Silver City Hikes

February 13, 2021

We returned to the Dragonfly area on a brisk February afternoon to take a break from painting. Since it was a weekend, we avoided the crowds by bushwhacking, our preferred mode of travel.

We came looking for the namesake "dragonfly" petroglyph, but were thrilled to find not only multiple dragonflies, but many other human, animal and geometric forms pecked into the rock in a lovely canyon.

Achaeologists attribute these glyphs to the Mimbres-Mogollon people, and estimate their age at approximately 1000 years.

A prominent and distinctive dragonfly on a rock etched with many other intriguing forms.

Most impressive was this rock featuring a jumble of swirls and abstract shapes. What did they symbolize?

We scrambled up the canyon wall and made our way cross-country via a ridge with a commanding view of old Fort Bayard, the Kneeling Nun and the Santa Rita Mine.

It's amazing how in this part of the world you can walk almost anywhere, through brush-free forests of piñon and juniper and open fields of yellow grass.