Adding Some Rock Art to a Birding Trip: NAN Ranch, Spirit Canyon, and Millville
Prologue
The Great Covid Pandemic of 2019 and Dorothy’s breast cancer diagnosis in July of 2021 really cut into my travels, especially when it came to rock art. The few trips that I did take were hybrids — a combination of birding and rock art adventures. The rafting trip I took (in April of 2022) was the first for that year. In August of 2022, I attended the Southwest Wings Birding Festival in Sierra Vista, Arizona. While planning that birding trip, I included a little rock art on the way out to Sierra Vista. This blog covers the three rock art sites/areas that I was able to visit on my trip…
NAN Ranch, Sunday July 31 thru Tuesday August 2, 2022…
I first heard of NAN Ranch in Dr. Steve Black’s Southwest Archaeology glass at Texas State. Dr. Black mentioned the large ruin at the ranch and the important work on the Mogollon/Mimbres cultures that Dr. Harry Shafer had done there. As I was looking for lodging and planning a visit to Spirit Canyon near Lake Roberts on the way to the 2022 Southwest Wings Birding Festival, I happened to see NAN Ranch on Google Maps. In short order, I had looked at the Ranch’s website and called to reserve a room in the bunkhouse. The owner, Betty Lang, sounded quite nice and assured me that I could hike and explore to my heart’s content at the Ranch. So my plan was to drive to the Ranch on Sunday, July 31, 2022 and spend two nights there– hiking the ranch looking for rock art and making a quick trip up to Spirit Canyon to look for the pictographs there.
When I first met Betty Lang as she showed me my rooms at the bunkhouse, she gave me very general directions to the two petroglyph sites on the headquarter’s side of the Mimbres River. After getting settled into the bunkhouse, I set out in search of the petroglyph site located nearest to the headquarters. I ended up hiking and exploring for several hours and it was almost dark as I returned to the bunkhouse. I was able to locate a small site that Betty later told me they call “The Shrine”. Apparently Harry Shafer told her this small site was a sacred place and the boulder with the two spirals was in fact a shrine.
I was up early the next morning (Monday, August 1, 2022) as I hiked up-river to the area of the ranch where I hoped to find another petroglyph site. It was a beautiful morning, and I thoroughly enjoyed my hike, which ended up being close to six miles. I explored a lot of rock formations along the river, and, based on a tip Betty gave me (“look for the ridge that looks like the back of a dinosaur”), I was able to locate a very nice site they call the Shaman. There are a number of panels at this site, but the star is definitely the large boulder that features a large petroglyph of an anthropomorph in a head-dress, thought to represent a Shaman.
Upon climbing up to the rock formation on the highest point of the ridge where I found the Shaman Site, I first noticed a boulder that had some very old looking petroglyphs on one side and some deeply incised snake petroglyphs on the top, with cupules forming the snake head. Finding this boulder was really exciting!
Here is a little video I made of the first boulder with petroglyphs that I found at the Shaman Site. As you can see in the video, I called it “Snake Rock”.
After making the short video of the “Snake Rock”, I began to systematically explore the area at the top of the ridge. In short order, I found a boulder with a large petroglyph of an anthropomorphic figure (“The Shaman”) and some interesting panels on the tops of two of the large outcrop boulders. These were very difficult to photograph, but I did my best!
After exploring and photographing the Shaman Site, I hiked back to the bunk house and grabbed a bite to eat. I decided to to a little more exploring on a portion of NAN Ranch that was across the Mimbres River. I spent a couple of hours hiking up a draw, but saw no evidence of petroglyphs or other archaeology.
I spent much of Monday afternoon, August 1, 2022, driving up to Lake Roberts to hike to the Apache pictographs in Spirit Canyon. I will write about Spirit Canyon later in this blog, after I finish recounting my experiences at NAN Ranch and the Western New Mexico University Museum in Silver City (which houses the NAN Ranch collection).
After I returned to NAN Ranch from my hike in Spirit Canyon, I spent a couple of hours exploring and photographing a third petroglyph site located south of the ranch headquarters and across the highway on the western portion of the ranch. John Lang had mentioned this site to me the day before and given me general directions as to where to look. I am calling this site the “Tlaloc Site”, since one of the main petroglyphs at the site is shown on page 53 of Harry Shafer’s book (Mimbres Archaeology at the NAN Ranch Ruin, University of New Mexico Press, 2003) and mentioned as an example of the Tlaloc “goggle eye” motif. To see the complete galleries of the photos I took of the rock art at NAN Ranch (and the Faywood panels), look here.
