Texas and Southeastern New Mexico

Texas Cowboy...

I left Amarillo this morning and headed through western Texas to Clovis, NM.

 The last city in Texas on the border to New Mexico, called Farewell. It was a nice goodbye. :P

 One would think they would have a Clovis spearpoint on their sign...

What I did not know was that I would come across Blackwater Draw, an archaeological site that I studied in New World Prehistory. It was an amazing surprise. If it means anything to you readers, it is a Paleo-Indian site where they have found Pre-Clovis evidence of stone tool markings on mammoth bones/tusks dating around 12,000 BP. I almost pooped on myself when I saw the mammoth tusk at the HQ with stone tool markings on it....THAT WERE 12,000 YEARS OLD!!!!!! :D 

 Photos of the Blackwater Draw site.

Happy Jack.

"The Bison Hunt" dig that is currently taking place. The shelter was locked, so I had to take these through a window...you can still see some of the bones and stratified layers.

Mammoth tusk with Pre-Clovis stone tool marks. It appears that the end was "sawed" off as the guy at the museum told me...

A collection of animal kill remains found at Blackwater Draw. Some show Pre-Clovis stone tool markings. Some of this stuff dates back to 12,000BP.

Mammoth femur on display.

More bones.

Clovis point.

Paleo-Bison remains.

This was on the way to Billy the Kid's Gravesite...it appears its been removed a couple of times...haha!

This sign says that his gravestone was stolen twice, once in 1950 and again in 1981, and I believe both times it turned up in Texas. The locals made an ordinance for his gravesite to be secured in an iron cage and his official tombstone to be secured to the ground with iron bars. Ha!

I thought this was the epitome of and Old West graveyard...

In the museum, apparently, this person was shot in the head.

Billy the Kid's original wooden cross gravemarker.

This is for Sara and DJ. And old Edison on display at the museum.

No comment...

Yeeeaaaah!

Photo made from the original tintype.

CoyOte.

Billy and Me.

I thought Dex would like this weather picture. It was raining but not quite making it to the ground because the air was so dry I guess...

Villanueva State Park, where I stopped to make supper.

The actually have cactuses! :)

And the trees on NM Route 3 are beautiful, as are the small adobe homes. It was almost like a dream.

Villanueva is a Spanish-colonial village that lies on Route 3 in NM. It is a stunning drive through the scenic NM countryside. I compared it to if Woodstock, Sleepy Hollow, and the American Southwest had a lovechild...

Finally, a beautiful sunset over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains on the drive through Santa Fe. 

More to come soon. I'll be in Chaco Canyon hopefully by noon tomorrow, walking among the pueblos that our ancient ancestors built. I am a happy person. :) Love to all!