one in your photo looks newer/not as rusted as most of the ones I've seen, but I have come across a few that were made of aluminum and not rusted.
-Ryan
BLM archaeologist said he thought it was not from the WW II era, looked too new as you said. He speculated that it could've been from National Guard maneuvers that were done in the area in the 1980's. I contacted White Sands Museum about it, but I never heard back. I still have the feeling that it flew on its own power to arrive where it did, but who knows?
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