… a historic pueblo built on top of a mesa. We started early because it’s at least two hours southwest of Santa Fe, and were within 30 miles of the turnoff to Acoma when traffic stopped because of an accident. After spending an hour stuck in traffic, we turned around and headed toward Petroglyph National Monument in Boca Negra Canyon.
Petroglyph visitors can follow three trails; we opted to amble along both the 5 minute and 15 minute trails. The petroglyphs were carved into basalt rocks formed after volcanic explosions. Over time the rocks acquired a dark patina or “desert Varnish” through oxidation of the minerals in the rock. The petroglyph makers found that they could chip off the dark coating to create high contrast images, using a harder rock to expose the lighter color of the rock’s interior. Centuries of exposure have begun to darken the images and they will almost certainly disappear in the future. Most were created between about 1000 BC and 1680 AD.
Some of the petroglyphs are indistinct; sunlight exposes or hides their outlines on the rocks. Most are mysterious and open to interpretation. Some were produced much later by ranchers and include ranch brands or initials.
After admiring the petroglyphs on both trails, we headed to the Sandia Aerial Tram, and dinner at the top in the High Finance Restaurant. The tram used to be the longest in the world, but has slipped to third place. Like most trams, two cars travel the lines, acting as a counterweight to each other. The ride from the top to the bottom takes about 15 minutes.
Although the last run with passengers is at 9 pm, the tram continues to operate until around 11 pm, delivering food and merchandise to the restaurant and store at the top, and taking employees down to the bottom. The view of Albuquerque after dark was beautiful!
No comments:
Post a Comment