Monday, August 24, 2015

Ethel, Fred and Lucy tour the neighborhood

 Since this was Fred's first visit to the 7MSN, we all piled into the Ranger
for a neighborhood sightseeing tour.


 Our first stop was what I call "mini Stonehenge." 
I stumbled upon it many years ago on one of my petroglyph hunts,
and it proved as mysterious this time as the first.
 It's an ancient circle of rocks...



 ...surrounded by a half dozen or so smaller circles of rocks...



 ...and upon all the rocks are still more circles.



We all walked in circles looking at these circles, trying to figure out how they got there.
Every rock in the immediate vicinity had at least one or two;
they look like targets, with a lighter circle inside a darker circle. 
Until proven otherwise, I'm going to believe that the ancient ones used the rocks
to make a celestial map, and the circles represent stars.



My alternate explanation is a flock of birds with very symmetrical poop frequents the area.
Google has been of no help (so far) in support of either theory.



Here is what the area looks like from Google Earth's satellite view.
It seems to me like there are circular paths around the rock circles.
It also seems to me like the area is outlined by the profile of a lion, or maybe a man with big hair?
It probably seems to you that too many margaritas were consumed over the weekend.
I shall neither confirm nor deny.



 Our next stop was the pictograph site. I've written about this site before,
but in all my previous visits, I'd never taken a close look at the surrounding area.



 Sure enough, a few paces down from the pictographs were more circles, 
this time with dark centers. More stars? More symmetrical bird poop? More tequila?
 I'm hoping a knowledgeable archeologist will stumble across this post
and put an end to these mysteries.



 Our last stop was the homestead on the hill.
(p.s. We didn't find any circles on the rocks.)



The homestead on the hill has a cave, where we kicked back and enjoyed a picnic lunch
while contemplating the mysteries of the universe and the neighborhood.



21 comments:

  1. Well, you are in NM...so my guess is alien landing site. ;-)

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  2. The circles are totally fascinating! While in the cave did you contemplate the possibility of snakes?

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  3. i really enjoyed our adventure today, i am sure those circles are ancient and who knows what they meant. really interesting as is that cave that might have had scorpions or snakes in it. shudder shudder.....

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  4. very nice. I'm intrigued.

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  5. As someone who traversed Bandelier National Monument several times and has a fascination with ancient history and mystery of the southwest, I loved this. :)

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  6. More strangeness from New Mexico. It was probably ET trying to send a message for help. Fred and Ethel look happy, so it's all good.

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  7. Mysteries in the land of enchantment. Nice.

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  8. Beautiful neighborhood you live in. My guess is that the small, mysterious circles may be lichens.

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  9. This looks like such fun. Looks like a fun time was had by all

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  10. Love the circles, what a cool find! I think the little circles might be lichen, there are lots of different kinds, but it sure does look like paint!

    And the cave, how fun, I wonder if they used that for cool storage. More fun to use as a lunch room!

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  11. Wow. How awesome. Looking through my old Archaeolgy magazines for clues. Ps archaeologists theories are no more substaniatable than yours.

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  12. I think those might be called reduction spheres. If so, they happen in sandstone and are the "reduction of iron from organic matter." Sounds like chemistry x geology to me. Betting they happened a long long time ago. That's all the explanation I could find.

    Looks like you all are having a blast!

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    Replies
    1. Mystery solved!!!! Whoohoo! Thanks!

      Found this blogger, who posted pictures of similar spots just west of here.
      http://nikothenomad.blogspot.com/2014/12/touring-east-side-of-sevilleta-nwr-page.html
      So maybe my bird poop (organic matter, right?) theory isn't so far off afterall.

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    2. (Ding, ding, ding!!) Reduction Spheres they are! Good call!

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  13. Looky! you might have stumbled upon the only other (discovered) stone circle in the US. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_circle

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  14. An American in Tokyo8/24/15, 6:17 PM

    Sounds like a lot of fun! Thank you for taking us along with you!

    I'm glad you found out what those little circles are! Now if someone can just tell you about the bigger circles of rocks? ;)

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  15. Could it be Cecil the lion?
    :(

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  16. I found your circle in New York with a textile artist called Judy Hill: there are part of wishing stars:
    https://instagram.com/spiritcloth/

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  17. it looks like a medicine wheel. awesome find!

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