La Cieneguilla Petroglyph Site

I woke up early this morning and drove out past the Santa Fe airport to the La Cieneguilla Petroglyph Site.  The directions I had read were a little cryptic so I was a little concerned I would have trouble finding the place.  It was pretty easy to find though.  It is only a short hike, but you do have to go up some fairly steep rock formations, so good hiking shoes are a must.  I wore my beloved Keens.

As I was discovering the rock drawings my mind was racing with ideas of how I could teach my students new art lessons in the upcoming school year to connect to prior knowledge of lessons I taught this year about the ancient cave paintings at Lascaux, France!

In case you want to check it out here are the directions:

From the intersection of Airport Road and NM 599, continue west on Airport Road for 3.3 miles. There is a gravel parking area on the west side of the road and a BLM sign. Follow a trail marked by arrows for about five to ten minutes to access the basalt cliffs where the petroglyphs are located.

Here are the arrows that let you know you are headed in the right direction:

 My favorite are the kokopellis (the humpbacked flute player guys)!

Here is a quote from the BLM website (U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management) telling a little about this unique place:

"Hundreds of petroglyphs, dating from pre-contact time and the Spanish colonial era, can be found along this mesa above the Santa Fe River. Most of the petroglyphs were placed there by Keresan-speaking puebloan people living in the area between the 13th and 17th centuries. The descendants of these people now live down the Santa Fe River along the Rio Grande at the Cochiti and Santo Domingo Pueblos. The area is known for the great number of hump-backed flute player images and a great variety of bird figures. The site is also of interest to those tracing the route of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, as the ancient road passed along here as well."