Anza Borrego
Nov. 26th, 2005 07:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fruzicleThanksgiving. Just 6 of us! Then, a rare visit to the desert.
Highlights:
solitude (well, kind of, if you don't include all seven of us!)
fresh clear air; deserty smells
exploring the Indian settlement ruins
several awesome shooting stars
milky way
no moon
no one else out there (last time about 5 or 6 other cars drove past our campsite. This time it only happened twice in two days.
Bees in a cave!
There's a place in that wash where there is an ancient Indian settlement, complete with ground out places in all the rocks where they ground their grain. (Chia, I think...)
Anyway, last time we were out there, we eventually ended up joining a nature guide who elucidated us on all the facts. It turns out that most of the petroglyphs that aren't actually useful kitchen tools are fertility symbols and "aids." (In other words, to help the infertile become pregnant.) At the time the Nature lady showed us (at the very end of her hour-long talk which carefully implied to the adults what she was talking about but carefully skirted more obvious statements that the youngsters would understand) one of these fertility carvings. It was a hard-to-discern carving around a natural cleft in the rock, supposedly a rendering of a female's procreative parts. The guide said that if you keep your eyes open, you may spot these things around the area. Yeah, right, find some cracks in the rocks.
Fast forward to this year. We tried to look around to see if we could find this alleged carving. No dice.
Then O. told me later that he had seen something but that it was so graphic he didn't want to share it with the rest of our group. (Hmm, I wondered.)
The I saw it.
Holy schamoly!
Picture a ten foot tall boulder with EVERY part visible. (and ten feet tall.)
No wonder the ranger lady was reluctant to show off this artifact!
And we didn't even take a picture.
We certainly will have to go back, just for the photo opportunities.
Watch this space.
Now for the photos we did take. Sorry, they are still missing the one I mentioned...
Sorry to rub this in, but I'd like to point out to those of you living inplaces where it is a bit chilly: Notice that we are eating our Thanksgiving dinner with the French doors OPEN. (nanner, nanner.)
Marcus's first camping trip!
Highlights:
solitude (well, kind of, if you don't include all seven of us!)
fresh clear air; deserty smells
exploring the Indian settlement ruins
several awesome shooting stars
milky way
no moon
no one else out there (last time about 5 or 6 other cars drove past our campsite. This time it only happened twice in two days.
Bees in a cave!
There's a place in that wash where there is an ancient Indian settlement, complete with ground out places in all the rocks where they ground their grain. (Chia, I think...)
Anyway, last time we were out there, we eventually ended up joining a nature guide who elucidated us on all the facts. It turns out that most of the petroglyphs that aren't actually useful kitchen tools are fertility symbols and "aids." (In other words, to help the infertile become pregnant.) At the time the Nature lady showed us (at the very end of her hour-long talk which carefully implied to the adults what she was talking about but carefully skirted more obvious statements that the youngsters would understand) one of these fertility carvings. It was a hard-to-discern carving around a natural cleft in the rock, supposedly a rendering of a female's procreative parts. The guide said that if you keep your eyes open, you may spot these things around the area. Yeah, right, find some cracks in the rocks.
Fast forward to this year. We tried to look around to see if we could find this alleged carving. No dice.
Then O. told me later that he had seen something but that it was so graphic he didn't want to share it with the rest of our group. (Hmm, I wondered.)
The I saw it.
Holy schamoly!
Picture a ten foot tall boulder with EVERY part visible. (and ten feet tall.)
No wonder the ranger lady was reluctant to show off this artifact!
And we didn't even take a picture.
We certainly will have to go back, just for the photo opportunities.
Watch this space.
Now for the photos we did take. Sorry, they are still missing the one I mentioned...
Sorry to rub this in, but I'd like to point out to those of you living inplaces where it is a bit chilly: Notice that we are eating our Thanksgiving dinner with the French doors OPEN. (nanner, nanner.)
Eric gets dessert.
Marcus's first camping trip!
Indian Hieroglyphics
Date: 2005-11-29 11:26 pm (UTC)