Three Rivers Petroglyph Site

Only about 35 miles south of Valley of Fires was our next stop.  We almost didn't stop, thinking that we have seen so many petroglyphs, but it was right on our way.  We were glad we did.

(Ron wanted to know who counted the 20,000 petroglyphs.)

Like Valley of Fires, Three Rivers is run by the BLM and camping, with electricity, was only $9 with that magical Senior Pass.  On our way up the petroglyph trail, I snapped this picture of the tiny campground.

What I found interesting was that the petroglyphs were more detailed than most I've seen.  Certain ones of them were described in the trail guide, like this bighorn sheep with bent legs to depict motion.

And this mask.

Here the rock artist used a nodule on the rock as a bighorn sheep's eye.

The guide said this face was drawn with earrings.  I thought he just had big ears.

This is the best known and most photographed petroglyph.  The sheep is pierced by three arrows.

And of course there were lots of carvings not in the guide and open to our interpretation.  We thought this was a bird carrying a snake.

A very fancy fish.

A turtle standing on its hind legs?

Air raid shelter?

Alright, now I'm getting carried away, but they were everywhere.

We didn't see all 20,000, but had fun looking.