Hunting for Rock Art

 I went with a friend to visit the south end of the Petroglyph National Monument west of Albuquerque.  We were disappointed to find that the entire length of the east-facing slope is now blocked with a strand of steel cable and signs saying the area is closed to allow restoration of the vegetation.  That will likely reduce some foot traffic in the area, but does not offer any protection from vandalism as one can simply step over the wire.

Nevertheless, we honored the signs and stayed on the right side of the fence for the mile or two past the rock art panels.  I didn't want to return on the same path, so suggested we climb the slope past the end of the barrier and walk back along the canyon rim.  I was pleased to actually accomplish that given my rather poor mobility, and even more pleased to find a fine example of rock art along the rim consisting of the common concentric circles design accompanied by a turtle.  That made what had tuned into a five mile hike seem worthwhile.

We descended from the mesa down the gentler west slope to get back to my truck.  About half way down we came across this interesting rippled volcanic pavement that was laid down about 150,000 years ago by oozing eruptions along the Rio Grande Rift.

I felt unfatigued the next day and, suspecting I had not gotten any good quality images due in part to the excessive brightness of the noonday sun, I loaded the dog in the truck early in the morning and drove back to the mesa.  I returned to the mesa top along the easy west slope and was looking out atop the rimrock toward the mountains in about half an hour.

Turning north to follow the rim to the site of the petroglyph panel,  I stepped on a rock about knee height and suddenly felt the achilles tendon in my left leg stretch to the breaking point.  I ended up about ten feet downslope on my back.  My pinhole camera and the tripod were back where I had fallen. The Nikon F was still on its strap around my neck; I did not discover until later that the camera's rewind lever had snapped off.

Lying on my back and looking up at the blue New Mexico sky my first thought, of course, was to wonder if I would be crawling the mile back to the truck.  I was unable to flex my left foot, but I did manage to get myself into a standing position.  I found that I could walk -- very slowly -- by keeping the left foot flat.  I did have to scoot on my butt down one rocky slope to the sandy arroyo that parallels the west face of the mesa. Soon after we reached the arroyo a coyote started barking at me and the dog; it sounded a lot like laughter.

I think we reached the truck in about an hour.  Working the clutch was quite a challenge, but we made it home safely.  I ordered a replacement rewind lever from ebay for the Nikon F.  The leg will likely need some expert attention before I can get back to reshoot that rock art.