Petroglyphs for the grandchildren: Three Rivers

Today's blog entry is for the grandchildren: Adam, Alden, Ian, Ida, Marina, Sebastian, Soren, and Stella.

Kids--your parents will be able to tell you more about what is here.

We left the campground early this morning, after spending the night in a BIG thunderstorm. I told Vicky that it was a good old-fashioned Midwestern thunderstorm. Four hours of thunder, lightening, and rain. Some of your parents may have been in a big thunderstorm, and maybe you too!

We drove to the Three Rivers Petroglyphs site. A petroglyph is an ancient carving in stone. These were carved over 1000 years ago! They were carved by an ancient American Indian group called the Jornada Mogollon.

None of the members of their group is still living today, so all we have left is their carvings and what is left of their homes.

There are about 20,000 carvings like these in the rocks. Here are some of them for you kids to enjoy:

What does this look like?



How about this one? What does it remind you of?



It is probably a big horn sheep, a wild type of sheep that lives in the Rocky Mountains and in some other mountains.

Here is one showing a hunter chasing an animal of some type:




This is probably the most famous of the carvings. It shows a Big Horn Sheep being hunted with arrows. Those ancient people had to hunt animals for food.





For you girls, here is one showing a woman with earrings!





Here is what looks to be a bunny rabbit.




Here is a very skinny person:




This one is like somebody going "boo!"




This is one for your mommies and daddies. It looks like some of the Jornada Mogollon might have done the STP with your daddies or grandpas or grandmas.





Then we went to see what was left of some of the houses the Jornada Mogollon lived in. Here are two of them:

We hope you kids have enjoyed seeing these carvings and where these ancient people lived. Tomorrow your grandma and grandpa are going to camp close to where some of their relatives lived in cliffs! We will send pictures when we can.

We love you all so much and miss you.

Grandma and Grandpa