Indigenous Peoples Day

 Indigenous Peoples Day was on October 11 (which was the day I started working on this post), and it reminds me that the Original People were here long before us. By all accounts, they were much more in tune with nature... its cycles, its inner workings, and its overall health. Many Most of my hikes in Joshua Tree National Park have a goal of seeing a cultural site. Trying to locate and photograph most of the major cultural sites in the Park has become somewhat of a passion of mine. With that in mind, let's go see if we can find a couple of smaller sites that a friend told me about. He was a little vague on location, and wasn't really sure if there was any rock art (it had been a long time since he had hiked the area), but he seemed to recall something at the sites.

 

It was a cool, breezy day, with pretty clouds overhead. Even if I don't find any rock art, it's a beautiful day for a hike. As is my usual practice, some of these photos are nowhere near the sites we will be visiting, and I will do my best to keep locations ambiguous.

 

I love those clouds!

This looks promising! It's pretty close to the location my friend said he thought there might be some rock art. Can you see it? Definitely some etched petroglyphs, but I also see some reddish color, which means there may be some faded pictographs as well. On closer inspection...

 

Petroglyphs!

 

Straight out of the camera

 

Color enhanced using dStretch. With dStretch, the faint red color takes on more specific shapes, and there is no doubt that there are both pictographs and petroglyphs at this site. The site is within a nicely recessed alcove. It's a very comfortable place to get out of the sun and wind, and to sit and ponder those who were here before us.

 

Looking out from the alcove. This place has a nice, relaxing, and friendly feel to it. I would like to stay longer, but it's time to move on.
 

Site #2 will take some time to find, so I need to get a move on. I can't get over how pretty the sky is on this particular day. When all is said and done, I will have taken well over 200 photos on this hike. 

will

 

Site #2 should be around here somewhere. Lots of boulders, so there are many possible locations. But when I see this shallow alcove, my heart starts beating faster.

On first inspection... disappointment. I see nothing at all. But I remind myself to be patient, relax, and let my eyes adjust.

 

Wait a second. What about here? It's very faded and faint, but it might be something. 

Sure enough, with the help of dStretch, definitely a pictograph. This one reminds me of a banjo!

 

Perhaps something faint here? You can just barely make it out.

Yes!! The circle with the line through it is a common design, as is the "wagon wheel" motif. One can only ponder their meaning.

 

This indent in the rock looks like there might be some faint red pigment inside.

 

Yes, perhaps another wagon wheel design? What an interesting site!! Sites like this always make me wonder how many others have I walked right by and missed? And will these pictographs be totally faded and invisible in another 50 years?

This could have been a seasonal habitation site, but besides the pictographs, I see no obvious signs of grinding stones or mortars. 

 

This one is a head scratcher. It's doesn't seem likely that nature eroded this perfectly round hole in the rock. Yet it's only about 2-3" in diameter and seems too small to be a mortar. Yet mortar would be my guess, perhaps for grinding small seeds, such as chia seeds. 

 

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Thanks for stopping by!!

If you happen across these or other sites, please treat them with respect, and leave them exactly as you find them.