May Trip #3 - El Morro

El Morro National Monument
New Mexico

Watson is a good traveler and seems to have made the van his home. If we try to stray too far on our evening walks, he resists and takes us back home.

What a great experience! We stopped at El Morro State Park for a convenient camping location and it was a wonderful stop! We managed to snag the last campsite (thankfully) and it was even free. Water had not been turned on yet but we were prepared. The next morning we got up, visited the visitor's center and had a short hike to see the "newspaper rock". 

El Morro is on an ancient east-west rail and has been visited by many groups. The Zuni called it Atsinna or "place of writings on the rock". The Spaniards called it El Morro (or the headland) and the Anglo-Americans called it Inscription Rock. At the base is a reliable source of water that many stopped to camp in the shaded oasis. Those that stopped left their marks carved in the stone. 

The Puebloans carved petroglyphs that date back for several centuries. Next to make their mark were the Spaniards, traveling from Mexico. And finally, the Americans, moving west to California added their names.

The pool of water at the base of the rock provided refreshment to the desert wonderers. It is fed by run off and snow melt.

Some people got quite fancy with their carving. It must have taken quite a bit of time to do some of these.

Some of the petroglyphs.

The "point" or front of El Morro had a lot of carvings. No wonder it was called a "newspaper rock".

I spent a lot of time looking up, in awe! Just amazing!

Hanging out with the local lizards.

I'm guessing this a a male and a female of the blue bellied one. The blue bellies are pretty amazing.

I wonder if the third lizard lost part of it's tail. I remember growing up the lizards would lose their tails when the cat got them.