MESA PRIETA PETROGLYPH PROJECT, NEW MEXICO:

This photograph was provided by Vecinos del Rio.

In August, 2011, we traveled to northern New Mexico to visit friends Jeanne and Bill in Los Alamos and see as much rock art and as many adobe churches as possible. The rock art part was easy, they just took us back to Black Mesa (aka Mesa Prieta).

Mesa Prieta covers 36 square miles and has an estimated 20,000 petroglyphs. Most of the land is privately owned and not open to unrestricted public access. There is, however, a way to possibly earn access.  A tax-exempt non-profit organization, the Vecinos del Rio Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project records petroglyphs, has educational programs about them, and works to preserve rock art on the mesa. All recorded information is being put into a GIS database.  For those who are lucky enough to live in the area they need volunteer docents (I understand that they will also accept cash donations, and as they are a 501(c)3 such donations are tax-deductible).

To receive information about the Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project and Vecinos del Rio contact them at:

Vecinos del Rio

P.O. Box 407

Velarde, NM  87582

(505)852-1351

mesaprieta@cybermesa.com