Monday, April 2, 2012

Tome Hill

Last night Noelle and I stayed in Socorro to meet my Mom and Dad in Albuquerque International Sunport today. Since their flight did not arrive until after 1 pm, we decided to explore a little bit before we went to pick them up. I thought the trip to Tome Hill would be the perfect little spot as its interesting, but doesn't require too much hiking.
Tome Hill

We made our way to the parking area at Tome Hill Park and admired the sculpture of La Puerta del Sol,
Sculpture
then crossed the road and started up the hill.
Hiker Noelle
The hiking was steep but not too difficult. We could see the three crosses perched on top almost immediately.
Hiking to Tome Summit
Tome Hill is an interesting site in that the basalt boulders on the slopes of the hill are covered with over 1,800 petroglyphs. We only found a few of them.
Hands Petroglyph
Cross Petroglyphs
Foot Petroglyph
It was also a  landmark for travelers on the Camino Real (Royal Road) and used by native people as a lookout point. In addition, the hill is also the site where people make religious pilgrimages on Good Friday. Needless to say, in a few days the hill and surrounding countryside will be covered with hundreds of pilgrims making their way skyward for their only "hike" of the year.


We reached the cross-covered summit
Three Summit Crosses
and looked around, finding evidence of the devout who had preceded us.
Summit Rosaries
Then it was a walk through the basalt to look for rock art.
Noelle Basalt
While we didn't find a whole lot of petroglyphs, the area is certainly intriguing and I hope to return some day to do some more poking around!
 

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