Sheep Springs Petroglyphs - El Paso Mountains Wilderness

Not long ago (yes, I'm way behind) I visited the Sheep Springs Petroglyph site, located in the El Paso Mountains Wilderness Area. A beautiful, rugged and isolated area that is chock full of history. I had never been to this site before. The details of how that happened are located after the last photo.

We had already been to a few stops this day. We are are now headed toward those mountains. Big beautiful and wide open. 

It looks pretty far, but the road is looking pretty good. You've heard that from me before, right?

 Still pretty darn good!

 Here comes the fun part. For those of you that haven't done this, it really is fun.

Somehow, I have no photos of the transition from vehicles to rock art. There are a lot of petroglyphs here and this is one of my favorites.

This one also

Human form (Anthropomorphic) petroglyph

Animal form (Zoomorphic) petroglyphs (mountain sheep)

Anthropomorphic/Zoomorphic hybrid (left side of rock)

Close up of the part man, part animal petroglyph

Here is another example of the hybrid. I know there is a better word for that, but I can't think of it just now.

Many designs are made of four parts. I've read several explanations relating to them. The four seasons, four main directions, four phases of life, etc. I also read that it is just a shield....

 A very old milling or grinding stone. Usually referred to as a "metate" or "slick."

I have no idea what kind of creature this represents, but it is very cool  Maybe a centipede? 

There is a lot more information available about these petroglyphs, but I'm not going to include much. Some of you will remember when my blog posts were mostly words with a few photos. Too much info isn't necessarily a good thing for a blog. However, I will tell you that these petroglyphs are thought to be at least a couple thousand years old. 

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This FWD expedition was organized by Death Valley Jim. In addition to being a good guy, Jim is an explorer, scout, wilderness guide, writer, photographer and master of all things desert related. I've been around the desert a lot more than most folks and I know where a lot of great "non-tourist" places are located, but I have to admit that I'm not in the same class as Jim. I'm trying though...



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Wild Fire Damage

Several years ago there were major wildfires in the area where we are currently camped out in our RV. Even though it's been quite a while, the damage is present everywhere. I'm posting some of the things we saw while driving around. Most of the damage was caused by the devastating Cedar fire. 

I'm not sure what this was, but it looks like it was pretty nice.

One of these days I'll do a post on the back story of this building.

An old volcano cone. I've tried many times to get it's reflection on Lake Cayumaca, but the water has always been too rough.

Lots of eerie looking silhouettes of dead trees.

Based on all the burnt trees and how many of these houses looked rebuilt, it must have been very scary.

Many areas are still closed to the public.

Being out of town so much, I'm really getting behind on the things I want to post. We're leaving again in a couple of weeks, so catching up is gonna take some time...

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A Teaser from Kauai

We are VERY happy with the condo we rented.  I took this photo from just outside the patio door, about 10 paces from the ocean (I think I could get used to this). We have very limited internet access and to post this, I had to hitch hike on a neighbor's wireless signal, so I have no idea how long that will last.

I visited Kauai about 30 years ago and was very surprised about how undeveloped and rural is was.

I'm totally happy to report that so far, it hasn't changed at all. I probably won't be able to post anything until I get home, so until that time....Aloha!

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How Do I Get To All Those Coins?

enlarge for optimum viewing pleasure

World on Fire

High atop the ridge line

Of hills to the east
We gaze anxiously westward
Waiting for the sun
To bend a knee
And take it's evening bow

On the far side of the hill
The ocean lies shimmering
Low clouds linger passively
Both awaiting their cue
To perform feats
Of reflective magic

Another minute or two
Before late afternoon
Jilts the day for evening
And sets the world on fire

Laguna (south of Broadway)

Although I took the following photos in Laguna, they aren't really related to the storm damage.

Always a fairly common sight around Laguna. First it was hippies and now it's surfers.

Pacific Coast Highway

Skim Boarding  -  The approach

The turn

Drop in

Shred

Walking towards Main Beach and downtown

It's under 60 degrees and this moron is sunbathing! A little bit of the storm surf damage to the right.

She loved the photo, but wasn't happy that I didn't show her new boots. Really? What's the matter with you people?

The view from our table while eating at Olamendi's Mexican food. The land in the background is Catalina Island. It's 30 miles offshore.  The Chicago Cubs used to hold their spring training there.

All of these photos are south of Main Street.  I'll post more of Laguna soon, but next time north of Main Street. Lot's of cliffs in that direction.

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After the Storm - Laguna Beach

About two weeks ago I posted Big Doings in So Cal. As you already know, there was a lot of storm damage here. Yesterday my wife and I went downtown to check out how the repairs and clean up was going.

The morning after the storm (photo LA Times)

Yesterday - A major chunk of beach is gone...

Same view as above, but from the street. A large chunk of lawn and sand are missing.

And this is after the dozers moved most of the mud. (LA Times)

No Movie Today!  (LA Times)

What are you doing out here lady? (LA Times)

 

This is the same spot as the flood video in the earlier post (LA Times)

What a dufus!

Morning After the Storm (Mitch Ridder - OCinsite)

Same intersection as last two photos - Yesterday

A lot of folks had the same idea as we did yesterday. It was the first nice and clear day in a few weeks. Pretty cold (by our standards), but that didn't stop a lot of people from coming out.  About 12 days ago this intersection was under a flood of mud and water. It's amazing how they managed to get it all cleaned up so quickly. Also very surprising was the fact that almost every store was open for business.   I guess when your city's main source of income is tourism, you don't waste any time.

This stuff didn't quite make it to the ocean (LA Times)

On Wednesday I'll post some non-storm related photos from Laguna.

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