Today's day trip was to the Guadalupe Ruins near the dilapidated town of Guadalupe. It is not exactly a ghost town as there appears to be one rather newish residence occupied by living human(s). The location is about a two hour drive off the paved state highway over a partially paved and mostly dirt road that is maintained pretty well by the county.But driving 2 hours on a dirt road with spectacular views but no civilization can be unnerving if you had no idea where you were going.
We passed several people walking along the dirt road which was, in itself, unusual. Leon has driven the road many times to his work area and said he's never seen people walking the road. Then we spotted their destination: an old stucco church off the side of the road. Today is Good Friday and people from the area were walking miles to the noon services.
We passed by El Cabezon peak which remains in the background throughout the day. We were definitely in the middle of Nowhere, New Mexico.
The Guadalupe Ruins are reminiscent of, but not on the scale of, Chaco Canyon, an ancient pre-puebloan culture. Walls and Kivas are made of stone and adobe mortar. Pottery shards are scattered here and there and while visitors are welcome to pick them up, examine them, photograph them, they are not to be removed from the site.
We began at Perea Nature Trail on the main road (Rt 550) near San Ysidro. This one of Leon's projects. He had to haul 50,000 pounds of gravel to spread over the one mile trail. Click to enlarge.
Bird blind that Leon and a co-worker reconstructed
Leon's 50,000 lbs of Gravel
Then it was on to far flung parts.Here are some photos and spectacular views of Leon's "Office" - another one of
the places he patrols. Great job, but I do worry about him out there
alone, miles and hours from any civilization or assistance, should he
ever need it. But there is cell service - mostly.
The ruins are at the top of this outcropping:
The trail to the Ruins
Guadalupe Ruins
El Cabezon in the distance
One of the two Kivas under a protective roof
Note the detailed fine stonework
The Kivas are round structures
Pot shards
Pot shards
The dark area is a "pond" and if you look carefully you can see cattle and a corral - Click to enlarge
Air B&B, Room with a View $500/night (just kidding)
Cabezon again
The trail to the ruins which are at the top of the hill to left
The geologic variety is astounding: sandstone, quartz "river rock", lava rock (not visible), and below is a trap rock "wall"
A "wall" of rock, a natural formation
Remnants of the wall of rock extends down hill across the road and up the hill
View from the road
Abandoned adobe at the "town" of Guadalupe
Here is a 360 degree view from the ruins at the top of the outcropping (It was breezy, so lower the volume):
M.P. says he recognizes the landscape, having gone hiking/camping in the area years ago. He grew up in El Paso; I grew up much nearer the Gulf, so it's not my kind of landscape - but the photos are awesome. Do you suppose the original natives somehow learned their rock-laying skills from the Aztecs to the south, or was it vice-versa? Most amazing.
The pic of the abandoned adobe house is thought-provoking. I can see it had an upstairs balcony at one time. Perhaps it was a store or p.o. on the first floor with living quarters above?
As you mentioned in the first post, Leon seems to be thriving in his ranger job, that's a wonderful and unexpected benefit of moving there, isn't it? And good for you also, I think - splendid.
4 comments:
The ruins are very cool! And 50,000 lbs of gravel, yowza!
What spectacular sights.
Leon's office has the best views!
M.P. says he recognizes the landscape, having gone hiking/camping in the area years ago. He grew up in El Paso; I grew up much nearer the Gulf, so it's not my kind of landscape - but the photos are awesome. Do you suppose the original natives somehow learned their rock-laying skills from the Aztecs to the south, or was it vice-versa? Most amazing.
The pic of the abandoned adobe house is thought-provoking. I can see it had an upstairs balcony at one time. Perhaps it was a store or p.o. on the first floor with living quarters above?
As you mentioned in the first post, Leon seems to be thriving in his ranger job, that's a wonderful and unexpected benefit of moving there, isn't it? And good for you also, I think - splendid.
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