Hueco Tanks

Angie and I spent my day off yesterday exploring one of the desert's most interesting geological gems, Hueco Tanks. I had no idea what the tanks were, other than a State Park. As we followed the map north of El Paso on Montana Road we talked about how hard it would be to settle in such an arid area. The only water supply that I was aware of was the Rio Grande river. Which, by the way, is no longer so grand. It is almost completely dry as a result of dams in New Mexico and an ongoing drought.

We arrived at Hueco Tanks (pronounced Way-co) just as a pictograph tour was about to begin. This area, formed thousands of years ago by a lava dome just below the surface of the earth. As the surrounding land eroded through the years, the ignatious rocks withstood the wind water and sands of time. Because of their non-porous nature, the rocks in Hueco Tanks hold water and provide an oasis of life in a barren landscape. The oasis has been used by animals and people for shelter and water throughout history and there is evidence of many civilizations on the grounds. It is home of one the largest collections of Native American pictograph masks in the nation. There are also pictographs depicting stories or daily life and battles won and lost.

We lucked into having a volunteer guide who is a school teacher by trade. He had grown up in the area hiking these rock formations and has been active in protecting and studying them most of his life. Hueco Tanks State Park only recently reopened to the public after being closed for several years in an attempt to stop the frequent vandalism that was occurring there by thoughtless jerks who can't seem to resist spray-paining their names on rocks. Our guide, Ed, said since we all appeared to be healthy and had no children with us that he'd take us off the regular path and into the canyon if we wanted. It was a great an unexpected surprise getting to crawl back into tumnous formations and rediscover pictographs that are rarely seen. I'll be posting a few pictures in a moment.

Tonight, we have a show in El Paso. I'll also say goodbye to Angie again which will be sad. Oh yeah, David is here! I'm looking forward to hearing his story of misfortunate traveling. I'll post it in a day or two.

¶ 11:20 AM