Ladies’ Day: Pictograph Trail

(Borrego Springs, CA)  Super Bowl Sunday.  What a perfect day for JoAnn (JoAnn and Doug) and I to leave the guys behind and head out on our own for a ride and a hike in the desert.  The guys were left sans Fox Network so probably not a time when we wanted to be around these football fans!

I drove the jeep since we were going to be on sandy back roads to get to our destination.   We drove about 30 miles from our rigs before getting to these sandy trails that lead us to Pictograph Trail.

 

JoAnn being the experienced of the two of us, took the lead. 

 

With gorgeous scenery on every side.  JoAnn was a bit disappointed that the wildflowers weren’t out in this area yet but as a newbie to hiking this area I was plenty impressed.

The trail was a gentle climb in most areas but there was a little boulder scrambling to add to the interest.

 

 

 

 

Despite it being a wonderful weekend, we had the trial to ourselves---well,  except for the little lizards that skittered across the trail and then tried to blend in to the rocks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isn’t it amazing how these desert plants can find a way to grow where you can’t imagine anything could grow!

 

 

 

 

 

JoAnn got this shot of me in front of the pictographs.

These symbols are considered some of the best examples of this kind of art/communication from the ancient ancestors of the Kumeyaay Indians.  The meaning is a total mystery but it is known that this location was a settlement for a long time and makes a perfect setting, huddled in to Smuggler’s Canyon with protection on all sides.

The other archeological evidence of the ancient tribes are these morteros---bedrock pestles the women used to grind seeds and acorns into flour.

Can you imagine the amount of seed grinding that had to take place to wear holes this deep!

While it is a really special feeling seeing the pictographs and morteros and knowing you and where an ancient Indian village once stood, the highlight to me was the end of the trail, where you make your way through the slot below.

  Suddenly you are facing a spectacular view in to the Vallecito Valley.

 

It was amazing how JoAnn and I could stand quietly and see and hear absolutely nothing but the sounds of nature around us.  It was as if no other humans existed!

We thoroughly enjoyed our ladies’ day out on the trail! 

Having experienced ‘explorers’  like JoAnn and Doug so willing to take us out and show us some of their favorite hidden-away gems on this great continent --- that is one of the absolutely best parts of this lifestyle.

When I got back to the rig, Ken was working with a website where he could stream the SuperBowl Live.  It really seemed to be working quite well so he invited Doug to come over and watch as well.  Of course, it became very slow at that point and so the guys gave up on it in the 4th quarter.  Once the game was over Ken and I decided to head in to town to Carlee’s for our last Borrego dinner out.   We had burgers and a few drinks, listening to a lot of chest-pounding from local cheese-heads (Green Bay fans).

We’ve decided that since Monday will be out tenth day boondocking it is time to get back to civilization and some nice long showers.   We enjoyed Rio Bend RV Resort for coming off the desert last time and since we want to stay south have decided to head back that direction for a few days.

Instead of sunset, I’ll leave you tonight with a few of the shots from the varied rock formations and rugged plantlife along the Pictograph trail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hugs, C