Summary by David Greenwald.
Beginning the evening of October 6, JRI served as host to the Site Steward Foundation (SSF) over the following three days. Founded in 2008, its mission is to support the conservation, preservation, monitoring, education and research of archaeological, historical and cultural resources in New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona. Funds raised by the Site Steward Foundation through membership dues, tours, and other sources are used to help support programs such as the SiteWatch Site Steward program and the Santa Fe National Forest Site Steward program.
The evening of October 6 included dinner at Lescombes Restaurant and Winery in Alamogordo, followed by an introduction to Jornada Mogollon archaeology and the archaeology of Tularosa Canyon by David Greenwald. On Friday October 7, the group gathered in Tularosa for a tour of Creekside Village and other sites in Tularosa Canyon. After spending the morning at Creekside Village and stopping for lunch, we watched a thunderstorm roll into Tularosa Canyon that drenched the next sites on our list to visit. The next afternoon, we met in Carrizozo to visit the Willow Springs Petroglyph Site. This tour was led by Lay Powell, who has been focusing on the complexity and temporal depth of the images that are often superimposed, some having been repecked. Rain persisted until about 4 pm when the sun broke through the clouds and cast brilliant light on the basalt dyke and its images. The final day was focused on the imagery at Three Rivers Petroglyph Site. Joan Price arranged for a special permit from the Office of State Lands to access the “back 40” to visit images and panels rarely seen and otherwise not open to the public. Upon return to the visitor center and following lunch, we continued by visiting numerous individual and clusters of glyphs along the main trail. Here, Joan explained the relationship of various images and the casting of light and shadow during specific days or times of the year.
The tour was organized by Phil Young (SSF), with 14 participants. The Site Steward Foundation benefitted from those who participated in the program, raising money to support their various sponsored programs. The JRI hosts found several new friends and supporters of our programs. We look forward to future engagements.