La Cueva

Yesterday we took a drive up Dripping Springs Road (what a great name) to the base of the Organ Mountains just east of Las Cruces. Although it is BLM land, there is a $3 charge to go to the end of the road, but Ron's Golden Age pass worked fine.



Once there we had a choice of two short hikes - Dripping Springs and La Cueva. Since the springs were not dripping, we chose La Cueva which means 'the cave.' It seems this is a truly amazing archeological site. In the 1970's, the Centennial Museum of the University of Texas at El Paso conducted test excavations and recovered about 100,000 artifacts. Analysis indicated that the rock shelter was occupied from about 5000 B.C., through the historic period that followed the arrival of the Europeans!

Here's Ron standing at the entrance to the cave. It's incredible to imagine that people were living right here 7000 years ago!



And here I am inside. The cave was also home to 'the Hermit of La Cueva' in 1869. He was known to have miraculous healing powers, probably using herbs he found nearby. Sadly he was found with a knife in his back and his murder was never solved.



Just down from the cave were some bedrock mortars used by prehistoric people to grind seeds such as the mesquite beans. Here's Ron demonstrating their use.



This one's just for fun. It's a pretty area with many rock formations and a great variety of vegetation, although they don't get a lot of rainfall.