Along seventeen miles of the escarpment west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the Rio Grande valley, an estimated 24,000 petroglyphs, images carved into rock by ancient Pueblo peoples are protected in this preserved park. I have read dates for these rock carvings as far back as 5,000 to as recent as 400 years ago. TheContinue reading “Petroglyph National Monument”
Category Archives: Travel
Old Town Albuquerque
A destination site on my list for this March road trip was just outside Albuquerque, New Mexico, so I stayed in the city. My arrival afternoon was spent wandering the restored Old Town area, filled with shops and galleries in its historic adobe structures. The nationally designated historic site was founded in 1706, generations beforeContinue reading “Old Town Albuquerque”
Chaco Canyon
The historic civilizations of the Americas have left many of their structures to tell their stories. Chaco Canyon has been well excavated and preserved in what is now called Chaco Culture National Historic Park in New Mexico, situated in Navajo country. Created in 1907, the park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.Continue reading “Chaco Canyon”
Antelope Canyon
The tall and varied shapes towering over the landscape are the most obvious red rock carvings of nature when driving or hiking through the U.S. Southwest. But there are hidden treasures that are not as evident. I have often admired photos of Antelope Canyon, in the northeast corner of Arizona, not on the way toContinue reading “Antelope Canyon”
Monument Valley, Horseshoe Bend
Along the way on my southwestern road trip, there were a few short but memorable stops. The iconic Monument Valley, a configuration of towering rocks rising in an otherwise mostly flat desert setting, was the site of many Western movies. Listen for the clopping of hooves as John Wayne and his cohorts gallop through onContinue reading “Monument Valley, Horseshoe Bend”
Road trip, Arches
Setting out on a ten-day March road trip around the U.S. Southwest, the first two stops were favorite places I’d been before and had returned several times. I alternated between a day of driving and a day at a destination. As I was entering the breathtaking carved Glenwood Canyon, the Grateful Dead’s Truckin‘ came onContinue reading “Road trip, Arches”
ICE Out, Denver
Sitting at my desk Friday morning, January 30, I read in the Denver Post that many restaurants, businesses, and schools would be closed that day for ICE Out demonstrations. Other businesses pledged to donate a percentage of their profits to local immigrant rights organizations. I quickly reorganized my schedule and drove down to Denver toContinue reading “ICE Out, Denver”
Chauvet, 200th post!
Chauvet-Pont d’Arc in Ardèche, France, an enormous, stunning, prehistoric painted cave, is closed for preservation. Its replica, called Chauvet 2, opened to the public in 2015. The original cave is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The oldest site I visited on this journey across the south of France, it is dated at approximatelyContinue reading “Chauvet, 200th post!”
L’Aven d’Orgnac, Sarlat
The painted caves I visited in the south of France did not, for the most part, exhibit the concretions usually seen in caves formed, and still forming, by water. It is thought that the lack of moisture and leaking or dripping water that created other caves served to preserve the paintings and etchings of theContinue reading “L’Aven d’Orgnac, Sarlat”
Les Combarelles, Pech-Merle caves
The next two days, on this south of France journey, we ventured into two more natural caves that had been open to the air for thousands of years. Like Font-de-Gaume, the caves were preserved as much as possible, once their significance was realized, with minimal lighting used sparingly and floor gratings to protect gravel andContinue reading “Les Combarelles, Pech-Merle caves”
Ruth Rosenfeld 