I got up early on Tuesday, August 2, 2022 and packed up my belongings at the NAN Ranch bunkhouse and hauled them to my car, once again using the swinging bridge over the river. I then hiked to the NAN Ranch Ruin Site located up-stream from the ranch headquarters on the Mimbres River. While everything has been back-filled and there is not much to see, it is still impressive to see the site where Harry Shafer and his Texas A & M students held field schools over the course of 11 years (1978 to 1989). It is really mind boggling when you look at Shafer’s book and realize how many artifacts, burials, and room blocks were discovered at this site. It is truly amazing!
I said goodbye to NAN Ranch and headed toward Silver City and the Western New Mexico University Museum, which houses the NAN Ranch Collection. Betty Lang had recommended that I visit the museum, and I am glad she did. On the way I stopped at a petroglyph site right off Highway 61 just outside of Faywood, New Mexico. I am calling this site “The Faywood Site”, and it had some pretty impressive petroglyphs.
After spending about an hour at the Faywood Site, it was time to head to the Western New Mexico University Museum in Silver City, New Mexico. I ended up spending about two and a half hours at the museum and it was very informative and enjoyable. The museum is well curated and the NAN Ranch Collection is stunning. Fleming Hall has been transformed into a beautiful facility– I would highly recommend a visit to this wonderful museum. Thank you Betty Lang for recommending it to me! Here are a few photos from the museum. If you would like to see a more complete gallery of photos of the NAN Ranch Collection on display, look here.
My Little Excursion Up To The Spirit Canyon Pictograph Site…
For several years I have been wanting to take the time to visit the pictographs in Spirit Canyon near Lake Roberts. I left NAN Ranch on the early afternoon of August 2, 2022 and headed that way. The drive was very scenic as I steadily gained altitude and the landscape changed. It took me about an hour and 20 minutes to make it to the trailhead, which is located at the Upper End Campground of the Gila National Forest.
The trail to the pictograph site is fairly short and known as the Spirit Canyon Trail, or Pictograph Nature Trail #800 of the Gila National Forest. It starts out on flat woodland, but soon enters the rocky stream bed. The pictograph sites are located on a cliff above the streambed after a short hike.
I wouldn’t call this pictograph site spectacular, but it is well worth a visit. The signature element at the site is an unusual pictograph that has been interpreted to be an anthropomorph, a Shaman in a decorative costume, or a large game net. It is located in a shallow alcove at the far end of the cliff face and is surrounded by what appear to be handprints. Here are a few of the photos I took during my visit, including some d-stretch versions. For a more complete photo gallery of this site, look here.
Originally I had planned to stop and explore the Gila Lower Box on Tuesday, August 2, 2022, while on my way from NAN Ranch to Sierra Vista and the birding festival. Since I ended up spending more time than I anticipated at the Faywood Site and the Museum, I decided to change my plans and drive to Sierra Vista without stopping, and to hike the Millville Rock Art Discovery Trail before I went to Birding Festival function that evening. Several years ago while Dorothy and I were in the Sierra Vista area, I had intended to visit this little rock art site but I ran out of time. It took me about three hours to drive from Silver City to the Millville trailhead, and I was ready to stretch my legs and see some rock art. I had a nice hike and enjoyed the rock art that I saw. Here are a few photos I took that afternoon. For a more complete gallery of photos from the Millsite Petroglyph Site, look here.
After exploring the first site on the trail, I continued on, hoping to explore the second site. Unfortunately, after short distance, the trail was blocked, due to a sinkhole. I was able to find a way around the sinkhole and made it to the beginning of the second site. Once again, the trail was blocked. I could see a few petroglyphs, but the area that I was able to view was very overgrown and pretty much inaccessible. So I gave up and headed back to the trailhead. It would be interesting to visit when the trail is open (and in winter, when there is not so much brush growing)…I think there is more to see!
Epilogue…
I am glad I decided to include a visit to the NAN Ranch and Lake Roberts areas of New Mexico as part of my birding trip. I saw some beautiful country, some unique rock art, and a great museum. It was also great to meet John and Betty Lang and to hike their ranch. All in all, a pleasant little trip!
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