On the third morning of my trip I went to say good bye to the PeaceMaker.
And drove off to visit another area the has more of the Lower Pecos People's rock art, that was just a little ways down the road. The place is called the White Shaman Perserve and it stands out as one of only a very places where the Lower Pecos People used white paint on the rocks and depicting the White Shaman.
p>
The site is well know for the almost impossible and dangerous hike that leads to the shelter that houses the rock art. It is a steep and rocky slope and there is little room for mistakes or the hiker could very well end up as part of the ledgend of the canyon. Just last year a boyscout was lost on the hike and found dead a couple of days later of dehydration and exposure. Apparently the entire group was suffering form heat exhaustion and didn't realize that the young man was left behind until it was too late. On Saturday there was only a small group of us that were wanting to take the hike into the desert. The middle aged lady almost didn't make but we pulled together as a group and got there and back in one piece.
On the way to the site there are some rock paintings that were done at a much later date and are refered to as the Red Linear Style. These paintings are thought to have been placed by indians that traveled in the area after the disapearence of the Loer Pecos People. Most of the Red Linear paintings are believed to have been placed as guardians to protect the travelers from the strong magic of the original rock artp>
Once we got inside the shelter it was simply amazing and well worth the hike into the canyon to just get a glimpse of the art work. We were close enough to reach out and touch the paintings, in fact we had to be careful not to rub against them as we piled in to the little bit of shade that was in the shelter. The wall was covered in shaman figures, many which had the appearence of being dead or killed by the fantastic monsters that also decorated the wall.
Unfortunately, after my tour of the White Shaman, it was time for me to head home. The only negative thing there was about my entire trip was that the entire border area was flooded with Border Patrol Agents. It seems that we as Americans are spending millions of dollars so that we can have hundreds of ass holes with badges running around in the desert. I know that it is important to protect us from the evils of mary jane, mexicans and fairly priced prescription drugs, but I think that things have certainly gotten out of hand. I couldn't drive 2 miles down the road before I saw another vechical and every time it was the green and white SUV's of the Border Patrol out burning up gas on a fool's errand, wasting money so that people in Washington can pretend that every thing is just fine and that America is safe.
