Petroglyph National Monument, Albuquerque, NM

Petroglyph National Monument was established in 1990 after many years and previous efforts to preserve the cultural history of the area.  The park is divided into four areas that are not connected and require a visitor to drive through and around the city to find the trails.  For us, as the last National Park stop on our adventure it was a return to the desert in a real way - it was the end of July and even early in the morning the temperatures were reaching near 100 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Here (above) you can see how the city reaches into one protected are where untold numbers of volcanic basalt rock, dark with a desert patina are carved with ancient images.   

The trails here in the Boca Negra Canyon snaked up and down the hills taking you by some really amazing artwork.  The meanings are lost to time, but the images are stunning and stand out brightly on the dark rocks.  The visitor center had an excellent movie about the history of the park, efforts to protect the petroglyphs, and contemporary perspectives from native people about the meanings of the pictures. 

There were some obvious signs of vandalism and destruction.  It is so disappointing to see initials or other modern things carved in the rocks. 

The weather was against us the day we visited as it was difficult to be outdoors for long due to the heat.  We had avoided the heat so well during the summer - even playing in snow and using our heater many nights - we had not adapted as one does when they spend the summer in the Phoenix area.  Being in Albuquerque, we found a great restaurant and enjoyed a wonderful lunch before heading back to Sante Fe, but we were only able to see one of the four areas in this spread out park.