Rocky Gap Handprint Pictographs - Red Rock Cyn NCA

Handprint pictographs are always a treat for me. I think it's because normal pictos and petros are made with tools. Handprint pictos are created from the actual placement of the hand on the surface. When compared to most other symbols, handprints seem very personal. In my mind's eye I can picture the person placing their hand on the rock. The "rock art" in this area are estimated to be about 1,000 years old. That is seven or eight centuries before the first white settlers started arriving.

You can barely see them with the naked eye.

With DStretch much more is revealed. Notice where the middle of the palm didn't make contact with the rock.

This one shows five handprints.

The rocky surface is a very large, or multiple Agave roasting pits. 

 A nice sized rock shelter

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Red Rock Wash Pictographs - Red Rock Canyon NCA

This pictograph site is in the same area as my last post. We like auto-touring, but love getting out of the jeep and exploring much more. This site isn't a secret, but we saw very few people while hiking around.

The view from where we parked the jeep.

 Straight ahead to our intended target. There is a waterfall at the end of the canyon on the left. I'll cover it in another post.

In the bottom center you can see some rock shelters used by the original inhabitants. 

 The first pictograph we saw here.

Same pictograph enhanced with DStretch. It would have been nice to see it before it started fading. 

 Hard to see anything on this wall.

 Not much better after enhancement, but there is a nice sunburst and a few other images.

Self portrait of the original owner?

A closer look at the rock shelters. 

Excuse me! Can you two get a room please? 

Rock Shelters. I'm not sure how much "barricading" these barricades actually do, but I don't blame them for trying to keep people out. 

It's hard to see in this view, but in the enhanced version below you can see...

 ...a red hand print!

I have no idea how old these pictos are. Several hundred to maybe a thousand years? They were done by either the Southern Paiute, or the Patayan who were here before them. 

We viewed another pictograph site and also one with both pictographs and petroglyphs. There are more in the area, but our time in the Las Vegas area was limited this trip. Next time. 

I hope everybody is okay with my low-key and sometimes humorous approach to these places. 


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San Luis Bay Chumash Habitation Site - California Central Coast

We really enjoy finding these ancient sites. Sometimes though, there is an equal amount of disappointment involved. This is one of those places. I had seen an old photo of it (without the pier), but that was all. We had no references, or other clues as to where it was. I have a pretty good idea where many of these sites can be found, but it is still a lot of work.

We basically followed the Pacific Coast Trail along the bluffs for a few miles on foot, and several more by car. We never did find it the first day, but we figured it out that night, and pretty much drove right to it the next morning. 

This is where we went. It all started with a very pleasant view.  Better than that actually, because there was so much more to see than we expected.

This site could easily be thousands of years old. I stopped counting mortars at 75. There were also depressions that I believed to be the remains of many others. Also, no telling how many are under that concrete on the left.

 Cupules

 A look across San Luis bay.

A view from across the bay, back to the mortar site.  Imagine this scene a thousand years ago. Nothing made by modern man would be seen. It would be hundreds of years, before any white person even laid eyes on the area. Now imagine a Chumash village in the area of those buildings above the far pier. There were probably some of village women grinding food in the mortars below it. The village had everything they needed, with no danger of using up all the resources in the area. It was perfect! Right up until the Spanish, Mexicans, and Americans did all they could to wipe them from the face of the earth. Their crime? They were here first...

In one form or another a pier has stood on this spot for well over a hundred years. Every single version contributed to the demise of this important historic cultural area. 

In some cases, they actually reshaped mortars to use as post holes. It amazes me that people would do this without giving so much as a second thought about what they were destroying. (see the square shape inside the round mortar).

 While I'm knee deep in mortars, my wife (who is much more observant than I am), finds some other treasures.

 Seals!

Also, some Cormorants.

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This mortar site is just a few feet away from, and below the road. Based on the geography, I'm positive that the related village was very close by. Unfortunately, I'm sure everything was destroyed by construction of the road, and grading of the slope and shelf above it. 

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Chloride Arizona Ghost Town - Back Streets

In my last post, I was ranting against some of the "cheesy" things that are presented in some ghost towns. In truth, the places that hold staged "gun fights" are really not quite ghost towns yet. There are people still living and working in these places. I also said that my next article would be related to what I love about them. If you get off the main street, you will see that they are very much alive. Alive, with history, interesting people that are only found in the desert, and an amazing mix of creativity and art.  Chloride is one of these towns.

The Back Streets of Chloride Arizona

Bowling balls

Industrial whimsy

Scales?

Not necessarily historical, but I love the old RV. 

Cowboy boots as yard art

Many of the homes on these streets have some kind of display, either along the road, or in their yard

At first glance, it may just look like a bunch of rocks and junk. Upon closer examination, there are some really cool items and displays in there. A cross between folk and yard art.

This house has some bottle trees. Some bottles were old and some were a bit newer. 

Certainly not art, but pretty odd that these two boats were just sitting there. This is pure high desert and there is no place in the area to use them.

Stuff...

Motorcycle parts

More stuff

New house and sculpture

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Some folks might not like this stuff at all. To me, it is quirky, whimsical, and very creative. There is a lot more, but I wanted to keep this post reasonably short.


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